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What's Happening In Greece.

NAMED AND SHAMED IN 2012

The ‘owners’ of these poor animals have been identified on Aegina and will hopefully face prosecution for animal neglect.  However, these photos could have been taken anywhere in Greece as this type of abuse is common place.

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Dogs in Trikala have new kennels but not enough for everyone.  If you would like to donate one for another lucky dog then £80 will cover the cost.

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VICTIMS OF THE GREEK FINANCIAL CRISIS

There has been plenty of publicity about this over the past few months but there has been no mention of the innocent victims - the animals.  Here are some photos showing the level of neglect, abuse and abandonment - all taken in the last few weeks.

LATEST VICTIMS OF THE EURO DEBT CRISIS
 
 
In the hills just outside the busy port town of Rafina about twenty miles north east of Athens, Vasilis Papandoniou has been running a successful rescue centre that accommodates something in the order of one hundred and fifty dogs. They range from mutts of all shapes and sizes to pedigree Alsatians and Labradors. All these dogs have had the great fortune to have been rescued from the streets of Rafina by Vasilis and his small car.
 
In addition to his day job with the local authority Vasilis 49, has volunteered his services to run the centre entirely on his own, devoting hours of his free time.
 
Until last week the Rafina Council has provided funds for the dogs feed in addition to vet nary costs. Without notice or warning the axe has now fallen on this happy canine community. No more money = NO MORE FOOD.
 
Vasilis, who has devoted most of his life to the care of dogs, is devastated and stricken with panic. All his appeals to the Rafina authorities have fallen on deaf ears.
 
"I'm desperate" says Vasilis, "It is not the fault of the local authority, it's the whole economic mess.....every time I see the dogs looking up at me, I can't think that they may all be starving very soon."
 
Current food supplies are due to run out in the middle of September. The food comes as a dry mix in twenty kilo sacks. Each sack costs 11.75 Euros and the hungry dogs munch their way through approximately eighty kilos a day.
 
George Christopoulos, the Mayor of Rafina confesses " It's true, money is drying up all round and what was laid aside for the dogs' food has run out until the beginning of next year when there will be a new budget. We will then be joining up with our neighboring local authority at Pikermi cutting administration costs. This will provide more for local needs but for now my hands are tied. There is nothing I can do for the dogs."

Friends and private individuals who know of ,Vasilis' brave work with the dogs are all doing something to chip in, but this is in no way enough. Vasilis is now appealing worldwide. At present, most of the dogs are in good shape, neutered, vaccinated and waiting to be adopted but food is the main priority for now.
 
' Friends of the Strays of Greece'  have learnt of the dogs' plight and are offering to channel any donations marked (Rafina Strays) directly to providing the urgently needed food. 

From: PHILIP WALKER.   ATHENS

As a result of Strays of Greece fundraising dog walk recently, we were able to organise a delivery of 2000 kilos of food to this dog shelter.  Thank you to all concerned.

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Unbelievable but 'normal' in Greece

This is how so many 'owned' Greek dogs are kept.  Chained in squalid conditions, starved and neglected.  Sadly, this is not unusual.  The option is that the dog stays on the streets and waits to be poisoned or shot - not much of a choice is it?  This one only had clean water because the kind person who took the photo gave it to her with some food.

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MORE POISONINGS IN ATHENS

 On 10 February 2011 someone spread a large quantity of poisoned meat throughout the National Gardens in Athens.  This area is 'home' to hundreds of cats and many dogs that are dumped when their, so called, owners no longer want them.  The animals are sterilised, fed and generally cared for by various voluntary groups and the animals pose no threat to people.  To her despair, one volunteer this morning found the poison and 3 dogs were dead and numerous cats dying.  Someone must know who carried out this despicable act and we would be very keen to prosecute this person for this illegal action.  Any information will be dealt with confidentially. We cannot ignore this practice.

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DOGS KEPT ON CHAINS

This barbaric way of life is still common in Greece.

Thousands of dogs are still kept chained up all their lives.  This one managed to escape and was rescued by people who care.  The chain was imbedded so deeply into his neck that he needed surgery to remove it (in the photo the chain is on the operating table).  Whilst we have seen this on many occasions, this is clearly the worst example we have experienced.  The dog was probably chained as a puppy but no one bothered with him when he grew big - the chain stayed the same size.  Unbelievable but, sadly, true.

    

This dog is now making a full recovery but thousands more are not so lucky.

There is another picture that is disturbing and if you would like to see it please click on this text.

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Visit to Greece – September/October  2010

 In September and October we organised welfare visits to Greece.  As a result, more than 200 animals received essential veterinary treatment.  Here are photos of some of the animals we helped

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PROTEST AGAINST ANIMAL POISONING IN GREECE

 

On Saturday 26 June at 8pm, protests against dog and cat poisoning were held concurrently all over Greece.  We received reports from many supporters saying how well their particular protest march went.  The photo was taken in Aegina and meetings were held with the local authorities and the police during the following week in order to discuss the problem further.  Let's hope that this is the first very important step for the law against poisoning to actually be imposed and not ignored.

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An Example of what we receive on a daily basis.

 This little dog was found on Friday.  The house in Athens was empty - everyone had moved out but they didn't take the little dog. Just left him chained up to die on the end of a chain.  Fortunately, a kind person heard him whimpering and a colleague climbed the wall and rescued him.  He was, as you can see, badly matted and starving but is now doing well

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Latest Victims of Poisoning in Halkidiki

Although the practice of poisoning animals is meant to be illegal in Greece, the authorities are not interested in following up such incidents – so the pain and suffering continues.

  Last week, these 3 dogs were found immediately their plight became evident and they were saved by a local group.  Death by poisoning is horrific and unnecessary and we urge people to report those responsible for such appalling acts.

 Last week we received this horrific photograph from a colleague in Crete.  She had organised some of the local stray cats to be sterilised.  The day after her operation, this poor soul was poisoned and died a long and painful death.  What is the point of such barbaric actions?  We must report people who do this.  It is unnecessary and illegal.

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Visit to Greece – May 2008

As our home is on Aegina, we always base our visit there.  We have been supporting the Animal Protection dog shelter for many years and it is probably one of the best, if not the best, in Greece. Their new clinic is wonderful and the hundred or so dogs in their care are in great condition.  Although many find good homes, they are currently taking in too many puppies and this is a real problem.  This one was found during our visit – how could anyone have just ‘dumped’ him?

          

The situation with the stray cats seemed worse than ever and we spent time every evening feeding the cats which hang around the bins, they were desperate for food and water.  Another issue was with Athenians who have weekend homes on Aegina.  They leave the dog alone all week with no food and water.  The dogs have no value.

We visited a group that we support in Athens called Nine Lives and they care for the cats in the National Gardens and surrounding area.  The four ladies we met were very dedicated to their cause and the cats were in good condition.  The main problem is the stray dog population as local people dump the dogs in the gardens and the poor things are so hungry that they attack the cats. 

    

We then took the bus to Halkida to visit a dog shelter that we started supporting earlier in the year.  There were around 200 dogs there and we experienced great sadness as the dogs have little or no chance of finding homes.  On arrival, we met a 3 legged, partially sighted, Husky and we couldn’t help but compare him to our own 2 huskies living in comfort in the UK.  Very sad. They are so short of help and money and can’t afford proper dog food so they really do need some help.  We visited a local vet with a very sick puppy and I was disgusted at this woman’s total lack of interest because the poor thing was a ‘stray’.  They have little chance when even the local vet has no interest in genuine animal welfare.  A disgrace to the profession.

We, therefore, appeal to everyone to help us support this shelter.  Please make a donation or contact me for further details.  Here are some more photos from Halkida.

  

We will continue to support them as funds allow and will visit again at the end of September.

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Visit to Aegina – May 2007

Whilst walking into Aegina town one morning, we heard the all too familiar plaintive cries from a small kitten.  It was somewhere in the nearby field.  We waited a few hours in case the mother cat was around but, as the midday sun became increasingly hot, the cries became more and more weak so we decided to intervene.

In the middle of a thick gorse bush we found a tiny tortoiseshell kitten – about 4 weeks old.  She had the usual runny eyes but fortunately wasn’t sneezing so we were hopeful that she didn’t have cat flu.  We took her home where she ate well and, the following day, she started to play.  I was very grateful to a friend who offered to take her in.  She is a very lucky cat and we named her Lollita.

 

This young dog, now named Molly, was found wandering the streets just a few weeks ago.  You will see that she only has 3.5 legs and our vet thought that one had been partly chewed off at a young age – let’s hope she finds a good home soon

 

 Dolly was found just 3 weeks ago – she had been discarded.  Her owner had thrown her into the sea but she too was lucky and was pulled out by a kind passer by.  It was soon discovered that Dolly was epileptic but has responded well to very simple treatment.  We hope that someone responsible will offer her a home in the not too distant future

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Tourist Complaints

I was just recently in Greece...Santorini, Mykonos, Athens etc and I was appalled and horrified by all the stray dogs and cats, particularly the stray dogs in Athens. I want so very much to help stop this abuse. The poor dogs looked starved and thirsty and hot. One at the Acropolis was blind and stumbling around. Please tell me what I can do. I want to donate money to your organization to help STOP this. It absolutely breaks my heart. I was at the Acropolis and Corinth and all I wanted to do was leave because I couldn't stand seeing all those poor, starving, hot, thirsty, abused dogs.

They need our help so badly. Please tell me what I can do to help you and please keep me up to date on your progress in Athens and throughout Greece.

I want to help BADLY. It is horrible whets happening to these poor animals.

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Subject: STRAY DOGS IN ZANTE - URGENT PLEASE HELP!!!

Hi, we have just returned from Zante – the stray dog situation there was very very upsetting to us and I was wondering if you could advise of a Centre/shelter or Organisation that I could contact to try and help these poor dogs out please. They are the most wonderful friendly dogs, none of them are spayed so all reproducing obviously making the situation worse and worse. The Hotel we were in was The Caravel in Zante and they are living just down the road from this entrance in a wooden hut, the tourists feed them at the moment, but we caught one of the Restaurant owners kicking one of the dogs, and they are all out in the road, it is an accident waiting to happen – some are limping and all are thin – it is heart breaking, they still have the good nature to come up to you with their tail wagging  hopeful of something to eat. There is a one year old amongst them who has already had a litter of pups, the situation is so dreadful to watch – could you please advise who I could contact to see if I can help these poor dogs please – IS THERE AN ORGANISATION IN GREECE TO HELP THESE POOR WONDERFUL KIND DOGS – IT IS TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE THEY ARE KIND LOVING DOGS LOOKING FOR A HOME – PLEASE PLEASE HELP!

Many thanks

   

Trying to get a drink from the stand of an umbrella stand, and we saw this dog being kicked by the waiter of the Indian restaurant next to where this dog is lying – we went absolutely mad with him – he may have been poisoned!.

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