The dogs ran away, leaving their collars behind
The trip from Moscow to Serbia, which was the last for six dogs, began on June 1st. The animals were handed over to the carrier Auto Extra Negosh Bugarin. The dogs were supposed to be in place on June 4th, however, instead of pets, the owners received a message that the dogs had run away along the way. However, two of them were delivered. According to the owners, the animals were dehydrated and overheated, and the owner of one of the missing dogs said that the animal was not fed on the way – the food in the carrier was untouched. Several times during the journey, the carriers sent photos and videos in which the dogs were alive.
As the owner of one of the missing dogs, Olga Razintseva, told The Insider, in early March she decided to leave Russia “because of the situation that had happened” and the question arose of transporting her pet dog Runa. The woman found Negosh following recommendations on Instagram. The service cost €450 for the transportation of one dog, plus €150 allegedly for a test to determine the titer of antibodies to the rabies virus. On June 1, Olga gave Njegosh a dog and two suitcases with things. She never saw her pet again.
All communication during the trip went through a woman named Elena, the wife of Negosh, so he was “busy” all the time. On June 4, a message came to the chat that the owners can come for their things and for animals. Olga, who arrived at the scene, was told that her dog was not there, as she had fled after the others in the area of the city of Novi Sad. “Negosh went to look for them, they found two, but we don’t know where the rest are,” Elena said to Olga.
“Negosh went to look for them, they found two, but we don’t know where the rest are”
Another owner, Olga Malova, told The Insider that she also left Russia because of “recent events” and decided to take her dog, which she adopted from a shelter, with her. She had to leave the country on an emergency basis, but then she returned to pick up her pet.
She also found an advertisement for the services of Negosh Bulgarin, the transportation cost her €700, her friend took a receipt that the dog had been taken away. All communication took place in the same way – through Negosh's wife Elena, who, upon request, sent photos several times and never wrote first about the condition of the dogs.
According to Malovots, she herself had to call and talk about the dog's habits: how many times to feed, how to walk, and other important details. Njegosh and Elena did not ask any questions. In the end, she was also informed that her dog Lara had run away. Later it turned out that, in addition to her pet, five more were missing. Another owner, picking up the collar from the carrier's car, saw a set of leashes and collars there.
“It turns out that all the dogs got out of their collars and ran away in a crowd into the forest. I ask you to note that the dogs were there from St. Bernard to English Bulldog and Chihuahua, and they all just disappeared somewhere. Here we already began to suspect that they could have been stolen, released on purpose, left somewhere on the road, but to have them killed is awesome news, and I still can’t believe it. ”
Negosh Bugarin himself, in a chat with the owners, said that everything was fine on the road with the dogs <voice message is at the disposal of The Insider>. According to him, he arrived in Novi Sad at about five in the morning, let the dogs out, fed and watered them, and walked with them. Then he tied them to the fence, and he went to the car to sleep. From half past six to half past nine, the dogs, he said, disappeared.
“We slept, woke up – they were not there. Let's go look. There were collars, leashes, but there were no dogs. Further through three streets they found one dog, then the second, they searched further, ”the carrier wrote. He also stated that he was not going to discuss this situation with anyone other than the owners of the dogs.
Criminal case and found bodies
After the loss, an initiative group of owners, according to them, gathered more than 1,000 volunteers to search for the dogs and return them to their owners. Bugarin answered questions about the circumstances of the loss inaccurately, got confused in the testimony, and the owners came to the conclusion that he was lying and distorting the facts. In addition, the owners received a video showing Njegos transferring the bodies of dogs from one car to another.
They turned to the police of the Klis district of Novi Sad, a criminal case was opened against the carrier in Serbia. During interrogation, Njegosh admitted that the dogs had died and told where he had thrown the bodies. The corpses of the dogs were found, and, as the owners say, one of them was without a head. The owners identified the animals, after which they were cremated. According to the examination, the dogs died from the heat, no drugs were found in the blood.
According to Razintseva, most likely, the dogs died on June 4 at 10:00 am, around 10:30 am Njegosh realized this, but people have already begun to come for pets and their things. Olga received a message from the carrier with a request to arrive later – by 15:00. Apparently, at this time he was trying to get rid of the bodies.
Despite the emergence of a criminal case and expertise, the police investigation is slowed down, one of the volunteers says. They refused to start the case for a long time, even despite the video with the rearrangement of the bodies of dogs. The investigation began only after publicity and a call to the police station by the author of the video, who said that she personally saw “six or seven dead dogs”, the case was opened. Pet owners worry that the carrier may go unpunished or get off with a fine. The owners wrote a petition demanding to punish Negosh Bugarin, it was signed by more than 2,400 people.
“Everybody gives a fuck about some dogs in Serbia”
Prior to the publicity and initiation of the case, Bugarin denied any involvement in the deaths, Razintseva notes. In her opinion, most likely the dogs had a heat stroke in a closed metal body due to the heat and stuffiness.
She also claims that there is a video from witnesses, which shows two people getting an animal out of the trunk, and a car driving off with the trunk ajar and the dog lying inside. So far, the woman does not want to distribute the video, so as not to interfere with the investigation. If Negosh's guilt is proven, he faces up to three years in prison. However, lawyers told the woman that he would be given a maximum of six months probation and a fine.
The owners of the dead dogs are worried that Njegos and his company continue to transport and other animals may suffer. “We really hope that the resonance worked, people will no longer endanger animals and it is better to choose a carrier,” the interlocutor said.
They continue to write about what happened on social networks and do not always meet with a sympathetic reaction. Sometimes they receive messages with insults from unknown people who urge them to stop writing about what happened. Screenshots of messages provided by the owner of the deceased dog.
Also, according to varlamov.ru, during the search for animals, volunteers stumbled upon other remains of dogs, so the situation is probably not isolated. In addition, a man named Negosh Bugarin figured in the scandal with the beating of a woman. In the VKontakte group “Overheard Serpukhov” in 2015, it was reported that Bugarin attacked a woman in a cafe in front of her child. Photos of the same carrier are attached to the publication.
The owners themselves hope that the investigators will not stop the case, the petition will help draw attention to the problem, Njegosh will honestly tell what happened to the animals and why they died, and the dogs responsible for the death will be punished.
Negosh Bugarin did not respond to messages from The Insider.