Dog lover Oleg Deripaska builds shelter for animals above Sochi - PHOTO

But the pack of mutts have had an unlikely saviour: Oleg Deripaska, one Russia's richest men. Dismayed that more than 2000 strays would be put down by authorities after a pest control company at the Winter Olympics was handed a contract to rid the area of the animals, Mr Deripaska decided put his hand in his rather deep pockets and fund a dog shelter in the hills above Sochi.  'My first dog I found in the street of my village, the tiny village [where I grew up],” Mr Deripaska told the BBC. “It was a very close friend for almost five years.'An army of construction workers on the Olympic site in the run-up to the games attracted the dogs, which were fed and looked after. But after one animal interfered with a rehearsal run for the Olympic ceremony, and others bit children, according to the company charged with catching them, authorities decided to take action.Alexei Sorokin, director general of Basya Services, the company tasked with catching the dogs, has described the animals as 'biological trash' and said Sochi had a 'rabies' problem.The owner of the company reportedly admitted using poison and traps. The news angered animal rights campaigners who thought Sochi officials had abandoned plans to exterminate the stray dogs following widespread protests last year.Speaking to ABC News, Sorokin has claimed the animals were a realistic threat to the Games.‘Imagine if during an Olympic Games a ski jumper landed at 130KPH (80 MPH) and a dog runs into him when he lands. It would be deadly for both the jumper and the stray dog,’ he said.Following a string of media reports the billionaire Russian aluminum tycoon decided to intervene and a team of animal welfare workers began to rescue as many dogs as they could.Some 140 animals have been saved, with many re-homed, but others haven't been so lucky.The Winter Olympics in the Black Sea resort of Sochi kicked off on February 6 amid claims of corruption, human rights abuses and persecution of lesbians and gays.Mr Deripaska has links to the UK. In 2008 reports emerged that Chancellor George Osborne allegedly suggested the Russian donate £50,000 to the Conservatives despite the businessman not being eligible to vote in the UK.He is chairman of the Basic Element company and boss of Rusal, the largest aluminum company in the world.(dailymail.co.uk)ANN.Az