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
Arrivals of 2010
New Years Day Dog Walk 2010
We are very grateful to Jan Smith for
organising the unofficial dog walk on New Year's Day at
Hengistbury Head.It
was a beautiful, sunny day but bitterly cold.We had lots of families join in and everyone, including
the dogs of course, enjoyed it thoroughly.It is always so nice to see the Greek dogs with their
families, especially Afaia who was visiting from her home in
Ireland.
Annual Christmas Fair 2009
The annual Xmas Fair
was again a huge success.The weather had been dreadful all week but the sun shone
on us that morning.Mark and 3 Greek dogs stayed outside in the shopping precinct to
attract customers inside and the photo shows the dogs Luna (from
Thassos) and Giovanni with Woody (from Aegina)
Charity Auction 14th November 2009
Once again our Patron,
Paul Martin, did a fantastic job as auctioneer.
There were around 150 guests who generously
placed bids on 160 lots.The Meridien Milano car showroom was a stunning venue and
the evening was a huge success.The range of donated lots was incredibly wide, from
holidays, a Ferrari test drive, a signed Chelsea shirt, bottles
of wines and spirits, pictures and commissions and even a Paul
O'Grady nodding dog!
Charity Dog Walk 20th September 2009
The weather was
perfect for this year's dog walk on 20 September and around 120
dogs joined in.It
was particularly wonderful to see so many of the Greek dogs that
we had homed.Paul
Martin, our Patron, took part with his family and their dogs
Bluebell and Diesel and we are very grateful for his ongoing
support.It was also
a great pleasure to welcome Jim and Elizabeth from Aegina who
knew many of the dogs from when they were in the shelter there.They really enjoyed seeing the dogs in such a totally
different environment and all looking so happy.
Summer Garden Party - August 2009
The recent summer garden party was a great
success and everyone thoroughly enjoyed tea and home made cakes
on a beautiful sunny day in Bournemouth.
Spyros joined in and thought the cake was
great too
Ellingham Show - August 2009
We had a great day at
the Ellingham Show on 8 August and the sun shone all day.The last two years had been really wet so this was a real
treat!We were up
bright and early, well perhaps not too bright, at 5.30am as the
show opened to the public at 8.30am.We had two big gazebos with tables covered by no less
than 350 tombola prizes.Our Greek dogs Luna and Giovanni worked hard all day to
pull in the supporters and we had a queue of people all day
waiting to spend their money with us.The show didn't close until 6pm so, by the time we packed
up and got home we were only fit to get a 'take-away'
and go to bed!It was, though, a very worthwhile event.
Another Dog Hanged – this
time in Crete
I
am so sad to hear that another dog has been hanged in Greece.It was discovered by a Dutch tourist and I have seen the
very harrowing photographs from Exomouliana, Crete.He complained to the Greek Ministry of Tourism and he received
the ‘standard’ reply letter.I am quoting it because it is SO UNBELIEVABLE!
‘With
reference to your email, we would like to inform you that our
country acknowledges it’s moral and legal obligation for the
treatment and management of stray animals.For this purpose has adopted and enacted a legislative
framework targeting the animal protection and reduction of stray
animals.The
guidelines of this management consists of their registration,
veterinary examination, deparasitation, vaccination and their
sterilization as well as provision of veterinary care in case of
illness of injury.
Their return to the place they have been collected or for
adoption, excluding their enclosure in asylums, respecting of
animals rights associations.We would like to assure you that isolated incidences of
stray animal’s bad treatment can not put in question our
country’s continues efforts to protect them and improve their
life conditions.’
Well, I have never read
such rubbish and several of us are doing our utmost to get this
into the media, including the television.
Latest Arrivals - August 2009
(More Happy Arrivals Below)
I am pleased to say that Robert has recently
arrived from Halkida and is happily settling in with us and our
other two Greek dogs.He is progressing every day and playing with Luna from Thassos.He certainly loves his new bed which is a far cry from
his old kennel in Halkida
Robert in his 'kennel' in Halkida & Now in
his new comfy bed.
Robert (right) playing with Luna and their toy string of
sausages
Visit to Greece – May 2009
This time of the year is, sadly, when so many kittens get dumped
into the rubbish bins for disposal!Hard to believe but this is a very common practice in
Greece.
Here are some that were lucky enough to
be removed before the bins were emptied.
The Greek authorities have the audacity to say that they have
animal welfare laws in place to prevent animal suffering.
But the truth is that
NOTHING is done to help
these poor souls.
During our 5 day trip,
19 kittens were saved from the dustbin lorry and we have pledged
to get them homes and pay for their sterilization in 6 month’s
time.If you would
like to make a donation towards helping these kittens please
contact us.
This year the weather was kind to us and we only suffered a
little rain!Around 250 dogs with their families joined in the fun and a great day was
had by all.The new fancy
dress class was a huge success.It was particularly nice to see so many of the Greek dogs we had
homed - nearly 40 of them came along and we were very proud of
them when they paraded in front of everyone to open the show
with their special blue and silver rosettes.Thank you to everyone who joined us and helped to make it a very
memorable day.
Luna & Woody Discover Snow for First Time
Arrivals Of 2009
At Hot Day in
Greece!
Vasso has been in the dog shelter on
Aegina
all her life – she is now 6 years old.She was finding it a bit too hot so decided to climb into
her water bucket to cool off!
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
NationalGardens 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.
We also have someone running the London Marathon for us and
for those who would specifically like to sponsor him can do so
on www.justgiving.com/gordondallas
hope you can help with this
PRESS RELEASE
(20th August 2007)
99 dogs & Paul Martin save Greek Island Strays
Star of ‘Flog it’, Paul Martin and fiancée,
Charlotte, with their two dogs Bluebell and Diesel, were
followed by 99 dogs with their owners on a sponsored
walk in aid of Friends of the Strays of Greece which took
place in the forest at Ashley Heath, Ringwood on
Sunday. Amongst them 27 rescued dogs from Greece, many
which had previously lived on the streets and suffered
ill treatment. Three of the dogs, Vicky, Scupi and
Norma had only just arrived the previous week but definitely
enjoyed their outing on English soil.
The Charity had a big hole in their
fund-raising following the cancellation of the Ellingham
Show but following publicity about the walk, supporters old
and new turned out in force and £1800 was raised (with
further donations the final total is expected to reach
£2,000).
Chairman of Friends of the Strays of Greece,
Lyn Purden, expressed her gratitude to everyone who had
made the event so successful.
“We are so grateful to everyone – our
supporters who turned up and gave so generously, the press
who helped to publicise our plight – and to Paul Martin and
Charlotte (and their two dogs!) for taking part in the
walk.”
“There are 80 dogs in poor conditions on the
island of Thassos. They have no shelter and 20 of them need
spaying. We are keen to help them – but with the loss
of the Ellingham Show this might not have been possible.
Thanks to everyone’s generosity and support we are hopeful
that we can provide some shelter and veterinary care when we
visit in September.”
“As a small charity, we examine each
individual operation that needs funding to ensure money is
spent wisely on the animals. We are also planning a further
veterinary visit by volunteers to carry out free surgery on
animals in care in Greece”.
Information Friends of the Strays of Greece
is available by phoning Lyn Purden on
01425
478757.
Photo shows the dogs in Thassos without any
shelter
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
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.
Website sponsorship
This website is now sponsored by OCS Computers.
News from Salamis The photos below are of just some
of the animals that have received veterinary treatment,
funded by
Strays of Greece
This
young stray cat was found with sickness and diarrhoea.
She received 5 days of veterinary treatment. Also this
little dog below was tested positive for Erlihiosis and
then successfully treated
This little dog below was tested positive for Erlihiosis
and then successfully treated. Also a Spaniel bitch who
was badly injured in a road accident. She was
subsequently treated and a home was found for her by the
group on Salamis
Visit
to AeginaOctober 2006
In late summer, this husky was found abandoned – he weighed only
12kg and was so weak that he couldn’t stand up. Maria, one
of the team at the dog shelter, made it her mission to bring him
back to good health. She nursed him, gave him urgent
medication (he was on a drip for several days), she then cooked
him chicken and rice and hand fed him. The sores on his
body are beginning to heal and he is recovering well. She
named him Apollo but, sadly, he will probably never find a home
because of his ongoing medical condition.
Just
a few week’s ago, a pregnant bitch was found abandoned in a
school yard, the next day she gave birth to 6 puppies.
They are pictured with Lyn Purden on the right and Gaby who runs
Animal Respect, on the right. They are all fit and well,
including Mum but it doesn’t bear thinking about what would have
happened unless they had been found. If only people would
understand the importance of getting their animals sterilised –
so much unnecessary suffering would be alleviated.
I can’t begin to imagine what
happened to this Pointer. He was totally traumatised – we
couldn’t get within 10 meters of him without him shaking
violently from head to foot. His face was covered in cuts
and grazes. Time and kindness will heal but there are
hundreds of ‘hunting dogs’ who suffer terribly at the hands of
their ‘owners’ -they have the worst lives. This
photo was taken with a powerful zoom lens as I just could not
get close to him. He is one of the lucky ones.
Every night we did a ‘cat run’ – feeding the poor cats who try
to exist by raiding the rubbish bins every day. As we
approached each dustbin – 3 or 4 cats shot out. We knew we
were only stalling the inevitable – especially with winter
looming, but there is so much suffering that we can’t just
ignore them.
On a positive note, we were able to give financial assistance to
a lady who looks after 150 cats on a daily basis – our help will
keep her going for the next 4 months. We paid for the last
2 month’s vets bills on Aegina and gave money to a group in
Athens to enable them to feed strays for the next 3 months.
There are also some voluntary vets currently visiting who are
busy with the sterilisation programme.
You can now holiday on the
island of Aegina in privately owned villas.
Use the Aegean Sunset
link above to find out more.
We can now accept donations through PayPal. You don't
need a PayPal account, as secure credit card transactions are
easy to do with PayPal.
