If you live in Athens and want to get rid of a pet dog, and have no compassion in your heart, you dump your pet in a nearby semi-rural area called Aspropyrgos and drive away. The few animals who survive become ‘ghost dogs’- so afraid of humans and so bereft of hope that they come and go like ghosts.
Network for Animals helps these dogs. There are an estimated 2,000 ghost dogs in the impoverished area and, with our partner Ghost Dogs of Aspropyrgos, we feed them, provide them with medical treatment and give them the only bit of love they ever know. Without our help - and your loving support - starvation would be their daily nightmare and inevitable fate.
We never visit Aspropyrgos without meeting new heartbreak…
People can be so cruel. When we found Gemma, she was very sick – a weak and forlorn figure with a large growth on her neck that could be cancer. Gemma had, in all probability, been someone’s pet until she got sick. Then, she became a burden, so her owner dumped her and left her to die without a second thought. It happens a lot.
As we write this, we are waiting for the results of Gemma’s blood tests, but we already know that she is going to need intensive medical care. With your help, we can make sure she gets it and if, as we fear, this poor animal has cancer, we will do our best to ensure she gets the best possible treatment. It’s the very least this sick dog deserves after being discarded like rubbish when she was most in need of warmth, love and kindness.
On the same visit, we found two abandoned puppies among the decaying bodies of dead sheep dumped near a gypsy camp. These helpless creatures were starving and terrified. They sought refuge by nestling in the decaying corpse of dead sheep.
Of course, we immediately stepped in to help. First, we fed the puppies and will continue to do so. We’d love to move them to a good shelter but they’re all full. So, it’s up to us to help them survive where they are now and work to find a long-term solution for them somewhere else.
If we could, we’d take them all home with us, but there are so many ghost dogs that we would be overwhelmed within a day. We must do the best we can under the circumstances. Our team will feed the pups, make sure they get their shots and try to get them adopted.
Abandoned ghost dogs have rough lives, but with the help of animal lovers like you, we can bring them a little bit of comfort, enough food to survive, and a small glimmer of hope. We are literally a lifeline for thousands of dogs.
Now, on top of being starving, sick and abandoned, the animals must somehow get through the icy-cold winter without proper shelter…
There are some 2,000 street dogs in Aspropyrgos, and we must help them all if we possibly can. The worst of the icy winter weather is beginning to set in. Heavy rains drench the area and knife-like winds seem to slice through skin. Shelter is sparse and food is always a problem.
We have pledged to feed as many dogs as we possibly can to get them through the next few months, but 2,000 dogs eat a lot of food. Your donation will go a long way towards making sure that these unloved dogs are at least able to eat a square meal when they need one. If we can raise $5,000 (£3,700), it means a lot of hungry mouths will be fed through the winter. Please donate as generously as you can right now so dogs like Gemma and the weeks-old puppies get the food and medical care they need.
For the animals,
Brian and Gloria Davies (and Max and Flora!)
Founders
Network for Animals
P.S. Many ghost dogs were once beloved pets. But as soon as they became ‘inconvenient’, their owners let them down, leaving them to die. Imagine being dumped in a wasteland and left to die because you were sick? We try to show dogs that not all humans are callous and uncaring. Your donation will make a real difference to their lives, providing urgently needed food and medical care. Please donate right now so we can help the abandoned dogs who so desperately need us.