Urban pets x urbaner
გაზიარება
Have you ever had a case when a stranger saw you on the street and gave birth to you?
Feeling like you've seen him somewhere?! Of course you have. In our small town, this is not so surprising. Every day we get involved in a lot of urban history. Sometimes by our own will, sometimes by accident. Sometimes these stories leave something for us, make us grow, sometimes they turn out to be nothing and we forget, we leave them to ourselves.
Inspired by these and many other endless thoughts, I was walking along Dolidze Street, when a very small black horse ran past me, stopped for a moment, looked at me (at least it seemed so to me) and continued on the way with a very cute and funny running manner. I have seen this Fiso somewhere! No, not a small black fish in general, I saw this fish in particular somewhere! Maybe in a previous life? Or maybe in a dream?! Then I remembered that I read somewhere that if we have ever dreamed of someone, we have definitely seen him somewhere, because the human imagination cannot create a completely new, foreign face in a dream.
It turns out that the small, cute face of this fish was not even familiar from a dream. In short, I strained my mind as much as possible, activated the search function in my brain and remembered! This is the 'Urban pets' video! That's how I decided to meet the author of the 'Urban pets' videos and share this story with him. And now I want to share with you the story of Dato Vashakidze - a boy who loves animals very much.
Urbaner: Tell me about yourself.
Dato: I am Davit Vashakidze. Editing director by profession, I can be a bit of cameraman and a bit of photography. I have been working in different TV stations since I was 18 years old. During the last years, I bought all the necessary equipment and opened the studio 'Tbilisi record studio'. In short, the camera has become an integral part of me. Our homeless four-legged friends are often in my lens, and this mostly happens when Ray (my dog) and I are out for a walk. Gradually, these walks turned into a series of videos depicting different episodes of our relationship with homeless animals.
Urbaner: Before we talk directly about your initiative and explain the content of the project, tell me about your friendship with animals.
Dato: I love pets in general and always tried to take care of them as much as possible; However, after Ray appeared in my life, it seemed that I became even closer to all the other animals. Ray has been a member of our family and my best friend for 8 years now! While walking, Rei soon made friends, who in turn became my friends. So on every walk I had to do two things at the same time - walk Ray and feed his street friends. Ray's circle of friends slowly grew to include cats. Well, I can't say that I managed to make friends with Ray's cats easily, but the important thing is that we managed to do it. I don't know what else to say about Rei. A boxer knows how to choose his owner, Ray chose me - if I'm late to come home, he won't leave my room, looks out the window and waits for me. Although he has never bitten anyone in his life, he still stands like a man with dogs. By the way, Ray also has a girlfriend, a Mastiff dog named Harsh. Me, Ray and Malsha often go for walks together and I want to tell you with certainty that you have a true love for each other. The pest often sneaks out of the house and attacks us. I am generally against buying purebred dogs, but this case is an exception. Ray and I have had many adventures together, days full of happiness and difficulties - he has grown up and so have I.
Urbaner: How did the idea of creating an 'Urban pets' YouTube channel come about and what does it mean?
Dato: The idea of 'Urban pets' came up when Ray and I were talking. We walk for quite a long time every day, mainly in the territory of Dolidze, Fakhtiani and Bakhtrioni. We always had a road with us for the pets we met in the streets or in the alleys; Little by little we started feeding more of them and finally this kind of ritual became an integral part of our walk. As I told you at the beginning of the conversation, due to my profession, I am good at filming and editing, so one day I consulted with my friend - I came up with the idea that I was thinking of making a YouTube channel. It is possible that at least one in ten people would like to help street animals after watching our videos. In short, I thought that the 'Urban pets' YouTube channel would allow me to share my vision with more people, and I honestly believed that I could help more animals that way. My friend really liked the idea. My brother, who currently lives in America, encouraged me to make a YouTube channel and that's how the channel was created. It's been 2 months since we launched the YouTube channel 'Urban pets', we are actively uploading videos and trying our best to convey our message to the viewers. I think this space will bring many animal lovers together and eventually help more street animals together.
Urbaner: Why did you call it 'Urban pets'?
Dato: Of course, the name is very important. After the idea of making a channel came to me, I actively started thinking about the name of the channel. I thought from the user's point of view; I often asked myself, what kind of name would I like as a viewer?! In the end, I realized that the best option would be if the name directly conveys the content of the channel. That's how 'Urban pets' was born - a channel about the four-legged pets living in urban settlements who ask for our help. Some people don't even ask for help, they just want a human connection.
Urbaner: 'Urban pets' is a channel for those who.....
Dato: ..........who loves pets, who can care and love them, who wants to help them. Unfortunately, there are too many homeless animals living on the streets in our city. I try to help the people I meet in my daily life and then share it with others through the channel. Is this the content of this channel? Maybe I can awaken a desire to care and a sense of responsibility in some people. To create a desire to care for four-legged living creatures. I believe that if everyone takes care of even one Fiso or Tsuga on their street, we will go much further.
Urbaner: What are your future plans within the framework of the 'Urban Pets' project?
Dato: I see the development and future of 'Urban pets' in many directions. The first and foremost goal and plan is, of course, to help as many animals as possible. Along with that, I want to open a shelter for homeless animals and I think that is my ultimate mission. I have been thinking and working on this issue for a long time. That's the ultimate goal of the YouTube channel, and everything I do serves that purpose. At this stage, we are 2-3 people interested in this work and we have a great desire to involve as many people as possible in all this. For starters, if you love animals as much as we do, follow us on the YouTube channel 'Urban pets'.