Friends of Animals / Filozoikos NF

Wednesday:

Last night was our Weekly Open House where we open the main gates and invite everyone in the Park to come in and see the Shelter. Each night we hang out a big removable sign (that I made out of my old coffee table top) but today I noticed it was slightly damaged. The pocket that held flyers from GAWF looked like it had been chewed up and had to be removed. This sign reminds people in Greek not to abandon their pets in the park and that the shelter is not a place to dump their dogs. It has our contact information and a poster of the smallest dogs for adoption. We used to tape notices on the door but they were always ripped off and thrown to the ground. This new hardcore sign has lasted more than a month! Hopefully people are reading it!

This female is in heat. She is lost. Found with her collar/leash still on. Do you know her?

In addition to dogwalking, a privately owned dog named Xena was given a haircut, pictures were taken of the new dogs, movies were made of Regina for her potential new mother in Germany, a fence was put up to corral the new black and white puppies, Emma bit Regina’s ear for the second time through their adjoining cage wall, a lady came for adoption but could not make up her mind, and we ran out of special puppy food and anti-bacterial soap for washing up.

This big male was bitten by other dogs. He has stitches until his front leg. He will be released back to the street when ready.

Thursday:
Today Kiki K. arrived at 10:30am to pick me up she had a surprise in the car - Maro - one of our street strays who we had sterilized and treated for aphrodysia a few months back. She has been displaying signs of being ‘in heat’ or ‘in season’ and one her neighbourhood friends had called Kiki K. to pick her up and take her to the vet. Maro remembered me and we had a nice visit before taking off to the vet.

Yesterday Kiki K. and I took Tina to the vet for x-rays (see previous entry for details). The vet had Tina’s results for us. The car that hit Tina has fractured her spine and the surgery is very delicate and expensive. Around 2,000e. Kiki K. is placing some calls to the two spinal specialists in the city to see about options and survivability of this kind of injury as 2,000e is not anywhere near the budget of 0e that we have at this time for surgery.

Miss Snickers was brought in and was surprising un-crazy! She was tender and loving. I paid for her sterilizing, got advice on caring for her suture - betadine solution and an antibiotic injection tomorrow - and then Kiki K. brought out Max. Max is a beautiful young male adult who lived with others at the gas station behind the NF park. He had spent time in our shelter as he recovered from a birth defect in his paws. Now he had the toes of his back paw amputated. He has a big cast and a cone and will stay with us until the cast comes off.

This week at the Shelter two dogs found new homes! Kiki K. put photos of the dogs that were abandoned in the park - Glyka, Hera with Athena and Artemis, and Boobie - onto a poster asking if anyone knew these abandoned dogs with hopes that their owners could be found and held accountable. Especially Boobie’s parent who threw her over our fence and spraining 3 legs as a result. Good news is that people saw the poster and wanted to adopt and foster them!

Glyka (Zizel is her new name) was found chained to a tree in the park in horrible condition. She was shaved and cleaned up.

This is Glyka after her big shave.

Athena is one of the little puppies found with its mother Hera and brother Artemis. Hera was also chained to a tree in the park.

Little Athena.

Boobie is being fostered by a lovely foreign woman who has been dogwalking this month.

Boobie thrown over the fence.

My rescued dog, Miss Snickers, went into the vet today for sterilizing as we realized that her crazy behaviour, crying, and incessant running around outside, meant she was in heat. Her she is putting on her bestest saddest face in the world! She is calculating how many bowls of her favorite rice/lentils/squishy dog food combination, chewy snacks, salmon snacks, ‘good girl’ snacks, cat chases, and belly rubs she will miss on her overnight stay!

Miss Snickers.

This is Tina. She is about 2.5 years old and lives in the little park opposite Starbucks in Nea Filadelphia. She veered off course this week and visited the Perissos Metro Station where she was hit by a car. She was rescued by a lady who took her to a vet who called us that they had one of ours. Kiki K. and I went and picked Tina up today and took her to our vet. Her back legs appear to be paralyzed and she has kalazar. When we picked her up to put her in the back of the hatchback she peed all over us. The three of us were a fragrant bunch when we arrived at the vets. Tina is in good spirits and we believe she will make a good recovery at the Shelter. She has many in the neighbourhood that look after her and love her and give her the kalazar medicine she will need.

Tina - Stray in need of medical treatment.

Let’s end this entry with cute kittens! Here is MIAH and KELLY - two fosters that are staying with me until they find homes. They both have 3 legs and are little spitfires!

Kelly (tortoise) and Miah (tiger)

Hello S & Y,

I was very excited to find a link on a Facebook page to your Puppies Park. I put the information into the Greek to English translator, read the information, and was about to put it onto our Blog until I read the last paragraph. That you put people in touch with ’solid breeders’. This was very UN-EXCITING.

Instead of putting people in touch with breeders, why not recommend adopting one of the 300,000 stray dogs that are in Greece? Why add more dogs to a country that has difficulty understanding the concept of dog ownership in the first place?

The City of Athens said recently that over 10% of the dogs that they picked up and sterilized and returned to the street were of specific breeds. This is a new trend and a reflection of too many people breeding dogs for profit and of pet stores that are selling puppies with false promises. These breed dogs are not of better quality than street or mixed dogs, in fact, too many studies have shown that these dogs are MORE prone to disease, injury, and social problems due to their inbreeding, dependence on anti-biotics and sedatives. To say nothing of the puppy mill conditions that a majority come from.

I am sorry to say that we will not be recommending your fantastic Puppy Park to our 800 Facebook members or to the 100’s of foreigners who live in Athens with their dogs who rely on the Filozoikos Nea Filadelphia to help them with questions and answers about their dogs until your Puppy Park decides to become part of the dog overpopulation solution and recommends Shelter dogs - all vaccinated, sterilized, healthy, loving, and socialized.

Adopt! Don’t Shop!
www.friendsofanimals-nf.com

Updated Message from Kiki K., Founder of the Nea Filadelphia Animal Shelter:

Regarding the stray shelter of Nea Filadelphia, we would like to make certain things clear.

It is true that right now the shelter is more crowded than we would like. That happens because our fellow citizens and other people with no conscience, find abandoning in Nea Filadelphia as the easy solution for their unwanted pets, especially puppies.

It is true that the Mayor asked us to try to diminish the number of the dogs and did not ask us to close the shelter. That obliged us to try to find people that would be willing to foster some of our animals.

But it is also true that the Mayor had to do it under the pressure of the Department for the Forests of the Ministry of Agriculture. This pressure is due to the accusations of the Vice President of the Syllogos of Friends of the Forest. This man has made it his personal goal is to close the shelter because animals are not part of the environment, and the presence of dogs in the park threatens the forest.

Also, we must say in response to those sensitive to animal matters who sent letters of protestation to the Mayor, that our Mayor has proven that he cares for the strays so far. He has given us part of the cages of an abandoned zoo to put the dogs that need treatment, he gave us food that cover almost 50% of our needs and has signed an agreement with the vets for a sterilisation program.

We thank all that have responded to our situation and wish that letters are not the only support we receive, but that of foster homes for our dogs very soon.

**************
ΑΝΑΚΟΙΝΩΣΗ

Σχετικά με τον χώρο περίθαλψης και προσωρινής παραμονής αδέσποτων ζώων που διαχειρίζεται ο Φιλοζωικός Σύλλογος της Νέας Φιλαδέλφειας, φαίνεται πως σε κάποιους, ορισμένα πράγματα δεν έγιναν σωστά κατανοητά.

Είναι αλήθεια ότι στο χώρο φιλοξενείται πλήθος ζώων μεγαλύτερο από όσο και εμείς οι ίδιοι θα θέλαμε. Αυτό γιατί ασυνείδητοι, συμπολίτες μας και μη, έχουν βρει τη Νέα Φιλαδέλφεια σαν την εύκολη λύση για να πετάνε τα ανεπιθύμητα ζώα τους- κυρίως κουτάβια.

Είναι επίσης αλήθεια ότι υπήρξε παρέμβαση εκ μέρους του Δήμου για μείωση του αριθμού τους (και όχι κλείσιμο του χώρου), γεγονός που μας ανάγκασε να βγούμε στο Διαδίκτυο αναζητώντας ανθρώπους που θα μπορούσαν να φιλοξενήσουν κάποια από τα ήρεμα ζώα μας..

Εξ ίσου αλήθεια όμως είναι ότι η παρέμβαση προκλήθηκε λόγω της μεγάλης πίεσης που ο Δήμος δέχεται κυρίως από τη Διεύθυνση Δασών για το θέμα αυτό, πίεση που προέκυψε από τις επίμονες προσφυγές και καταγγελίες του Συλλόγου Φίλων του Δάσους και συγκεκριμένα του Προέδρου του, που έχει βάλει σαν στόχο την απομάκρυνση των ζώων, σαν αυτά να μην είναι μέρος του περιβάλλοντος, και σαν η παραμονή και η παρουσία τους να το απειλούν.

Με την ευκαιρία, και λόγω του γεγονότος όχι κάποιοι, με μεγάλη ευαισθησία για τα φιλοζωικά πράγματα, έστειλαν επιστολές διαμαρτυρίας στον Δήμο, θεωρούμε υποχρέωσή μας να επισημάνουμε το γεγονός ότι η σημερινή Δημοτική αρχή έχει μέχρι στιγμής αποδείξει την ευαισθησία της στο θέμα των αδέσποτων ζώων. Έχει μεταφέρει το χώρο περίθαλψης σε ευπρόσωπες εγκαταστάσεις – μέρος παλαιών εγκαταστάσεων ζωολογικού κήπου, έχει δώσει τροφές που καλύπτουν μεγάλο μέρος των αναγκών μας και έχει κάνει σύμβαση με το Κτηνιατρικό Σύλλογο για στειρώσεις.

Για το Διοικητικό Συμβούλιο

Η Πρόεδρος

Κική Καραθανάση

Stray attacks blamed on lapses

A recent increase in the number of reported attacks by stray animals on pedestrians is largely attributable to the irresponsible behavior of citizens who abandon their pets and the failure of authorities to implement programs for the protection of strays, animal welfare experts have told Kathimerini.

The most extreme example of violent attacks by stray animals in Attica is the case of an 86-year-old woman who died earlier this month after being set upon by a pack of stray dogs in the northern Athens suburb of Ekali.

Experts blame this and other attacks on the cavalier attitude of people who abandon their pets when they become too much of a commitment, but they also highlight the absence of positive action on the municipal level. “There are municipal programs for the care of stray animals but the problem is that these programs are rarely implemented,” Yiannis Maistros, vice president of the Stray Animals’ Refuge, told Kathimerini. According to Maistros, dogs change their behavior for the worst when they are abandoned. “They form packs, search for food together and become aggressive,” Maistros said. “If the [municipal] programs aimed at fostering our coexistence with strays were being implemented, these animals would be much friendlier,” he added.

Maistros and other animal welfare experts stress that a large portion of the strays on the street have been abandoned.

“Around 10 percent of the 3,500 dogs we have treated are pedigree,” said Anna Makri, of Athens City Hall’s urban fauna department. “Clearly these animals were not born as strays but some irresponsible individuals purchased them and then decided that they did not want them anymore,” she added.

According to Makri, the municipality gets several complaints each month from pedestrians claiming to have been attacked by stray dogs. In each case, a committee decides whether the animal is fit to remain on the streets or poses a public safety risk. In the latter case, the stray is kept in a municipal shelter until a foster home is found.

Hello Everyone,

On Monday Kiki from the Shelter met with the Mayor of Nea Filadelphia regarding the Shelter. It was not a good visit. The Mayor is aware that the shelter is holding twice as many dogs are we are allowed and has demanded immediate action to reduce the numbers dramatically.

In the past month more than 15 dogs and puppies have been brought to the shelter, either injured or thrown over the fence. Yesterday two more small puppies were thrown over the fence.

This practice of dumping puppies will continue until the Municipality acknowledges that they need to play a more active role is convincing the inhabitants of Nea Filadelphia to sterilize their pets. The Shelter mission to to help sick and injured animals be well and find them homes and/or return them to their street homes. Our purpose is not to house all the unwanted puppies that are the result of non-sterilizing. We do not have the time, the energy, or the money to continue to do this.

We believe that Mayor Kontos should run an advertising campaign throughout the municipality, go on the radio, on television, and make interviews in the local newspapers, to get the message across that there are laws in Greece that require registration and sterilization of their animals and that his office is willing to stand behind this message and fund the sterilizing of all pets, especially the female dogs.

Contact the Mayors Office at 213-204-9000, fax 2132049006 or email neafiladelfeia@neafiladelfeia.gr and let him know that it is the responsibility of the government to educate its people on proper animal ownership and to provide the funding for a sterilization program in Nea Filadelphia and not to rely on the volunteers of the Filozoikos Nea Filadephia to do the governments job.

Obviously, a sterilization program will take a long time to implement, so in the meantime we are requesting anyone who has a garden and some shade, to foster one of our senior dogs until the end of September. We have many dogs that are very old and sleepy and literally just lay around all day. Some are deaf, blind, and have arthritis. They do not need supervision, playing, long walks or any kind of training. They are not ‘house dogs’ and do not need to be brought in at night. They need food, water, a shady place to lay down. We will provide food, bowls, house, blankets and any medicines they may need.

If we can find foster parents (until the end of September) for 10 - 20 of our current dogs, we will not have to choose who goes to the street and who is humanely euthanized. We will be able to stay at our maximum capacity of 35 dogs until the end of September when people return from vacation and start adopting again. Right now we have no adoptions and too many new ones coming in.

Please find it in your heart to think about the dogs this summer and figure out a way to help. Ask friends in the city or in the village about adopting or fostering. We are seriously in trouble and need all the resources possible to assist in keeping our Shelter open.

In English call 699-591-7437 to offer your garden for a foster home.
In Greek call Kiki at 694-494-9741.

Please send this message to everyone on your emailing list!

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Γεια σε όλους,

Την Περασμένη Δευτέρα η Κική από το Φιλοζωικό συναντήθηκε με τον Δήμαρχο για τα θέματα του Καταφυγίου. Η συνάντηση ΔΕΝ πήγε καλά. Ο Δήμαρχος γνωρίζει ότι στο καταφύγιο φιλοξενείται διπλάσιος αριθμός ζώων από αυτόν που προβλέπεται και απαίτησε άμεσα να μειωθεί δραματικά αυτός ο αριθμός.

Τον περασμένο μήνα περισσότερα από 15 ενήλικα αλλά και νεογέννητα σκυλιά μεταφέρθηκαν στο καταφύγιο, είτε τραυματισμένα, είτε πετάχτηκαν πάνω από την περίφραξη .
Αυτή η τακτική της εγκατάλειψης θα συνεχίζεται μέχρι ο Δήμος αναγνωρίσει το σημαντικό ρόλο που έχει στο να πείσει τους κατοίκους της Νέας Φιλαδέλφειας ότι πρέπει να στειρώνουν τα ζώα τους. Σκοπός του καταφυγίου είναι να βοηθά και να περιθάλπει τραυματισμένα και άρρωστα ζώα και στη συνέχεια είτε να τους βρίσκει ένα καλό σπίτι, είτε να επιστρέφουν στην περιοχή από την οποία περισυλλέχτηκαν. Δεν είναι σκοπός μας να στεγάσουμε όλα τα ανεπιθύμητα κουτάβια που προκύπτουν ως αποτέλεσμα της πρακτικής να μην στειρώνονται τα ζώα συντροφιάς. Δεν έχουμε ούτε το χρόνο, ούτε τη δύναμη αλλά ούτε και τα χρήματα για να συνεχίσουμε να κάνουμε κάτι τέτοιο.

Πιστεύουμε ότι ο Δήμαρχος κ.ος Κοντός πρέπει να κάνει μια ενημερωτική εκστρατεία, μέσω ΜΜΕ (ραδιόφωνο, τηλεόραση) και να παραχωρήσει συνεντεύξεις στις τοπικές εφημερίδες προκειμένου να διαδώσει το μήνυμα ότι στην Ελλάδα υπάρχουν Νόμοι που προβλέπουν την καταγραφή και την στείρωση του ζώου, και ότι ο Δήμος υποστηρίζει αυτή την προσπάθεια χρηματοδοτώντας τις στειρώσεις όλων των ζώων συντροφιάς και ειδικά των θηλυκών σκύλων.

Επικοινωνήστε με το γραφείο του Δημάρχου είναι 2132049000, fax 2132049006 και e-mail neafiladelfeia@neafiladelfeia.gr και γνωστοποιήστε τους ότι είναι ευθύνη των τοπικών αρχόντων και του κράτους να εκπαιδεύσει τους πολίτες στο πώς να είναι υπεύθυνοι ιδιοκτήτες κατοικίδιου και να τους παρέχει τα μέσα για να στειρώνουν τα ζώα τους και όχι να επαφίενται στους εθελοντές του Φιλοζωικού της Νέας Φιλαδέλφειας να κάνει τη δική τους δουλειά.

Προφανώς ένα πρόγραμμα στείρωσης θα πάρει καιρό για να υλοποιηθεί, και για το λόγο αυτό ζητάμε όποιον έχει κήπο και λίγη σκιά, να φιλοξενήσει ένα από τα μεγαλύτερα σε ηλικία ζώα μας μέχρι το τέλος Σεπτεμβρίου. Έχουμε πολλά σκυλιά σε μεγάλη ηλικία, τα οποία αυτό που κάνουν όλη την ημέρα είναι να παραμένουν ξαπλωμένα. Μερικά είναι τυφλά, κουφά ή έχουν προβλήματα ρευματισμών. Δεν χρειάζονται επίβλεψη, παιχνίδια ή μακρινούς περιπάτους, ή οποιασδήποτε μορφής εκπαίδευση. Δεν είναι οικόσιτοι και για το λόγο αυτό δεν χρειάζεται καν να τα βάζετε μέσα τη νύχτα. Το μόνο που χρειάζονται είναι φαγητό, νερό και ένα σκιερό μέρος για να ξαπλώνουν. Θα σας παρέχουμε εμείς το φαγητό, τα σκεύη, το σπιτάκι, τα “προικιά” του και κάθε φάρμακο που μπορεί αν χρειαστεί.

Εάν μπορέσουμε να βρούμε θετούς γονείς (για φιλοξενία μέχρι το τέλος Σεπτεμβρίου) για 10-20 από τα ζώα μας, θα μπορέσουμε να αποφύγουμε την επιλογή του ποιος βγαίνει πίσω στο δρόμο και ποιος πάει για ευθανασία. Θα μπορέσουμε να παραμείνουμε με τον μέγιστο αριθμό ζώων (35) μέχρι το τέλος Σεπτέμβριο που επιστρέφουν όλοι από τις διακοπές τους και ανοίγει ο δρόμος για υιοθεσίες. Αυτή τη στιγμή δεν έχουμε υιοθεσίες ενώ αντίθετα έχουμε πολλές νέες αφίξεις.

Σας παρακαλούμε να σκύψετε μέσα στην καρδιά σας, σκεφτείτε τα σκυλάκια αυτό το καλοκαίρι και σκεφτείτε ένα τρόπο να βοηθήσετε. Ρωτήστε φίλους στην πόλη ή σε κοντινά χωριά αν ενδιαφέρονται να φιλοξενία ή υιοθεσία. Είμαστε σε πολύ δύσκολη θέση και χρειαζόμαστε κάθε δυνατή βοήθεια για να μπορέσουμε να κρατήσουμε το καταφύγιο ανοικτό.

Anna, Young Female. Abandoned Hunting Dog. Found in the NF Park.

Paraskevas, 2 year old Male. Rescued from Locked Shed.

Glyka. Young Female. Found chained to a tree in the NF Park. Tick and flea infested and severely matted.

Boobie. Male Griffon. Thrown over our fence and sprained 3 legs. Better now but walks with limp from previous injury.

Artemis. Young Male. Abandoned hunting dog. Very skinny and starved but wonderfully cute and floppy.

Unnamed Collie. Euthanized. Paralyzed back legs and severe intestinal disorder.

RIP Banana Back, our favorite turtle. Miss Banana Back, so named because of the long yellow stripe down the back of her shell, was found immobile and subsequently has proven to be dead. She was rescued from the Park and placed inside our enclosure last year during mating season. She lived a happy life in the back corner feeding on long grass and cruising around. She is survived by all the dogs and the Miss Rabbit, who she could be seen enjoying some greenery with on occasion.
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Written by Kiki K.

In the Municipality of Kalamaria in Thesaloniki, 3 dogs were euthanised for being aggressive although the Filozoikos groups there and all over Greece were protesting because there were found families ready to adopt them, and the opinion of trainers was that their attitude could be changed.

I send you the letter of protest against it that is signed by a committee that represents 80 Filozoika groups. We are among those protesting and we had sent mails to the municipality of Kalamaria and the Ministry of Agriculture . I think that this letter should be put in the blog.

PLEASE SIGN AND SEND TO MUNICIPALITY AND MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE

ΔΕΛΤΙΟ ΤΥΠΟΥ

Της Πανελλαδικής Συντονιστικής Επιτροπής Φιλοζωικών Συλλόγων

Η Πανελλαδική Συντονιστική Επιτροπή Φιλοζωικών Συλλόγων της χώρας μας καταγγέλλει και καταδικάζει τον Δήμαρχο Καλαμαριάς κ. Οικονομίδη και το Διαδημοτικό Κέντρο για τα αδέσποτα ζώα Θεσσαλονίκης (ΣΥΠΠΑΖΑΘ), που τελείως παράνομα, προκλητικά και χωρίς ίχνος ευαισθησίας πήραν την απόφαση να εκτελέσουν 3 αδέσποτους σκύλους, «επιθετικούς» κατά την άποψή τους και χωρίς την σύμφωνη γνώμη φιλοζωικού συλλόγου ή φιλοζωικής ομάδας αναγνωρισμένης και μολονότι είχαν βρεθεί οι άνθρωποι που ήθελαν να τα υιοθετήσουν.

Είναι γνωστή η αντίληψη και η νοοτροπία πολλών για τα ζώα συντροφιάς και πολύ εύκολα κάποιος μπορεί να χαρακτηρίσει ένα ζώο επιθετικό.

Γι αυτό και ο νομοθέτης , θέλοντας να προστατεύσει τα ζώα από την ανθρώπινη αυθαιρεσία, καθόρισε τη έννοια του επιθετικού, με την φράση ΑΠΡΟΚΛΗΤΑ ΕΠΙΘΕΤΙΚΟ.

Και όλοι γνωρίζουμε την προκλητική συμπεριφορά της πλειοψηφίας των ανθρώπων στην χώρα μας απέναντι στα αδέσποτα ζώα και για ποιο λόγο γίνονται αυτά «επιθετικά».

Θύματα είναι τα αδέσποτα ζώα και θύτες η ανευθυνότητα των ανθρώπων και της Πολιτείας διαχρονικά.

Ας τιμωρήσουμε λοιπόν τον θύτη και όχι το θύμα.

Συγχαίρουμε τους φιλοζωικούς συλλόγους και ομάδες της Θεσσαλονίκης και όλους τους φιλόζωους ανά την Ελλάδα, που αντιστάθηκαν σε αυτή την αυθαιρεσία και συνετέλεσαν στην σωτηρία μέχρι στιγμής των 8 συνολικά αδέσποτων, παρά την λυσσαλέα προσπάθεια των δημοτικών αρχών να εκτελέσουν τα ζώα και να μη τα δώσουν στους ανθρώπους , που ήθελαν να τα υιοθετήσουν.

Η πανελλαδική συντονιστική επιτροπή βοήθησε με τις ενέργειές της και την συνεργασία της με τους τοπικούς συλλόγους στο να ανασταλεί η απόφαση εκτέλεσης των ζώων και μάλιστα με εισαγγελική εντολή.

Καλούμε την Πολιτεία και τα συναρμόδια υπουργεία να επανεξετάσουν τον τρόπο λειτουργίας και δράσης των Διαδημοτικών Κέντρων και των δημοτικών καταφυγίων καθώς των συνεργαζομένων με δήμους ιδιωτικών ξενοδοχείων ζώων, τα οποία στην πλειοψηφία τους είναι τόποι μαρτυρίων και όχι περίθαλψης και προστασίας των αδέσποτων ζώων.

Εμείς σαν συντονιστική επιτροπή θα προσπαθήσουμε να αναδείξουμε το θέμα αυτό, μέχρι να παρθούν τα κατάλληλα μέτρα και να τιμωρηθούν οι παραβάτες δήμοι και δημοτικοί υπάλληλοι.

Για την Πανελλαδική Συντονιστική Επιτροπή

Ματαράγκα Ευγενία
Μπομπολάκη Αναστασία
Κήκου Ολγα
Δόδουρα Εφη
Χουστουλάκη Μαρία

Forwarded by Volunteer F:

URGENT MESSAGE - TO ALL THE PEOPLE CONCERNED ABOUT THE TORTURE/MURDER OF THE ANIMALS IN GREECE, PLEASE READ!

One of our very avid Greek animal supporters wrote to the Greek National Tourism Organization to which the director responded to Elaine Cole a message that these animal abuses are “isolated incidents” - we know this is not the case, we need letters from around the world sent to Olga Stefanakou, Directorate of Inspection, Greek National Tourism Organization along with any photos of the abused animals you can share informing them that these poisonings, tortures, acid attacks, hangings, dragging behind cars, starvation, chainings, all “isolated incidents?” etc. happen over and over. Please write today!
stefanakou_o@gnto.gr

FROM ELAINE COLE:

I received this today in response to an email I did back in April of this year, reminding the Mayor of Trikala about the mass poisoning that occurred Summer 2008 when dogs were desperately trying to find water and damaged pipes and hoses. The same threat came from the villagers this year too, hence the reason for my email, which also went as a cc to the Tourism Organisation. I never got any feedback of what if anything happened this Summer so far.

PLEASE respond to this rubbish politely and in an informative way regarding the “isolated incidents” and include embedded pictures if possible:

“From: stefanakou_o@gnto.gr

Dear Mrs Cole,

In reference to your e-mail, we would like to inform you that our Country acknowledges its moral and legal obligation for the treatment and management of stray animals. For this purpose has adopted and enacted a legislative framework targeting the protection and reduction of stray animals.

The guidelines of this management consists of their registration, veterinary, examination, vaccination and their sterilization, as well as the provision of veterinary care, in case of illness or injury.

Respecting the animal rights and accepting the requests of animal rights associations, the animals return to the place they have been collected or they adopted, excluding their enclosure in asylums.

We would like to assure you that isolated incidents of stray animals bad treatment cannot put in question our country’s continuing efforts to protect them and improve their living conditions.

Sincerely Yours,

Olga Stefanakou
Directorate of Inspection
Greek National Tourism Organization”

A Summer Haircut for Canella

Today Canella, a stray female living in the streets of Nea Filadelphia, had her annual grooming by Vol M, with the help of Vol T.

Our work extends past the shelter walls to all those living on our streets. We are finding those with thick coats and getting them back to the shelter for shaving, updating their vaccinations and checking that they are in good health before putting them back with their street friends.

Fantastic photos of our Shelter through a German photographers eyes:

http://www.facebook.com/posted.php?id=127900054&share_id=114215760126&ref=nf#/photo.php?pid=496295&id=1037017736&ref=mf