Meet the Harley-Davidson enthusiast fighting to rescue stray dogs across western Germany

Jens Waldinger has three priorities in life: family, animals and riding his Harley-Davidson^®

With their brown, trusting eyes, hope-filled smiles and waggy tails, it’s easy to see how dogs earned the nickname of “man’s best friend”. Some of them even come along for the ride, donning some doggles and enjoying the breeze on a Harley-Davidson^® or sitting smartly in a sidecar. This is nothing new – a flick through the pages of The Enthusiast® from more than a century ago has no shortage of dogs setting off on adventures alongside their motorcyclist owners.

However, unfortunately, not all of these loyal companions are fortunate enough to land themselves in loving homes – or, at least not immediately. Jens, who lives in a small village in the Hunsrück region of western Germany, is stepping up to give many of these pooches a fresh chance, devoting much of his free time to rescuing street dogs abandoned by their owners and earmarked for death.

“Dogs have always been an important part of my life, since very early childhood,” says Jens. “A big turning point for me came in 2011, when I saw what was happening to the street dogs in Ukraine ahead of the UEFA European Championship – they were being systematically slaughtered. The brutal reality is that, in many countries, stray and abandoned animals are often euthanised after a short time, often a couple of weeks. That was the moment I realised I need to do more than just cuddle my own dog at home.

“At first, I travelled to Ukraine as a volunteer to help catch dogs for neutering. But I wanted to do even more, so I founded my own organisation. Since then, I’ve built two animal shelters that house around 500 animals, helped several thousand animals find loving homes, and rescued even more.”

Jens has faced many challenges in his passion for saving animals, from government bureaucracy to public indifference, but his goal remains unchanged: to save as many animals as possible from being destroyed. Now, he is collecting donations to build a rescue and intake centre in Bitburg, Rhineland-Palatinate.

“Right now, my biggest concern is being able to continue providing for the animals in our care,” he says. “We receive no government support and rely entirely on donations – but with rising costs and people having less money to spare, many donations are, sadly, starting to disappear. If anyone wishes to help, even small donations, or simply sharing our posts on social media makes a huge difference, and every bit of support counts and helps us to continue saving animals lives.”

In the limited free time he has left when not spending time with his family and rescuing neglected animals, Jens finds solace and peace in riding his Harley-Davidson.

“Riding is really my last true hobby,” says Jens. “As you can imagine, working in animal rescue means witnessing a lot of heartbreaking things. Climbing onto my Harley-Davidson V-Rod^®, starting the engine, and cruising off – that’s my form of meditation. In that moment, I forget all my worries and everything that weighs me down. I just enjoy the ride, the wind, the scenery, and the feeling of freedom. Whenever the weather’s good, you’ll find me on a bike at every chance I get, often alongside my wife on her Sportster® 883.

“One of my greatest memories of riding is of Hamburg Harley Days this year – I’ve never experienced anything like the parade, which was absolutely amazing,” he recalls. “The feeling was simply gigantic, thousands of awesome motorcycles, cheerful people lining the streets and cheering us on – the atmosphere was phenomenal, and it showed what riding a Harley-Davidson is all about.”

To find out more about Jens’ project, click here of visit the Facebook page.