Abandoned animals in Greece

Greece
September 20, 2012 2:02pm CST
If you are an animal lover the worst and best place you can live is Greece. The worst because there are so many stray dogs here and it will break your heart. If you try to help one you end up keeping it for good because no one wants a dog, there are too many around. The Greeks do not generally care to neuter their dogs, they believe in letting nature take its course. This results in lots of unwanted puppies and kittens and abandoned dogs. If the kittens survive they scavenge in bins and people don't mind them being around because they keep down mice and rats. We have rescued five dogs. We found two of them close to death, two found us and we did not have the heart to send them away, and one was in need of a new foster home. That is why I said it is the best place, you can save animals lives here, but it comes at a cost. Could you send away an animal in need? Where should I draw the line?
4 responses
jugsjugs
@jugsjugs (12967)
•
20 Sep 12
I have heard of all those animals that are stray there.I feel so sorry for them as there are so many and a lot of them die not knowing what it is like to have a home with food given to them. It is a shame as here in the UK the animal rescue centers are full with cats and dogs that have been dumped a lot more of them looking like they have been starved. Also here in the UK a lot of animal rescue places are handing out vouchers to people to get their cats and dogs sorted, so they do not breed and we get more cats and dogs abandoned on the streets.
41Combedale
@41CombedaleRoad (5966)
• Greece
21 Sep 12
I suspect that the economic situation is hitting the animals hard all over Europe. Vets here recommend spaying but it is expensive to have it done. I watch Cesar Milan's program and he repeatedly tells people to get their animals 'sorted' so that the males don't fight and the females don't reproduce. He said it is a kindness to them. With the exception of our latest arrival, who is still quite a young male, we have had all the dogs and cats neutered.
bonnie
@bunnybon7 (50970)
• Holiday, Florida
20 Sep 12
i know what you mean. here, even though we mostly can spay and neuter lots of people just dont bother or cant afford to. so we have a lot of strays taken to shelters and some are not a no kill shelter i dont know where you should or could draw the line. i feel so sad for them. if i could afford it id likely have a shelter full of my own. so, luckily in just that one way, i dont get out much and we live behind a yard wall, so i dont see them i think.
NailTech
@NailTech (6874)
• United States
20 Sep 12
Yes I have heard horror stories about how these animals in Greece are treated, it is a sad sad thing. I cried and was depressed for days and days after my firnd Anita came back from a vacation there and said how she had to feed this poor scared kitty cat and even took her photo. She looked so scared and...well, it just broke my heart. I then read up on what she was telling us about the place there and it made my heart sink even more. It's terrible how some people can live and treat an animal of any kind. This kind of discussion sort of brings it up for me again and I just don't really wanna continue...I have helped all the strays I could over my lifetime though. Mostly all cats cause they have been "aquired" easier for me to keep here, as my living conditions aren't that good either.
subhojit10
@subhojit10 (7375)
• India
20 Sep 12
Hey it was so nice to hear about your brave heart nature that u saved the lives of five dogs and really hats off to u. Not many on earth would have done such a gesture. i also find it difficult to digest when stray animals are left to loiter around on the streets without any care or treatment. they also need to be handled well so that we all can live together happily. I hope the people of Greece will learn quite a couple of things after this incident and will take up caring dogs and other animals on the streets. What say?