theinsideandout.com

Did you make a New Year’s resolution to travel more? Give something back or make a difference? Maybe both? How about a Humanitourism™ adventure with Inside/Out in 2011?  Check out our 2011 opportunities on the website.

Ironically there are many pet stores in Greece, yet thousands of street dogs and no shelters.  Often people will buy purebred dogs from these pet stores and later, when they find out the responsibility of being a pet owner or they go away on vacation, they will abandon these dogs into the streets.  I’d propose a tax on the animals pet stores sell that would fund sterilization and shelters that are necessary to address the issues that arise as a result.  The U.S. would benefit from such a tax as well.

Tomorrow is the official start of our Humanitourism adventure in Greece to help the dogs and cats and the people here who are trying to make a difference for them.  Our help for Greece overall, however, began immediately.  Just by traveling here, spending money locally, supporting locally owned businesses and the Greek economy, we are making a difference for Greece as a country, while we are helping the animals here.

Many people have cancelled plans to come to Greece because of the recent demonstrations in Athens that have been so highly publicized.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37231620/ns/travel-destinations/

But as this article states, so much of Greece’s economy depends on tourism.  So if Greece has any hope of recovery, it will be through its tourism industry.  Because of this, now may be the best time to express your thoughts on the treatment of animals here.  In the past, some people have called for boycotts on travel to Greece or themselves have not traveled here to protest the inhumane treatment of animals and the lack of appropriate animal welfare education and enforcement.  This has fallen on deaf ears previously.  Perhaps now, with so much at stake, your voice will be heard.

You can contact the department of tourism by email:  info_central@gnto.gr and info@gnto.gr.

Please consider being a voice for the animals here and write a polite note to tourism officials requesting a change in animal welfare before committing tourism dollars to Greece.  I’d suggest sending to both email addresses.  One is the tourism contact and one is the central office contact.

You can find background on the animal welfare crisis on our website at the bottom of this page:  http://www.theinsideandout.com/animal_welfare_greece_may_2010.html as well as on several group pages on Facebook and the Greek Animal Rescue and Greek Animal Welfare Fund websites.

Please help us support our local humane society doing some incredible work.  They have been able to find permanent homes for 84% of the animals taken in. This is an amazing statistic. It is not possible without the generosity of people who care about animals. Even if you don’t live locally consider supporting them. They are a model for shelters everywhere with the incredible work they do.

Got a nice pick up on our press release on our Zakynthos Humanitourism™ adventure with sea turtles in Greece in June.

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-16242-Raleigh-International-Travel-Examiner~y2010m3d17-Volunteer-sea-turtle-conservation-project-on-Greek-island-of-Zakynthos?cid=sharing_twitter:16242

Update on the Ioannina puppy:  She is improving slightly and able to walk a little bit. A nurse and registrar have apparently come forward as witnesses, so the perpetrator may actually be charged. The story also ran on a Greek tv program, which is good because it means they determined it newsworthy.  Pressure from the outside is forcing the police in Ioannina to find and prosecute this animal abuser.

Two puppies in Ioannina Greece were found beaten with wood on March 6. The perpetrator is said to be one of the night watchmen at the local hospital and because of the screams of the puppies and the proximity to some of the hospital wards, the incident was witnessed by members of staff and hospital visitors. The police were called. Nothing happened and none of the supposed witnesses will come forward to say who committed the crime. One puppy was killed. The other was left half dead with serious head injuries. Her cries could be heard all over the hospital grounds. Despite this, no efforts had been made to help her apart from some milk and bread being left by nurses. The puppy is semi conscious, unable to eat or drink and was found curled up on top of her dead brother. She is about 3 months old. It has been snowing, cold and rainy. She is warm tonight
thanks to rescuers but whether she will live remains to be seen.

Ioannina is one of the areas where inside/out is concentrating our educational work to help stop these kinds of tragic events from happening. Please consider joining us in Greece in May on our Humanitourism™ adventure in Greece. Be a part of changing the tragic lives of these dogs.

26 June 2009

We have arranged with another local rescuer to pick up an abandoned puppy near the village of Tripoli, approximately 2 1/2 hours form Athens.  This is a town in the center of the Peloponnese which also happens to be very near the small village where my great grandfather raised his family and my grandfather, and the old home still exists.  So we decide to venture down, pick up the puppy, visit another dog that had been adopted through Anastasia and the local animal welfare organization she belongs to in Patras, and visit the old family home site.

The home is very old and no one has lived there for some time, so there is a local couple who has been keeping an eye on it and has been somewhat of a caretaker for the property.  So, we’ve needed to make arrangements with them to see the house in advance and were able to coordinate the rescue of this puppy and the home visit at the same time.

When we arrive in Tripoli, Maria, the woman who has rescued the puppy, meets us to guide us into the village of Partheni, which is a few km away.  We arrive there shortly and Christofilis, the caretaker, is waiting at the bottom of the village for us.  It is an idyllic scene, this small village nestled in the hillside and the old man standing at the road.  It is difficult to think that these places are so often the ones where much of the animal welfare issues are so grave.

Maria transfers the rescued puppy to us, we thank her and say goodbye and follow Christofilis into the village for a glimpse of my family heritage.  After a visit to the home, we sit for coffee with Chrisofliis and his wife Kouila at their home, hear some neat stories and memories about my family from them, and also talk about why I am in Greece now.  It seems that the concept of animal welfare is lost on them, even though they are dear, sweet, caring people.  This is common with the older generations of Greeks.  Hope lies with the young people of Greece, but even so, we distributed some educational literature about positive health impacts of living with dogs that will hopefully reach the minds and hearts of older folks as well.

We head up to the other side of Partheni to a village called Steno to visit Chili, a German Shepherd mix adopted out last year to a couple in the village.  Adoption to Greek families is rare, most dogs are rehomed overseas, to Germany and the UK primarily, so this is an exceptional experience.  The little puppy we have will be on her way to a home in Germany on Tuesday.

Chili is doing great and has another shepherd mix named Gina as a sibling.  They have a wonderful fenced area and a young couple who seems to take really great care of them.  This is a heartwarming scene, one of the success stories that gives me hope for change in Greece.

24 June 2009

Went to Zakynthos to investigate the possibility of a sea turtle conservation trip for 2010.  Parts of the island are heavily touristed, as with all of the Greek islands, but there are parts that are less so.  One of these areas is Gerakes, a seaside village which is home to one of the most important nesting areas for the Mediterranean Loggerhead Sea Turtle.

I spent a couple of days meeting with the local organization that is at the forefront of the conservation movement for these sea turtles and drafted a plan for an exciting Humanitourism™ Adventure to help in the conservation effort and also experience the best of what the island has to offer.

The beaches on Zakynthos are crucial for the continued reproduction of the Mediterranean Loggerheads.  Unfortunately, these beaches have been heavily impacted by tourist and the tourism industry, resulting in the Mediterranean Loggerhead entering the list of endangered species.  Just the presence of human interference on these beaches is enough to create distress for these turtles and these beaches are heavily developed and highly trafficked by people.

The lights of the developed areas, the noise and, of course, the trash, have taken a heavy toll on sea turtle reproduction.  Development on these beaches went unchecked for many years, and even though laws have been passed and fines levied, the developers and merchants have not cooperated.  Several of the hotels and developments were determined to have encroached protected beach area and were slated for demolition, but due to rampant corruption, they have remained in place.

Our work will involve helping to build a rescue center on the island, provide education on conservation of the sea turtles and do a beach cleanup to restore one of the beaches for nesting.  We will also explore the island and surrounding areas, climbing Mt. Skopos, sea kayaking along the coast and actively participating in a sailing adventure around the Ionian Sea.

19 June 2009

In Konitsa, a small pack of strays greets us at our guest house.  A couple of them are Greek hunting dogs, probably abandoned.  One of those is a sweet, gentle female who was so emaciated, it just broke our hearts.  She hung around and we went off to dinner determined to at least give her a good meal while we were there.

We returned with our “doggie bag” and fed her.  A couple of us had already gotten attached to her, because she had such a sweet disposition and eyes that could just melt you.  We decided to mount a rescue and bring her back to Ioannina where she could be spayed and fostered to possibly be rehomed abroad.  There would not be much call for her In Greece, very few dogs are adopted within Greece.

I snuck her into my room and she stayed with me that night.  She ended up sleeping on the bed with me and being a complete angel.  She of course had tons of fleas and some ticks, but I wasn’t much concerned.  She was just too sweet to deny.

In the morning we scrambled with logistics, since we were headed of for a day of rafting.   Our driver agreed to let her take us in the van with us, and we would take her back to Ioannina where she could be tested for leishmaniasis and spayed.  She was beginning her cycle of heat, so she would need to be sterilized before putting her with any other dogs.

We were lucky enough to find a vet who would be willing to do it that day, pending the outcome of the leishmaniasis test.  If she tested positive, we would probably have to euthanize her because she would not be able to be rehomed.  With high hopes, and a plan for a rescue, we loaded her into the van. She laid with her head on my lap nearly the entire way, sweetly looking up at me periodically.

After an hour or so ride, we got her to the vet and crossed our fingers while they tested her.  The results are obtainable in about 10 minutes, so we nervously waited.    The vet returned with crushing news – she was positive.

We steeled ourselves for what we needed to do.  We were sparing “Lucy,” as we named her, from the horror of a terrible prolonged and painful death in the streets from the disease.  She would also be in full heat soon and unable to defend herself against all of the male street dogs.  She probably would barely be able to support a littler of puppies and could likely leave them motherless before they were weaned.

We sent Lucy off surrounded by love and people around her who cared.  This was something she hadn’t had for all of the rest of her life.