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Greece Amazingly, in the country that we consider the birthplace of democracy and perhaps the foundation of the western world, dogs and cats are being treated with a degree of inhumanity that defies belief. The photos below and the accompanying report are from a Greek animal sanctuary.    "The white dog dead on the road spent his life chained 24 hours a day. When he managed somehow to eat a couple of hens his owner dumped him at the University. It looks like he was making his way home again when he was hit by a car. The second unidentifable dog was obviously abandoned. He was old, in dreadful condition and his eyes were virtually non-existent. The final picture shows an abandoned puppy who obviously drowned trying to eat a dead goat which was lying in a pool of oil and tar. Two tortoises had also been trapped and drowned. All photos were taken between Friday and Monday of this week (21st May 2003)to give you an idea of the number of cases we deal with." The following is from American Daily, August 18, 2004. Out Of Sight...Out Of Mind By Dave Gibson As you watch the thrilling ping-pong matches or the NBA gangsters lose basketball games at the 2004 Olympics, think about the mass killing which took place in Athens recently. According to the ASPCA, approximately 30,000 stray dogs in Athens were poisoned. The Greek government has for many years failed to deal with the problem of stray dogs and cats. The practice of lacing food with poison and feeding it to stray animals is common in Greece. Spaying and neutering one's animal is practically non-existent. Stray dogs have roamed the city of Athens for decades. They eat scraps of garbage and breed unchecked. In preparation for the 2004 Olympics, the Greek government decided they had a problem. Rather than collect the thousands of strays, sterilize them, and hopefully find homes as many of the animals that can be accommodated--they simply fed them rat poison. The dogs that eat the tainted bits of food, slink back to their makeshift shelter and internally bleed to death. Athens garbagemen then come around and scoop up the dead animals. Seems that we should expect more from a society which considers itself to be the 'cradle of humanity.' I have worked with many animal welfare groups and I understand that there are more animals than people willing to care for them. I also understand that many of them must be euthenized, which is a better alternative to being crushed under the wheels of a car. However, you always give them every chance to survive and at least help provide a dignified death. Greece has spent a few billion dollars to clean up the filthy city of Athens and build glitzy venues for such "sports" as badminton and beach volleyball. They would be well served to spend a fraction of that money on educating the Greek citizenry about the benefits of responsible pet ownership. It has been said that a society can be judged by the way it treats animals. If one holds Greece to this standard...that country has richly earned the disgust of the civilized world. The following was reported by Associated Press, May 21, 2003. THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) A black-and-white husky was smeared with tar, doused in gasoline and set on fire by rioting soccer fans after the Greek Cup final, police said Wednesday. The dog was attacked by fans of Aris Thessaloniki after the team was defeated 1-0 Saturday by crosstown rival PAOK. After the game, Aris fans set fires in Toumba Stadium and later smashed cars and property. The dog was apparently picked on for its colors: PAOK play in black and white. An animal welfare group found and treated the husky for burns and an injured eye, and informed the police Wednesday, authorities said.       "When we picked up the dog, all her right side was burned and her eye covered with tar. She is safe in our hands now and has been given first aid, we have cleaned the tar off her body, cut the leftovers of her fur and she is taking medicine for her eye, pain killers and antibiotics. She needs special treatment as she is very scared and has to be always clean, we have covered her wounds with special coverings that will not stick with tar. Today was the first day she didn't try to bite us, while taking care and cleaning her - this means she now trusts us. We named her Tara (from tar). We are going to sue the "humans" that did this, though we don't know who they are. Through media we asked for help to find them. Though the penalties are too low, we have to get these people into a trial, as we did with the soldier in the army camp that killed 6 puppies. People here must undertand that cruelty to animals can and will be punished." Effie Dodoura Executive Secretary ARGOS Animal Welfare Society Thessaloniki, Greece The following was sent to us by a contact in Greece who, for fear of her own safety, wishes to remain anonymous. ITD can verify her honesty and stands by what she has written. We have reproduced this email exactly as it was received. "Hello Maria, i hope you are doing well. Unfortunately i have something even worse to tell you . A lot of people want to adopt the poot husky and the veterinarians took good care of it. But another even poorer dog had been hanged some days ago by an ashole, a monster, in Paiania by Athens. People from organisations for the animals found the poor creature, unhanged it, and put it to a grave. No one had noticed anyone earlier! Also a friend told me, that some months ago, workers were painting the white lines on the street, on a national greek highway. A poor dead god, killed by a car, was lying on the street. Nobody did nothing, eccept that the workers, did the white painting above the poor animal! A lot of Greeks think that keeling (i.e. killing - ITD) the strays or the pigeons on the streets on purpose is a hobby! Please do forward this message of mine, but please don't say who sent it. Thank you very much. Your always friend. I hate my ''compatriots''. I really hate them and despise them. The world should not come to this country and spend money." Loutraki strays' dog's life ATHENS NEWS , 23/05/2003 BY CORDELIA MADDEN 'The canines are starving, their water is filthy and full of bacteria and there is no sterilisation or medical care' in the shelter run by one of Greece's wealthiest municipalities.
AT THE sound of an approaching car, the rubbish tip comes alive with barking dogs. Thin, tick-infested and some suffering from obvious skin diseases, these are the advance guard of Loutraki's municipal dog shelter. Within the confines of this small facility on the edge of the city's dump, around 30 dogs and puppies live in squalor. Loutraki's natural spring water is famed throughout Greece, yet the dogs at the city's municipal shelter live off warm, slime-green water drawn from a barrel. With hips and backbones poking through patchy coats and bodies constantly contracting with spasms of diarrhoea, these dogs have been gathered from the streets of Loutraki by the municipality's dog-catcher and are left to await death at the shelter, local animal welfare volunteers say. The Animals' Friends Society of Loutraki believe that ignorance and indifference on the part of those in charge of the shelter have led to this unacceptable situation. "The dogs are starving, their water is filthy and full of bacteria and there is no sterilisation or medical care whatsoever," says Nikos Dimakopoulos, president of the 80-strong society. "This is one of the wealthiest municipalities in Greece, as the local authorities have a 12 percent share in the casino and also shares in the water business [in fact, the number currently stands at 14 percent, with the likelihood of rising again towards the end of the year]. There is so much money coming in but a minimal amount spent on these dogs." Meanwhile, Despina Zervou, an animal lover and activist, says she clandestinely visits the shelter every day to feed and give clean water to the animals at her own expense. Zervou was sacked by the municipality last February after a four-month stint in charge of the shelter. She says she quarrelled with the municipality after it refused to raise food rations for the dogs. She also says she paid out of her pocket to have puppies treated for parvovirus, a deadly canine disease, at the local vet. When Zervou demanded to know the reason for her dismissal, the answer was that she "did not care about the dogs", she says. Another worker is now paid by the municipality to clean the compound as well as feed and water the dogs daily. When the Athens News visited, the kennels were filthy, the water foul and ticks were crawling on the floors. There was no sight of any cleaning equipment. "This worker is doing the minimum," says Dimakopoulos. "Basically, all the feeding is done by volunteers." The municipality's Antonis Koukoulas, who holds the stray animal brief in the Loutraki-Perahora area, failed to respond to the Athens News' questions about the shelter in time for this issue. Dogs disappear frequently from the shelter. The authorities claim animals that vanished overnight "found homes", say volunteers. The canine corpses found dumped in the bushes surrounding the rubbish tip, however, seem to tell a different story. The Animals' Friends Society aims to cooperate with the municipality to improve conditions at the shelter and set up a catch-neuter-and-release scheme for strays of the area. "We hope the municipality is willing to work with us on this issue - they have the property and the money, we can provide the manpower," says Dimakopoulos. "The obstinacy of the authorities is the only thing stopping Loutraki from setting up a humane, practical programme for strays that could be an example to the rest of Greece."  Shot in the head. The sole reason? This cat lives in Greece...... Photo supplied by Welfare for Animals in Greece (WAG). Please visit their site for their campaign and the web site of GREEK ANIMAL RESCUE - CANADA Countessa ATHENS NEWS , 23/05/2003
Countessa is certainly far from regal in appearance, but what she lacks in stature and sophistication, she more than makes up for in charm and friendliness. We humans cannot understand and comprehend how a creature that has been kicked, stoned and beaten with sticks and broom handles can still greet a passerby with a broken but wagging tail and hopeful eyes. Unfortunately, the lessons of cruelty (and compassion) that we relive every year prior to Easter haven't been extended to stray animals in Nea Iraklitsa, Kavala. We found Countessa on her side but still alive. We immediately induced vomiting and gave her two injections of atropine. We then bundled her into the trunk and raced to the vet calling in advance to make sure she could take us immediately. She would remain with the vet overnight, but there was very little hope. We had done the best we could. Against all odds - and to everyone's utter surprise - Countessa greeted us the next morning on all fours with that same wagging tail and hopeful eyes. She made it, and we were thrilled. We certainly couldn't take her back to village as the true savages would surely poison her again, so we made arrangements at the local military base for someone to feed and watch over her. Countessa's weight ballooned with all those military leftovers, and her friendliness somehow offset the loneliness of the soldiers. It was an association of mutual benefit for almost a year until the base was closed and personnel relocated leaving Countessa homeless again. Dogs were not allowed at the new base we were informed. Countessa is not a Husky, a Doberman or a German Shepherd, not even close to those current breeds of choice. Countessa would be called a koproskylo (mutt) by anyone seeing her for the first time. She was totally unadoptable until we found Toula, a true friend of the animals. Toula, a very poor widow with a small apartment, no yard or balcony, cares for the stray dogs and cats in her neighbourhood. Countessa would be welcome to join her group if animal welfare society Aesops could donate some food. Another association of mutual benefit was formed and it lasted for almost another year. Toula was sobbing and crying when she called to tell us that Countessa was poisoned again and this time no one was around to save her. Toula lost three dogs and four cats that night. Compassion, love and kindness for God's lesser creatures are difficult to come across in this part of the world. Anyone wishing to help Aesops help the animals can call or fax 25940-21191 or email fox@otenet |
