A lifelong animal rights activist
Jens von Lienen
It's a sunny autumn day in Harthau. The sun is low and bathes the trees, meadows and fields of Am Pfarrhübel in bright light. On the left, pot-bellied pigs wallow in puddles, on the right you can see dogs playing in fenced meadows some distance away. Everything is peaceful. When you approach the pens, the dogs start barking. They know who belongs here and who doesn't.
Jens von Lienen has been one of them for over 30 years. He has been running the Chemnitz animal shelter since 1996 - he has been an animal rights activist all his life. He could already be retired - but the longest-serving animal shelter manager in Saxony is not going to stop yet. When he hands over the reins to his successor next year, he still wants to continue helping the animal shelter. Last week, Jens von Lienen was honoured with the Saxon Animal Welfare Award for his tireless efforts. In the Maker of the Week interview, he talks about his favourite and worst memories and explains what working in animal welfare means.
You've been the animal shelter manager for 30 years, making you the longest-serving in Saxony - how does that feel?
Jens von Lienen: That's not quite true. I started in 1991, back then at the city's animal shelter. And around 1995/96 they just couldn't find anyone more stupid (laughs). No, in the meantime the animal welfare organisation had taken over the shelter and then they appointed me as shelter manager because I had the most experience.
Did you already know as a child that you wanted to work in animal welfare?
That didn't exist in GDR times. But I got my first dog when I was 14 and have had dogs ever since. At the time of reunification, I heard from a relative that the Round Table was making the State Security dog facility on Zschopauer Straße available as an animal shelter and I immediately ran to the city council, contacted the HR department there and said: "I've heard they're getting an animal shelter, I'd like to apply" - but they didn't know anything about it yet.
Jens von Lienen left his details and two weeks later the phone rang: he was told to apply - and got the job. He initially managed the former Stasi dog centre. After reunification, the animal welfare organisation and the city were looking for a location that they could develop into an animal shelter. They expanded the Am Pfarrhübel property until 1998.
How has your work changed over the 30 years?
I no longer have anything to do with animals (laughs). I actually only do administrative things. When I started, we were three animal keepers. Today we are five keepers, one trainee and Dr Schilling as a vet. The administrative workload and also the work for the animal welfare organisation has increased: The website has to be maintained and we are constantly receiving emails.
In the past, the found animals came in and then they were just there. Today, the animal carers take photos as soon as the animals arrive and usually post them on the website on the same day.
Then there's Facebook and Instagram, where you really have to stay on top of things. The keepers do that too. They come to me and we discuss as a team how we are going to tackle something. I think we're off to a good start.
What is it like for you that you used to have a lot to do with the animals and are now mainly in the office?
You grow with your tasks. It was actually a seamless transition. When I started, there were no stock books. I created one back then because I've always believed that you have to be open to the outside world. If someone comes and asks: "How many animals do you have here at the moment?", I have to at least look and then be able to say how many dogs, cats and small animals are housed here.
When people come here and are interested in a dog, we tell them everything we know about the animal. And if there have been any biting incidents or the dog breaks something - we tell people all about it. Honesty in this area is always better than hiding something. We seek out the people. They have to come several times and then the animal carers discuss among themselves whether they are suitable or not. And then sometimes you have to say: "No, you won't get the dog, we don't think you're suitable."
What is the biggest burden for the animal shelter at the moment?
I see a problem with classified adverts on the internet - this unrestrained pet trade. We recently had a case where a woman got a dog on a Tuesday, then wanted to bring it back on Friday and the seller could no longer be found. The dog destroyed her flat, it attacked people, tore up clothes and of course she wasn't told any of this beforehand.
What do you wish for pet owners or those who want to become one?
A clever person once said: "Probably the best animal rights activists in the world are those who have no interest in animals at all." I would like people to treat animals like animals. A dog is not a person, I can't treat it like a person. It needs its clear order, its structure, it has to be subordinate. Because dogs learn until the last day of their lives. They are opportunists, they exploit every weakness. My dog is also allowed on the sofa, but I say when and when not.
What are the requirements that animal carers have to fulfil today?
Animal care is generally only carried out by permanent employees. They are all trained animal keepers. The only one who doesn't have a degree is me (laughs). The image of an animal keeper used to be that anyone could do it. But that doesn't work. Animal care isn't just about cleaning. You have to be able to recognise whether the animal is sick or has other problems. It's very difficult with prey animals such as rabbits or guinea pigs. They always show that they are sick just before they fall over.
Animal carers also have to be incredibly flexible. They have to be ready to work 365 days a year. Saturday, Sunday, public holidays - they have to be on call. They also have to be on call at night. This means that when the phone rings, someone has to drive out and pick up an animal somewhere.
How can people support the animal shelter if they can't take in an animal?
By walking them. We have a lot of walkers. They all have to attend a training course beforehand. Only then are they allowed to go out with our dogs. Even people who have a dog themselves have to do the training because a dog in a shelter is very different to a dog at home. There are big differences.
If you want to help the shelter in other ways, you can sponsor animals, donate or become a member of the animal welfare organisation. Jens von Lienen also hopes that people will think before they take in animals. That they clarify in advance what will happen to the dog or cat when they are no longer able to live or become ill. And that they are aware of the costs and the right housing conditions beforehand. This year in particular, employees have taken in many animals that people have acquired during the pandemic.
What would you like to see more understanding for in your work?
More understanding that we can't fulfil everything. The stock comes first. If someone wants to give up their dog, but I have a lot of dogs at the moment, then they have to keep their dog for the time being. I have 40 places for dogs. But then we are completely full. Then I can only take in urgent cases, i.e. found animals and animals that have been confiscated. I would like to see more understanding for this.
Do you take in animals for a short time if someone has to go to hospital, for example, and has nowhere to put them?
Always. They always have priority. We are not a boarding kennel, but in exceptional cases we do take in such animals. But only for dogs and small animals, we can't do that for cats. The stress is too great for animals that are kept alone in a flat. If you then suddenly have other cats to the right, left, front and back, the stress is so great that they become ill.
What do you particularly remember from your many years of work?
Years ago, there was a case in the Chemnitz Valley where dogs starved to death. That was really tough when you get there and see that the dogs have really died of thirst and starvation. And the two that were still alive - I think one of them weighed 14 kilograms, his normal weight would have been 45 kilograms. You can imagine how close they were to dying.
That was the worst thing that anyone could do, but apart from that we've also had "animal messes" - flats with 10 or 15 cats in them; guinea pig or rabbit farms where there were 40 to 50 rabbits in the place and it only came out because liquid was leaking through the ceiling in the flat below.
What nice cases do you remember?
Nice cases are the ones where you find a dog or cat and the people contact you again afterwards and say that everything is fine. We recently had a little cat, maybe three weeks old, that had been found. She had holes in her legs and was full of maggots. A colleague looked after her until she was about seven weeks old. After that, I took over the cat. The woman who took her home is over the moon with the cat. It's nice to have cases like that.
Can you let go when you have raised an animal at home?
Yes, we have to. My wife asked me if we really wanted to give the cat up again and I replied: "Yes, there'll be another one, you don't need to be afraid" (laughs).
What does it mean to you that you have received the Saxon Animal Welfare Award?
First of all, I'd like to find out who stirred it up (laughs). It hit me like a tonic. At first I thought it must be a "pointless phone call", that someone was trying to pull your leg, when someone from the ministry rang me. I'm not really the type for that sort of thing. I don't like being the centre of attention. I don't see it as a tribute just to my work, but also to the work of my colleagues. Because without them, I would be nothing. It wouldn't work without them.
What do you wish for the future?
That the funding of animal shelters is put on a sensible footing. We currently receive a flat rate per inhabitant here in the city, but this has remained more or less constant for ages and is no longer enough. Especially in the last few months. Perhaps a special-purpose association would be the right thing to do.