Helping Stray Dogs in Greece

Today’s blog entry comes from Zoe Katsulos of inside/out, an organization that promotes “humanitourism” – travel that combines tourism with humanitarian/animal welfare projects. Read on for Zoe’s inspiring account of her trip to Greece to help stray dogs.

 

On our first day in Greece, the inside/out team visited the Katafigio Adespoton Zoon (KAZ) shelter for stray animals in Athens. KAZ is one of the few animal shelters in Greece where these facilities are virtually non-existent due to a lack of funds to support the building and operational costs.

 

KAZ was originally designed as a transition facility – a temporary stop to treat sick and injured animals. The shelter includes a small surgical facility, recovery area and kennels. KAZ has been forced to expand their kennels in order to accommodate the increasing number of dogs who are routinely abandoned or dropped off at the shelter. This has made it difficult for KAZ to continue to operate with the limited funding they receive (none of which is from the Greek government). To help ease the burden, the inside/out team brought donations of veterinary supplies, which included medications, syringes, needles, surgical supplies and other items.

On the second day of our Greece trip, we headed to Ionnina for the rest of our animal welfare work. We had brought some veterinary supplies for the local animal welfare groups there as well. The inside/out team helped build feeding stations that will be used to help feed the local stray dog population. We had originally planned to build one feeding station each for the two feeding locations, but our group was so ambitious and enthusiastic that we built another two!

We also visited the university in Ionnina to distribute educational materials. These young students are a good target population because they are educated and more open to changing their perceptions of animal welfare. It was easy to see why the university’s administrators might perceive stray dogs as a problem/menace. There are large packs of dogs who the locals feed, and many of these dogs bark and chase cars leaving the parking lot. While students don't seem to mind them, the university systematically poisons these dogs to reduce the population. Part of the mission of the inside/out team was to educate the university officials about the cruelty of poisoning and to empower students to stand up against cruelty and to change the minds and behaviors of the local people. This is similar to the stray animal work carried out by the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) in countries all over the globe where WSPA educates local authorities on the importance of animal birth control programs and offers free spay/neuter clinics.

 

The inside/out team will be returning to Greece in May 2010 to help KAZ with shelter improvements, and during that trip we will also be focusing our educational efforts in Ionnina.

 

To learn more about this and other exciting volunteer opportunities, visit the Volunteer Abroad section of WSPA’s Compassionate Travel website.

Comments

[Edward (Ted) Davidson]

I just recently returned from Greece where I was searching for (& found) a stray dog I had met while on vacation 2 months earlier, plus found another dog who was close to death from untreated virus. They are both now safe in Canada with my wife & I. None would have been possible w/o the help of the KAZ shelter & their unselfish volunteers, including Fifi Marcou (Pres), Vana Theodoridou (Board Secretary), and so many others I met & admired for their devotion to animals.
It is difficult and very sad to realize the extent of cruelty to animals in Greece (which I just learned), and which has unfortunately altered my appreciation of Greece somewhat.
KAZ does wonderful work, with absolutely no "official" support whatsoever. Their effort & devotion amazed me. I salute them all; I will always remember them and the outstanding help they gave in finding "Thena" & "Phoebe". GO, KAZ!!

[Ειρήνη Bασιλοπούλου]

This dichotomy always amazes me as far as the Greek psyche is concerned. Warm hearted, compassionate and loving to others yet so cruel and indifferent towards our little friends.
I have just returned from U.K. where I have lived for 4 years. It saddens me to see how little is being done from the official government bodies as far as animal welfare is concerned. Do you think there could be a combined effort from international/ paneuropean organisations such as WSPA and RSPCA with the greek animal welfare societies and refuges across the country?
There are many willing and capable people in Greece who genuinely want to do something about the animals. Funding is a major issue indeed, but organisation and project management is also another...
We desperately need both in Greece.

[ugg ultra tall]

Dogs protect us! The elderly as it no longer felt alone! With young people, it increases the song and laughter! It is a good helper

[Edward (Ted) Davidson]

"We give them the space we can spare, the love we can spare, the time we can spare, and in return the dog has given us his absolute all. It is without doubt the best "deal" that man has ever made."

[Belstaff Blouson moto]

Beautiful!!! You truly have an eye for colour.