I love visiting Halkidiki, mainly the resort of Fourka. However, my heart goes out to the abandoned dogs continually left by heartless people. Many of these dogs, not strays - they haven't strayed off they have been abandoned - are pedigrees too. They are abandoned because it would seem their size continues to grow bigger than a tiny breed of dog. For goodness sake do these people not know to look at a pups paws, tiny paws small dog.
Anyway, if like me you are a animal lover and want to help in whatever way you can, no matter how small every little helps. There is a english woman called Julie who helps these dogs.You can make further enquiryies (and donations) at Iris Cafe, Tasula there is a godsend to these poor creatures. All dogs have to wear collars, even the abandoned ones. Julie, another godsend, organizes the dogs medical attention, also making sure never to have or give puppies again. Once this is done they are then 'collared' and put back on the street near the regular feeding station. There does not seem to be as many abandoned dogs now in Fourka, as in previous years. And I have heard that a few brits have 'adopted' a dog to take back to Britain (well done). I know we have our own rescue centres here in Blighty, at least be thankful that we have caring dog warden service/ r.s.p.c.a/ dogs trust to help ours.
Please people, when visiting Fourka, don't worry about the dogs, they are no threat or would even bark at you. You may feel a wet nose pushed into the palm of your hand as you walk, or the wanting of you to chuck a busted ball to keep the dog amused, but please don't ever be afraid of these poor creatures..just help them in the kindest way..offer them a home or make a donation.
Here is one further charity I have found on the web www.straysofgreece.org


Wednesday 20th June
HELLO EVERYONE
HERE IS AN UPDATE:
This morning my friend, Kim, made contact with Julie. She informed Julie about this site and how people are wanting to help. Julie has promised to send details in the post to Kim. Julie also informed Kim that at the moment she is very busy trying to rehome 35 dogs.
Once Kim has the information she will post it here, I have given my permission for her to use my log on details here, as well as the site that she is kindly helping to put together.
So, it looks like things could be moving at last.
everything






Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 20/06/2007 06:05PM by caron.

Thanks Caron. We too help Julie and are just about ready to go over for four months this year, and 7 months the following two years. I have promised to help Julie both physically and financially as much as I can.

When we saw Julie in March she had saved a few dogs from Fourka beach that had been poisoned. I do not know if the poisoning is deliberate or whether it is put down for rats and foxes. However, poisoning of anything must stop. If dogs can find it, so can children.

I am collecting donations here in the UK in our local pub and will be donating this to Julie. She has to finance much of the work herself, and she also rehomes many many dogs each month, mostly to Germany and Belgium as it is easier to get them there than get them into the UK with all our red tape.

Please help Julie. I wonder if there are any other donation centres in Halkidiki apart from Iris Cafe, perhaps someone can tell me.

Julie is doing a wonderful, if thankless, service and it thanks to her that the stray population has gone down and pups are rehomed. We found four last June which Julie took in and rehomed. They were only a few weeks old, just dumped near a spring. Thankfully we saved them, and just as we came home the forest burnt down, so we saved them from that tragedy too.

From Kim (Caron is kindly allowing me to use her site)

I received a lovely, though disheartening at times, long email from Julie.

Here is the information many of you are seeking.....

DONATIONS:

If in Greece you can contact Julie on her mobile...(0030) 6934698899

Julie receives some support from the Greek animal Rescue, Vesna Jones helps to rehome many of the strays from Fourka....go to www.greekanimalrescue.com
Email: info@greekanimalrescue.com
Tel: 020 8203 1956
Please state that you are making the donation to Julie.







Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 21/06/2007 08:03AM by caron.

Hi,

I too love animals...I was sad to leave my 5 cats in England when I moved here to Greece, but they're with my ex and I know they're well looked after, and I get to see them when I visit.
Anyway, living here I see these poor animals everyday. I have a cat here called Robin, he was due to be...lets say 'processed' last year if a home wasn't found for him, he was only a little kitten so my girlfriend took him and brought him to me. He's now a happy healthy cat.
I've been thinking about adding a page to my website to highlight their plight and also a donation payment button. Do you think this would be a good idea and also how can I contact Julie to explain what I'd like to do? I'd take any money donated directly to her.
I'd like to do something to try help and if my site can do this then I'd by happy.

Thanks,

Nic!

Nic
Your idea is brilliant. I too love animals, had a dog for 16 years and a cat for 15, sadly both passed away with illnesses, some years ago.
My life style now won't allow me to keep a pet, maybe when I retire and stop (cut down on) travelling it will be different. And, any ideas that are like yours I think would be welcomed. Another idea would be some kind of 'adoption' scheme until the dogs are re-homed. Can I just remind people though that Fourka does get very bad winters, what happens to these dogs then? Ive been sat here thinking what to do. So, Im going to create a 'blog', watch out for the link COMING SOON. If anyone is going to Fourka, please could you just pop along to the Iris cafe and have a word with Tasula, just let her know folk are wanting to help we just need Julies info, the sooner the better, winter will soon be here. By the way I still love the town of Fourka, I have quite a few friends I know from over the years. My grief is with the out of towners who drive in 'dump' their dogs (and their rubbish) and drive off.
Ps: I have posted a photo in my 'Gallery' of the two recent innocents left to roam the streets of Fourka.







Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 20/06/2007 06:09PM by caron.

Edited email from Julie to Kim:

: In 1999 Julie started sterilizing stray dogs in Fourka Beach.
: She tries to rehome dogs and puppies that cannot live on the streets.
The ones that have been poisoned, injured in accidents, or hanging around in 'Packs' but can adjust to life in a good home.
: Animal welfare workers are accused of selling dogs for the fur trade or vivisection. Some people cannot believe that the tourist want to take a dog home (and not them)
: One woman believes the strays should stay and die on the streets of Greece.


There is much more to the email, I feel though that you have got the idea of what comments are made.

Finally one last quote: It is nearly July, and so far this year Julie has organised 200 animals to be sterilized. She is trying to help all the villages on the Kassandra Peninsula. Not easy but for everyone saved its one less to suffer.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 21/06/2007 08:15AM by caron.

thanks...
I'll look into dedicating a page for animals and the donation bit. I'll have to make sure there's no legal things about donations. Don't wanna fall onto the wrong side of the law!!!!

Nic

[journals.aol.co.uk]

is the blog address that has been started to provide some information about Fourka

GOOD NEWS EVERYONE....The brown dog in the photograph, paddling in the sea, has been rescued. His new home is in Austria.

Julie sent me an email to inform me of this, and will keep me updated.

So thats brilliant news, and another innocent is in a loving home.

Best wishes all

Kim (Caron still on travels)








Edited 6 time(s). Last edit at 17/07/2007 04:18PM by caron.

ok...I'll try get in contact with her and explain what I'm thinking of doing.

I'll keep you posted...

Thanks,

Nic!

Have just been issued with this telephone number for the Iris Cafe (0030) 23740 43566. Ask to speak to Tasula (the lady who owns the cafe). By the way she does some lovely home cooking, and is fluent in German & English (along with her mother tongue of Greek).

Thanks, I'll give her a call and see what I can do.

Nic!

Great, this is just what we need to do. When we go over this year we are taking our labrador with us. Wo Betide anyone who tries to harm her ! Seriously though we went in March for three weeks and I am sure we can make life safe for her. It just means no running about off the lead unless we are near the sea, as you know labradors, anything edible gone in a second.

Luckily our place is on the sea front and she loves water , so exercising her should be enjoyable and safe.

I hope we can get Julie some donations, she is at the moment financing much of her work herself and from her husbands beach bar money. She is doing a brilliant job and her premises are spot on. Clean and welcoming, and of course a saviour to many abandoned dogs.

Keep up the good work. Look forward to hearing more on this.

Would be nice to hear from others apart from Caron and Nic, surely someone out there loves dogs!

Jane
I hope your Labrador enjoys her walks, and she is entitiled to.
Please be careful though with her, you know about the poison. Careful when your walking her too, possibly the only other dogs you will see on a lead with an OWNER is lap size ones. And the owners tend to panic if anything bigger with four legs gets close. Im glad to say that even though the innocents are abandoned, they can really show the pampered pooches a thing or two about good manners and not to bark, only at the annoying cars and motorbikes as they speed pass, probably telling them to 'SLOW DOWN' .
I have a friend who also goes to Fourka a lot, shes helping me with a blog Ive started. She left a letter with Tasula providing her contact details for Julie to get in touch. If you see Tasula, or Julie, can you mention her name it's Kim (with the long haired hubby). Tasula gave Kim a mobile telephone number for Julie, shes going to text her to let her know theres people out there wanting to help, even if they've never been to Fourka.

Jane, there are plenty of folk who love dogs its just up to us to reach out to them....and we are going to do it.

I know Caron. We have been going to Halkidiki for 30 years and lived there before for three years, but we did not take a dog with us then as we had just lost our lab. It helped me to help the strays after losing my dog, never did we go anywhere without pouches of dog food in the boot at the ready!

I am sure we will be fine. Where we live in Mola Kaliva there are a few other pet dogs. In fact one next door is a boxer cross. So I have seen regular sized dogs being walked ! The swimming will do my dog good anyway rather than walking in the heat as she has hip displacia. So swimming it is I think.

Keep the good work up.

Cheers

Hi

My boyfriend and I will be in fourka for a week from the 25th June and I was really looking forward to going but I must say I am a BIG animal over and this will break my heart if its as bad as you all say! Everywhere I have ever been abroad I adopt an animal for a week or two but hate leaving them so I will definitely be donating some money before I leave. I will not be afraid to play with any of them (being as I have a Rottweiler) so I'll do my best to say hello, play and feed them all whilst i am there.

If there is anything else I can do then please let me know.

Jonelle

xx

Hi Jonelle, well we have signed up for another three years renting a house, and I am a big animal lover too, and we are taking our dog.

It sounds awful, and to be honest it is not so good. However, the strays are being helped by Julie and by others and I am hopeful it will get better as time goes on. I still dont understand how someone can dump what were obviously well fed and previously looked after, dogs. I hate to think just how confused these poor dogs must feel.

Worse though for me last year was finding three abandoned puppies of about four weeks old, which were joined a few days later by a fourth pup from a totally different litter which was about 4 months old. Anyway, we and Julie saved them and they are rehomed.

Just do your best the time you are there, like most other tourists do, and hopefully some of these dogs will go on to lead a fairly decent life.

Thanks for replying. And please please do donate while you are there, Julie does a great job.

Hi Jonelle
I know what you mean about breaking your heart. As Jane says Please please please donate whatever you can, those euro coins that are wearing holes in your pockets help. Where abouts are you staying, maybe you are not too far from Iris Cafe? Could you please do me a favour. There were two dogs, recently abandoned, a black and whire one and a tan one. They were only young and looked lost, trying to fit in as it were. Could you please find out if Julie managed to rescue them (I hope so). Maybe you could also pass on a message to Julie, via Tasula at the Iris Cafe, just to let her know that folk are wanting to help and contact details for donations would be a big help. I know people who wish to help who have never been to Fourka, they are just animal lovers. Some folk in Fourka don't even know that this website excists, so maybe a nudge onto this site may be helpful. I did scribble the site address down for a couple of the businesses.

Anyway Jonelle Im sure you'll enjoy your holiday all the same.

And after the news last night about China and what they do to dogs every day for their fur, which made me cry myself to sleep, at least we can help out here and it is not that bad. I now have to try and make sure I dont buy anything made in China, almost impossible, but I will try.

I will check out these dog when we get there in Aug. We are there til Dec so hopefully we can help these dogs out. Although Julie may already be on the case, hope so.

Anyone any ideas about the China problem? I dont know if you saw the footage but it was horrific and the poor dog was wagging its tail when first collared. Words fail me.....................

Hi Caron & Jane

I'm staying at Julia so where abouts will I find the Iris Cafe? I will look out for the 2 dogs mentioned and hopefully they wil be okay are they the ones in the picture in the sea? I am looking forward to it I just know its the same every year no matter where you go unfortunately, when I was last in cyprus I was looking after a litter of kittens which disappeared after the second week and were apparently poisoned I was devastated and kept looking for them but there was no sign what so ever?!! yet the older cats were left alone? I just cant understand it??!!!!

I'm glad I didn't see anything about China I don't watch the news as it's just too depressing all the time but again if there's anything I can do to help there then I will too.

I will try and get the contact details and post them up when I get back, I hope all is well when we go and am already looking forward to seeing and helping the dogs.

Take care
Jonelle
x



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 20/06/2007 10:17AM by Jonelle.

Perhaps you all could put your combined resources into lobbying the greek goverment into enforcing laws about animal welfare and neutering. Because this is a problem that will still be there for years to come.