Rex history

The idea of founding

The story began in the late 1980s, when our veterinary founder Péter Király volunteered to join the work of the then most active animal protection umbrella organization, the Hungarian Association for The Protection of Animals and Nature. Early on, he had to face the huge task and how few people ventured to solve it. Although it all seemed like a windmill fight, he still believed in the miracle: he believed that with the benign support of animal-loving people, it was possible to create a demanding animal and nature reserve in Hungary as well. On his study trips abroad, he found that there are many people in every society who instinctively sympathize with suffering animals, but most people do not know how to help them. The key to the solution was therefore to deliver the animal's message of distress to sensitive sections of society in an effective way. It was then that the idea of creating a well-communicating animal protection organization was born. The last stroke was brought by chance when our founder met a like-minded retired lady, Dr. Györgyne Dörner (Aunt Irénke), who decided to leave her wealth after her death not to her relatives who did not care for her, but to set up an animal rescue foundation. The two well-wishers rang together and formed the Rex Dog Home Foundation in the fall of 1992, after the founding of the two dogs, who were rescued together, and the appointment of enthusiastic animal lovers and veterinarians as board members.

Difficult beginnings

Although Aunt Irénke left her property to the Rex Dog Home Foundation and confirmed her intention to inherit in a notarial will, after her death in 1995, a distant relative still sacked the foundation's starting assets.  Thus, financially, it was necessary to start from scratch to implement the beautiful plans. Dr. Király believed at the time that a comprehensive animal protection program could only be implemented by bringing together animal protection organizations fighting for similar goals, therefore our organization was increasingly actively involved in the realization of domestic and foreign animal protection efforts. At this time, a lengthy search was launched to find an area suitable for the establishment of an animal sanctuary in the Capital. Their applications were submitted to all the mayor's offices, but only the municipality of Újpest received the idea of a multipurpose animal and nature conservation facility.

Encouraging hopes

Already in the mid-1990s, the Rex Foundation submitted a tender to the then owner of the Pilis Forest Farm for the animal protection use of the area, which was an illegal landfill. The owner rejected the tender on the grounds that the exploitation target we had identified was "not compatible with the park function". A few years later, the above area was transferred to the property of the Municipality of Budapest and Újpest, and the representative of the new owners, ÉPIT Rt., launched a tender for the use of the area. This time our foundation successfully applied and leased the 2 hectares of land for a period of 20 years for the realization of the Animal and Nature Conservation Cultural Park.  The busy period of planning and licensing has finally begun. Between 1999 and 2004, the Rex Foundation ran a public animal protection office in the Káposztmegyer housing estate and established Budapest's first charitable animal rescue service. Until the animal island animal sanctuary was built, the dogs waiting for the owner were housed in the People's Island Dog School and the Hortobágy Dog Boarding House, from where hundreds of puppies found a loving home every year during the transition period. Since the late 1990s, our organization's scope of activities has expanded further: through school awareness-raising (lectures, demonstrations), participation in disaster management (flood rescue operations) and the creation of working groups with special tasks (for the protection of wildlife, economic and companion animals).

The construction of Animal Island

After the signing of the contract with ÉPIT Rt. in 2000, due to unexpected environmental problems during the approval of the construction plans, large-scale construction could start nearly a year and a half late. The ceremonial foundation stone was laid in the spring of 2002, which was also a "foundation paw-stone", since the legendary Hopi dog of the patron of the foundation, Zsuzsa Csala, authenticated the act with his footprint placed in fresh concrete.

Although the first phase of the construction of the multifunctional animal protection center (landscaping, public works, backyard farm, office and kennel buildings) was the biggest challenge, the works lasted only two years. As the first phase of the implementation of Animal Island, the Animal Adoption Centre was opened in the summer of 2004 and the four-legged were able to take possession of the first kennel building. The second 50-seat dog kennel was opened a year later, doubling the number of animals that can be accommodated. Every year thereafter, a new unit was added to the facility (wetland and ornamental pond, backyard farm, open furnace color, central quarantine station, cat rescue station, wildlife show, etc.) while its present face was awarded.

The Jubilee edition, to mark our 25th birthday, is available here:
Jubilee publication