Editor's Note: This is one of the reports from Prague, Czech Republic, by an overseas student journlist team of Shanghai International Studies University (SISU).

Could my dog have some water, please?” A man, with a dog held tight in his arms, asked the waiter in a bar of Prague, before ordering things himself.

Compared with China where most restaurants and bars do not allow pets inside, people can take their pets to all sorts of public places in Czech, including subway stations, shopping malls and bars.

The population of abandoned and stray animals has sharply declined in Czech since the national legislation of animal protection was established in 1992. According to Czech laws, all dogs must be registered within 15 days of ownership and those over six months old must be chipped in the country.

China started the legislation in 2006 concerning the treatment of non-endangered species, and the country’s animal rights record has being improved with increased cases of cruelty to animals.

However, there are still homeless animals in Czech despite the legal protection. “útulku pro opuštěná zvířata (útulku)”, a local volunteer-based, private-run dog shelter, get five to ten calls weekly about deserted dogs.

 “Some are just lost, but the majority have been abandoned by their owners who no longer want them because of move, new-born children, breakup with guys, no time to keep, and shedding coats of some dogs. Sure, some of these reasons might sound a bit dramatic, but apparently there are immature and irresponsible owners toying with the fate of their pets,” Andrea Petrikovitlova, a veterinarian of Prague’s veterinary clinic “Petřiny”, said.

Any stray animal in Czech, by law, should be looked after by a shelter of the city where it was found. Czech has no trouble placing these animals, as there are more than 200 dog and cat shelters across the country.

The shelter “útulku” rescues about 30 dogs annually, most of which will find their forever homes. Its need for the disadvantaged is greater than that for volunteers who may not be available for urgent or time-sensitive needs, due to other commitments, such as their paying jobs.

“We are very careful to select the right people and we now have two who have been with us for years. They work really very well,” Azyl Libeň, another worker of the shelter “útulku”, said.

The shelter “útulku” also focuses on educating the public in promotion of responsible pet ownership, to encourage animal adoption from shelters, and to reduce indiscriminate breeding with special concern for dogs. Several schools regularly organize their students to visit it and listen to its lectures on animal protection.

However, not having sufficient funds blocked or barred some non-profit animal shelters from doing the things that needed to be done. Workers of the shelter “útulku”, out of their own pocket, had funded its day-to-day operations, before it was known by the public.

“We managed to gradually attract donors (individual, small or even a few large businesses) through organizing fund-raising events sometimes several times a year, publishing articles in magazines and having short TV spots. We also struck up cooperation with endowment funds to cover our expenses on dogs’ surgeries, food and other supplements,” Azyl Libeň said.

Similarly, a non-profit, non-governmental animal rights organization “Nadace na ochranu zvířat” gets funding from its public charity collection (mostly by DMS – donor management system). It also participates in online charitable projects that coordinate with e-shops, such as LevneElektro.cz and Zoohit.cz.

There still exist some difficulties and problems in Czech’s animal protection. For example, Prague’s main shelters for both dogs and cats do not allow international adoption, under the law. Animal euthanasia lacks the legal background in Prague.

“Only if the owner has given permission is the pet, which is really painful and cannot be saved, allowed to take euthanasia,” Andrea Petrikovitlova said.

These problems, together with mandatory chipping, anti puppy-mill measures and harsher punishments for animal abusers, are to be discussed in parliament to make laws stricter.

“I believe the future of animals in Czech will be brighter and also send my wishes to animal protection in China,” Andrea said.