Hooray! Hooray!! This is a great day!! Our PAWS have moved!!!

Yes, it has happened and it is such a great feeling to be out of the crowded little area by the harbour

and have so much running space and water and a proper roof over the kennels!

The move went smoothly, the doggies loved the ride :)

I want to thank all of our friends who have helped out, donated money, building materials, time and more. Most of all Manolis Papadogiannakis of PIZZERIA ODYSSEY who offered us the wonderful piece of land and also covered the cost of the cement foundations. 

The place - i really should call it shelter but i dread the idea of running a shelter - still needs a lot of work, we are e.g. a few kennels short, some separation fences have to be put up, the storage room could do with a few shelfs, we now have to start the dogs on a proper vaccination schedule and start again with worm tablets  and and and.....but all that will be done soon and for the time being it just feels so good to have made it so far.

Our puppies are as happy as can be under the circumstances but let's not forget, a truly happy puppy is a puppy with a loving home!

Dog houses are on top of the"To DO" list, even though, as you can see in the following pics, one can easily give a dog a house but not force him to enter :)

                                                                  

Castration of Stray Animals

 What is a ‘Stray’?

‘Stray’ is a general term given to any domestic animal found roaming freely without human

supervision. Strays depend on humans for most of their essential resources, such as food,

although this may be found indirectly from rubbish discarded by humans. Because of this

dependence on humans, stray animals are found roaming within and around human settlements. 

‘Community animals’ are a type of stray animal that is cared for and provisioned by a particular

community, but is still allowed to roam freely. 

Animals that live and breed successfully independent of human society are termed ‘feral’ and are

usually found outside, or on the fringes of human settlement.

Why are Strays a Problem?

Stray animals can become a problem for many reasons: they carry diseases that can be passed 

to humans and other animals (such as rabies), they can cause road accidents, harass citizens,

damage property and pollute the environment. 

There are also many welfare concerns for the stray animals themselves: disease, hunger,

aggression between animals and persecution by humans in the form of cruelty, abuse and

inhumane methods of killing.

Where Do Strays Come From?

When tackling the issue of stray animals, it is vital that we consider where these animals are

coming from and address these sources. Irresponsible animal ownership, uncontrolled breeding

and the carrying capacity of the environment must all be considered.

Irresponsible Animal Ownership

• Some owners allow their animals to roam unsupervised. These animals then become part of the

stray population and cause the same problems as un-owned stray animals.

• Owners may also abandon their animals in the streets when they no longer want them. This 

can be a common fate for unwanted litters of puppies.

Uncontrolled Breeding

• Owned animals may be allowed to breed uncontrollably, leading to the problem of abandonment

or over-capacity of re-homing centres.

• Breeding within the stray population can produce the next generation of stray animals.

However, the survival rate of animals born stray may be low.

• Puppy farms and breeders can lead to a surplus of companion animals. This problem is made

worse if the conditions in which the animals are raised are poor, as the puppies and kittens may

be sick and poorly socialised, making them unsuitable pets and more likely to be abandoned.

Considering all of the above, there is really only one solution to the problem: NEUTER AS MANY AS POSSIBLE!!

We are lucky enough to get some help with this big issue. In cooperation with the mayor's office, we were able to invite volunteers of a well known German group of doctors and we have just finished this year's second round of  castrating a good deal of cats and dogs from Paleohora and nearby villages, making sure that well over 200 animals won't be adding any more offspring to the already way too large number of unwanted animals.

Clearing up a few other health issues along the way as well :)

Enough people though are still opposed to the idea of "altering" an animal's natural way. A lot of convincing and educating still need to be done to really make a discernable difference on the streets but i believe we are on the right track!

Paws up for neutering!

"Hello" from PAWS (Paleohora Animal Welfare Organisation)!

Paleohora is a small village in southwestern Crete, an island on an island if you so want, encircled by water from three sides and high mountains on the fourth. Situated on a small peninsula in the Lybian Sea, it is kind of an island on an island. Quiet and calm during the winter months, when people mainly tend their olive trees, tomatoe gardens, sheep & goats and other agricultural enterprises, full of life and laughter in the summer when tourist fill the streets and beaches and restaurants.

Maybe you have already been here and know what i am talking about. Maybe you'd like to come and see for yourself. In that case please visit one of the many sites and blogs about Paleohora as a holiday destination. E.g. http://paleochorasoul.blogspot.gr/ or www.kritiguide.com

In this blog i don't want to talk about the many great things Paleohora has to offer but about one of the problems we have to deal with: animals.
Abandoned animals, mistreated animals, starving animals, hopeful animals, wonderful animals.


Stray cats and dogs are part of Greek's public image as is Greek Coffee and the Acropolis. But while a few kittens between your restaurant chairs may look rather cute in your holiday picture book, what happens to them when the tourists are gone for at least half a year is indeed all but pretty. Suddenly all the yummy chunks falling from the many tables throughout the summer are gone. The tasty biscuits provided by friendly people every morning on their hotel balcony have stopped to appear. What is left is an army of hungry cats and kittens that raid the waste bins all over town and make a mess of every garbage bag that has been left outside for more than a couple of minutes. Those cats multiply and so do the problems they cause and face. Many of them die of poison, left for them or the rats that also haunt the garbage bins or get hit by cars. The survivors often suffer from cat flu, feline immunodeficiency and others.

Another, ever growing problem are puppies left at now deserted beaches, dogs that can't or won't be fed anymore, dumped to fend for themselves and roaming the streets, looking for food or a kind soul to take them in.

With the financial crisis holding the whole of Greece in an iron fisted grip, more and more people find it impossible to keep their dogs sad faces like these can be found more and more all over town.

Again they are prone to meet all sorts of dangers on the streets.

Since the founding of  PAWS a few months ago, we have come to care for over 20 dogs and provide food for an indefinite number of cats in Paleohora.
To keep them out of harm's way, we have fenced in a small area, away from cars and people, where we feed them and give them at least a roof over their heads, while trying very hard to find them a new, permanent home.
We started out with 2 little fellows in October.

Had to upgrade some in December:

Notice how peacefully cats and dogs can coexists if needs be :)

January saw us adding another extension:

But with the latest anonymous "donation" of puppies we have reached the limit of what can be done there. There is no water, we have to carry every bottle there by hand, no shade to speak of when the summer comes and simply not enough space to guarantee even the most basic hygienic requirements.

We decided that a more suitable place needed to be found. And find we did! Manolis Padadogiannakis, the owner of Pizzeria Odysseia on the pebble beach, offered us the use of a piece of his land and we started to build right away.

The ground is being flattened.

Posts are being prepared....

....and erected.




                   Much needed storage space has been created.

The roof is up :)












All this is costing a smart sum of money (1.200 Euro so far), so please allow me to post our bank details and a very convenient link for donations at this point.

Chaniabank: IBAN GR1006900060000000173167001
                    BIC: STXAGRA1

or:

https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/cSGpe?fb_action_ids=222933184519159&fb_action_types=fundrazr%253Astory_update&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=288381481237582

Every euro we get goes directly into animal care. Be it for food, medicines or the new shelter.

Also check out our webpage for more information on what we want and what we do!

www.paws-paleohora.gr


That was a lot of information for a first post. Thank you for staying with me until now!

Speak to you soon :)