Events Diary

  To Be Updated  
     

Latest News

 DOG SHOW - APRIL 13th

The event exceeded our best expectations by far!  Around 350 dogs bought along 800 people to enjoy the day and there were lots of smiles all round.

Paul Martin opened the Show and he shared the limelight with around 30 of the Greek rescue dogs we had homed - it was wonderful to see them all looking so happy and healthy.  Unfortunately, there was a downpour of rain in the afternoon which sent most people scrambling for the marquee and they squashed themselves in with a great sense of camaraderie.  The ones left outside in the judging rings carried on regardless and one or two of the judges had rain running off their chins but they didn't give up.  The support for the charity was amazing and we thank Paul and Charlotte, our sponsors, supporters and helpers for making it such a great day.

 

 

 

 

 

QUIZ   NIGHT

 

The winning team were the 'Gin and Tonics'  (photo of the 4 people above) and we made £635.50, thank you for all that attended.

      

A New way To Donate

We have now registered with JustGiving which will enable people to make regular or one off payments on www.justgiving.com/straysofgreece/donate

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

Latest Arrivals

Amber (Now Ellie)

On Tuesday 15 April Thannasis arrived safely from Greece and is now living in Ferndown, Dorset.

Thannasis

Also on 15 April, Amber (now Ellie) arrived safely from Greece and she is now living near Wareham, Dorset

Visit to Greece – September 2007

In mid September we flew to Thessalonika and then travelled to Kavala from where we took a ferry to the island of Thassos.  We were met by Suzanne who had been running an animal sanctuary there for the past 20 years. 

She made us very welcome and we went to the shelter the following day.  We saw the fencing which we had funded earlier in the year and were amazed that the 80 inmates were not separated.  They seemed to be living quite happily together but, sadly, they had no real shelter from the weather.  Fortunately, the shelter is quite well screened with trees so there is shade in the summer but it is now a priority to improve the facility before winter sets in.  Here are some photos of the shelter:

    

     

We only stayed 2 full days and then went on to Aegina where we have supported the wonderful dog shelter for the past 15 years.  We met the dogs which we are preparing for the UK and took plenty of photos of them – these will appear on our Adoption Page in due course but none of these will be ready to travel until the end of February 2008 at the earliest.

We did find, however, that the cats of Aegina were having a particularly bad time and every evening we distributed several kilos of food and water.  Even though the cats were starving, many went to the water first – there had been no significant rainfall for 4 months and the animals and birds were really suffering in this respect.  It is always shocking to see so many tiny kittens fighting for survival – in dozens they congregate around the dustbins.  In the first photo you can see the kitten waiting beside the bin but the little grey one was trapped inside the bin – we climbed in to get it out but it is heartbreaking to see them.

     

We managed to find people to continue to give them food and water after we returned home – perhaps some of them will be lucky.

       

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

The Arrival of Drulis

At our charity auction last November, one of our supporters who already has 2 of our Greek rescue dogs, successfully bid for a week’s holiday in Aegina.  The main purpose of their visit to see the dog shelter of course! So, Nel Burgess and her partner Tony set off in late April little did they know that this visit would result if their making a further addition to their four legged family. They fell in love with Drulis a beautiful Rottweiller and on their return told us that they would like to adopt him too.

Just 2 months later on 17 June he undertook the arduous journey to the UK, via Dusseldorf where he was met by a member of the German support group.  Mark and I left the UK at 5.45am that morning and arrived at the scheduled meeting place at Eindhoven just 10 minutes before them at 3pm.  We unloaded supplies to be returned to Greece, via Germany, and secured Drulis in the back of a van which we had hired.  We were so grateful to Tina and her mother for driving him from Dusseldorf to Holland.  Our trip home was very long and was made worse by traffic jammed up solidly on the M25.  However, we were very happy to meet Nel and Tony at Fleet Services – 3 hours behind schedule – at 11pm.  They were thrilled with their new boy and we were grateful for the hot soup and rolls which they had ready for us.  They drove home to Cheltenham and we eventually arrived home just after midnight.  An 18 hour drive – around 800 miles but everyone pulled together to make this possible and we are very grateful to all those involved.  Drulis has settled in well with Hestie and Morgan and is, indeed, a very lucky dog.  The photo shows me with Drulis in the back of the van Eindhoven.

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.

Urgent Appeal

We have recently had contact from a lady in Halkidiki who is doing her utmost to care for the local stray cat population.  The problem is that there are around 200!  They will start breeding in the Spring, so we are launching an appeal to get as many as possible sterilized as soon as possible.  Her local vet charges 30 Euro for a spay and 15 for a castrate.

We have already made a reasonable donation to get her started but there is a long way to go.  If you would like to contribute please make a donation through PayPal.

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.

Website sponsorship
This website is now sponsored by OCS Computers.

Mention Strays of Greece when purchasing goods or services, and the charity will receive 20%.

Past Events

Charity Dog Walk

The annual dog walk was well attended with 20 of our Greek dogs taking part – some of which travelled from Hereford and Cheltenham.  It was wonderful to see them all with their owners – all very happy and a far cry from their previous miserable existences in Greece.  In total nearly £900 was raised for the charity


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 Aegina October 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.

Website sponsorship
This website is now sponsored by OCS Computers.          
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