We’ve told you before about the terrible situation of street dogs in a rundown area in Greece called Aspropyrgos, a dumping ground for unwanted animals.
We’ve told you before about the terrible situation of street dogs in a rundown area in Greece called Aspropyrgos, a dumping ground for unwanted animals.
Every week our team go there to help abandoned dogs, and every week we encounter dog horror, hardship and cruelty. Now, winter has come to Greece and things are about to get even tougher for street dogs. Without our help, they face a winter of not enough food, poor shelter and no love. We know of 90 abandoned dogs who are entirely dependent on the food we provide. Over the next six months they will eat 8,000 pounds (3,600 kilos) of food and we have to find the money to buy it. Remember, almost every one of these dogs was once someone’s pet.
Imagine the betrayal and hurt these dogs feel when they are tossed away like trash and slowly starve to death.
Recently, we found Tommy, an elderly chihuahua who had clearly been someone’s pet - until he got sick. Then he was dumped in Aspropyrgos. This poor little mite urgently needed food and medical care. He had no street smarts and no chance of survival in a place where motorists seem to aim at street dogs rather than trying to avoid them. So, she crawled under a forklift truck in a factory yard and there she made her last stand.
A chihuahua’s last stand
When the forklift driver started the engine, another worker spotted Tommy and the driver stopped the engine. The forklift could not move without killing him so workers tried to coax him out, but he snarled and tried to bite any questing hand.
Our team was called and eventually 11 of us, digging and stretching, managed to rescue the poor little creature who was trembling from fear and sickness. Gloria, the sad part is that we couldn’t save him. We rushed him to a vet, provided him with the best of care, stroked him and fed him. After ten days, he seemed to be on the mend. Alas, it was not to be - the poor dog one morning lay down and died, perhaps of a broken heart at being abandoned.
Aspropyrgos is a hodge-podge of gypsy camps, abandoned buildings and wasteland near Athens. It’s easy for Athenians to drive there, open their car doors and throw their dogs out. And that’s what they do. There are hundreds of abandoned dogs in Aspropyrgos and Gloria, we try to care for them all.
The government estimates that more than 870,000 animals suffered abuse in Greece last year and that the country has more than one million homeless dogs. In recent years, Greece has been among the countries with the highest rates of animal maltreatment, despite improvements in legislation imposing stricter penalties for animal abusers.
Gloria, let me tell you about some of the dogs we rescued.
Dogs like Casper…
He is the cutest little fellow; when we found him, his eyes were being eaten by maggots. We saved his life, but not his eye.
Dogs like Hope
Hope was found lying at the side of a road, just barely alive but still breathing; the victim of hit and run. We rushed her to a vet where X-rays showed a fractured skull and bones broken in eight places.
In an emergency life-saving operation, a team of vets carefully pinned the bones together. It was touch and go but he made it.
Dogs like Remus
Remus was a walking skeleton, full of open sores and carrying two diseases. We financed his rescue, provided veterinary care and found him a home.
Gloria, as bad as their situation is, without the help of animal lovers like you, it is about to get worse. We need your help to buy 8,000 pounds (3,600 kilos) of food to get these poor dogs through the harsh winter – when temperatures drop and the dogs are lashed with rain and snow. We need at least $2,500.00 (£2,000.00) to buy the food, even with the discount we manage to negotiate. Your donation would really help.
Gloria, for animal lovers like us, it’s impossible to know about a situation like this and not feel terribly sad that human beings can behave so badly to dogs, who love us so much. We know that helpless feeling that comes when you just don’t know how to help. Gloria, that’s why your donation is so important. It will really make a difference to the lives of poor abandoned hungry dogs.
All we can do is help as many animals as we possibly can and Gloria, we need your help to do it. Please if you possibly can, give generously to Network for Animals today.
For the animals,
Brian and Gloria Davies (and Max and Flora!)
Founders
Network for Animals
P.S. Gloria, we need to feed every street dog in Aspropyrgos this winter. The dogs have only us to turn too. Please, it will really help if you can make a generous donation today.