Milly

Milly with her big protector

Very sad morning............after finishing feeding the strays, I noticed Milly at the bottom of the field and she didn't appear to be moving.  Upon closer inspection, she was only moving on her stomach.  Oh heck.  What has happened to her?  She obviously missed her breakfast.  I picked her up carefully and put her to where some food was and noticed still that she wasn't able to stand on her legs. Poor girl!  She was Lucy's friend and Lucy was the big protector of all the strays.  Many thoughts went through my mind.  Had someone done this deliberately, had she injured herself or what?  We knew she had to go to the vet immediately.  An appointment was made for that same evening.  Upon examining Milly, the vet gave her injections and said that if she doesn't start walking within the next 3 days, an X-Ray would be taken.  Why an X-Ray wasn't taken then, I don't know, but I am not the vet.  During this time, Milly was put into a very large dog box, to give her movement.  Three days passed and still no change.  Now what?  If she can't be helped, we have to consider putting her to sleep, but vets here in our location do not perform this practice to a 'well' animal, regardless of its disabilities.  No one will agree to foster Milly as she will have to be an indoor cat.  Oh my, this is one of the problems of living in Greece, no easy solutions at all.

I rang a friend to see if he could help, as there was no way Milly could continue living in an open space.  I wasn't happy for her to be in a large box all the time, she needed to be out.  He agreed to take her and care for her, but he took her to another vet who did an X-Ray immediately. Results showed that she had a broken spine.  How could this have happened?  

This second vet advised that a period of 21 days or more would be needed to see if she heeled.  If not, then a decision would have to be made regarding Milly's future.

Luckily with the care and physiotherapy my friends were giving Milly, she started to make progress.  As time went by, she started to walk small steps at first, to her litter tray.  This was amazing.  Had it not been for the kindness of these people, then Milly's chances would have been very slim.

However, the good new is that Milly has been fostered by these kind people, and finally is enjoying life.  All I can say is a huge thank you for the care, time and patience that has been given to Milly.  She is such a lucky girl.

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Angel

Driving to feed our regulars by some large metal bins, a new pussy cat appeared and was hungry. We had seen this cat briefly a few days before, but it is always a case of come and go.  This particular day, we were able to catch her and put straight into the basket.  Quickly she was taken to join all the other in the field.  Because she was so feral, it was difficult to keep her in a basket, so we took our chances and gave her freedom.  She stayed for a few days and then vanished.  It truly is heartbreaking as one cannot save all. When they are so feral, they become used to their own surrounds and hunt for food.  Angel had so many wounds on her, which surprisingly she allowed us to bathe.  Took her medicine too with her food and we hoped she would stay and get better.  She might still be around, but we don't know, as where she came from, there are so many stray dogs that are dumped and many puppies.  

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Thin Blackie

This morning, a new bark in the field alerted us to a new arrival.  When we saw the state of this poor black dog, ones heart sinks to the floor. She was malnutritioned and dehydrated.  Lucy wasn't too keen on her arrival, nor were the cats, but she was desperately hungry and needed water. She arrived with a rope around her neck, which was OK for us, as we were able to attach a lead, to calm her down, also so that she wouldn't charge after the other strays.  Looking further, she was heavily pregnant and the chances were that her babies would be born within the next few days.  Where in the world would we possible keep them?  I suppose, when she has them, we will find a solution, but for now she was safe. 

Sadly as the days went by, she vanished.  We searched high and low for her.  It might have been that she went to a safe place to have her babies.  When animals go missing like this, one really does worry, but this is Greece.  We did what we could for her and now hope and pray that she is safe from harm.

A rescue shelter is needed for cases like Blackie.  It is with this reason, that I desperately want to raise funds for a shelter, which will be a safe haven, where they will receive food, love, care and much more.  It will be hard to get to where I want to, but everything is achievable.  One needs to believe.

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Donation of food and equippment

Today we had to drive to Athens to collect a couple of pallets food and equipment for the strays which had been donated to us by a couple of charities in the UK. Sheer luxury.  English food coming for the strays.  I was so happy.  This was the first time, I had ever received anything for the strays, so I was also extremely grateful to the English charities who made this possible.

We hired a largish van and thought everything had been arranged and there would be no complications.  However, nothing is straightforward here in Greece. When we arrived at the depot, they refused to let us take the consignment because of the weight of the 2 pallets.  We tried to make the warehouse aware that most of the bulky boxes contained soft bedding for the animals.  But no, it was like talking to a brick wall.  There was no way, they were going to allow us to take anything.  After finally waiting for seemed ages and after numerous phone calls, they finally allowed us to take the 2 pallets.  

Sheer delight for the children.  To enjoy biscuits and different flavours of wet food, was sheer luxury for them.  However, because we have so many that we feed, it will probably last only a couple of weeks.  But better for them to enjoy 2 weeks of delight.  I was also able to share food and equipment with a couple of other friends.

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http://www.ermioni.info/content/animal-welfare
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Daisy and her babies

Bank holiday, what a day.  The weather exceptionally hot, the sky blue and the sun shining brightly. Maybe there will be time later in the afternoon to go for a walk or a swim. Until early afternoon, I was quite busy. Then late afternoon, I received a telephone call from a Swiss lady, who appeared to be a little distressed.  She spoke about finding a female dog by some bins with 4 puppies.  According to her, these puppies were only about 5 days old and the mother dog, had a broken leg.  More phone calls but to who?  I knew the local charity wouldn't help as they are struggling to find foster carers themselves.  I explained to the lady that I will make some phone calls, but I might not achieve a solution, so it will be a case of passing telephone numbers onto her.  Anyway, the person that I rang agreed to help, which was great news.  We established the bins and all met there.  For me though, it was awful.  Seeing this female dog laid pitifully with her babies was heartbreaking.  I was equally shocked to hear that this Swiss lady saw them the day before and didn't contact anyone.  If Bank holiday had have been just another day, then these puppies and their mother would have been binned!!!!!  How could someone ignore the plight of GreekSTRAYS?  To give a stray any chance of survival, one needs to act immediately.   The new foster person took them to the vet straight away to be examined.  It was identified, that the break either happened just before she gave birth, or at some point when her puppies had been born.  The good news was that the puppies were not 5 days old.  They were approximately 4/5 weeks old.  So some cruel local decided to dump them.  

If you wish to make a contribution towards my cause, everything will be greatly appreciated:

http://www.ermioni.info/things-to-know/greek-strays-helpdonations
http://www.ermioni.info/content/animal-welfare
https://www.facebook.com/Greekstrays
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Little Shmako

Beautiful sunny morning here in Ermioni, clear blue skies, bright yellow sun, what more could one ask for?   The 'children' will be patiently waiting for their feed.  Time to go them.  First stop is the small gang at Podari.  There is a group of 3 cats which are gorgeous, plus a new addition of a ginger tom, all close to the metal bins.  Oh well, he will be the next one to be neutered.  That's if we ever get close to him.  Feeding these few here is great, because with the long grass, no evil eye can see them lazily grazing.  Next stop is our little piece of paradise, the sanctuary as we call it. How long this will be ours, is a question that we keep asking. Anyway, here she comes, Lucy galloping down to great us.  She is such an affectionate loving dog, that it really does amaze us as to whether she has a home, or is she really homeless.?Next comes Bruno.  He isn't a stray, but was so miserable when he first started coming, but now there is a new lease of life in him. Then the gang come along, skip, skip, skip.  One by one they run and play and all want your time.  But one day, one of them will get run over!  While the biscuits are put out, I hear another noise.  The sound of a young dog barking.  Oh no!  We knew what this meant, but was there just one, or many or them?  We opened the door to the old house and out came a little puppy.  Some sad person had trespassed on the ground and put the puppy through a broken window during the night.  However, it was better this way, than throwing it in a large metal bin, or poisoning it.  The cats were all disheveled.  It explained why there were some missing.  They are not used to any puppies or dogs.  The only ones they will tolerate are Lucy and Bruno.  My mind then returned to the puppy.  Where can it go?  Who can I call?   I called a friend, who always offered her help and support.  Not in monetary terms, but in time  they always stressed they would help where possible.  She agreed to take him straightaway.  So once all the feeding and cleaning had been completed, Shmako was taken to his new foster home.  How long for, I don't know.  I am trying to find him a home, so fingers crossed, someone will love him the way I do.  He is such a lovely puppy.  Very affectionate and all he deserves is a home with love and care. I call him Shmako, because Lucy was eating some of those treats and Shmako wanted some.  

If anyone would like to support our cause, it would be greatly appreciated: 

http://www.ermioni.info/things-to-know/greek-strays-helpdonations
http://www.ermioni.info/content/animal-welfare
https://www.facebook.com/Greekstrays/app_362564237108797
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Goodbye Theo - May the angels protect you

This is Theo, one of our rescued GreekSTRAYS, who was a very lucky boy.  Together with his twin Leo, they were found close to the church 4 years to this date.  Sadly a few days ago, he became sick.  No vet was available, so a trip to the pharmacy resulted in some antibiotic medication.  In the absence of a vet, one is very limited as to what one can do, but one really does try. Sadly thinking progress was made, he deteriorated last night.  This morning, an appointment to the vet was made, but even though it was an emergency, the vet had surgery, so we had to wait, but on the way, Theo died peacefully and is now at Rainbow Bridge together with all his other friends.  He was a wonderful loving stray and his twin Leo will miss him.  RIP little fella.  We all miss you dearly , but know you will be skipping with many of your friends at Rainbow Bridge.  xxxxxxx

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http://www.ermioni.info/content/animal-welfare
http://www.ermioni.info/things-to-know/greekstrays-donations