At the dog hotel

When I first realized that the hopes of an adoption and a happy ending had just faded, I panicked and I felt totally helpless. And I was.

Fortunately, I was not all alone in this. With the help of people who cared, I found a place where Rosy could stay until I came up with a more permanent solution. I didn't hesitate a moment, although I knew that it meant commitment, both emotional and financial, for an indefinite period of time.

We left Rosy at the hotel on 4 December 2017. The panicked look in her eyes was the reflection of the confusion in her life.  

Still skinny

At the hotel, she was given the name "Rosy". Remember the bond I was afraid to create... 

There, Rosy is safe. She has her own space and her own bowl of food and water. She has dog-friends to play with and somebody to cater for her basic needs. It's a good place, but it's not a home. It's a hotel. Not sure if I can give enough love to last for the whole week to come when I visit with the kids every Friday. 

Rosy tales: timeline

End of July 2017
Rosy gets abandoned in a quiet neighborhood in the suburbs of Thessaloniki, Greece. She climbs into one of the yards and prepares herself a cozy nest where, a couple of days later, malnourished and exhausted, she gives birth to seven (seven!) beautiful puppies.

Exhausted mum

Three of Rosy's babies

Beginning of August 2017
Almost everybody in the neighborhood surrenders to puppy cuteness. As a result, both the mummy and her babies receive attention, food and water. Relieved, the dog mum starts feeling like home.

Mid-August 2017
The neighbors start getting annoyed by the presence of the dog family. Intensive efforts to start homes for the puppies begin.

End of August 2017
The puppies find homes/yards and the mum is left on her own. The food left out for her is less and less, the isn't always fresh water in her bowl. I visit as often as I can. I leave food, check if she has fresh water. I even give her a bath.

Clean and looking good :)

September 2017
Rosy gets collected by ΣΥΠΠΑΖΑΘ, a Stray Animal Protection Welfare Organisation of Eastern Thessaloniki. She gets neutered and, to the great disappointment of many in the neighborhood, she returns "home". She happily wags her tail at people who no longer want her there.


Mid-October 2017
Rosy eats something that puts her life at risk. I find her in a bad condition when I go to visit. She doesn't even lift her head to look at me, when on other days she would run to greet me as soon as she saw my car in the distance.

Sick

I take her to the vet. After a few days on a drip and no signs of improvement, she gets collected by ΣΥΠΠΑΖΑΘ again. This time she will have to stay longer. She doesn't eat, doesn't drink much, and demonstrates suspicious symptoms of poisoning. Whenever I call to ask about her progress, they refer to her as "the dog in good health that doesn't eat or drink". That's because her results are good and biologically there is nothing wrong. She struggles her way back into life for over a month. She survives. A bag of bones, but she survives. Diagnosis: food poisoning. Conclusion: her old place is no longer safe for her. I don't have much time. I know that very soon they will call to inform me that she will be discharged from the clinic where ΣΥΠΠΑΖΑΘ placed her and that they will ask me: "Where should we drop her off?".


End of November 2017
The day has come. I am informed that Rosy has started eating and drinking, and that she can survive outside the clinic now. Although skinny and weak, she can be now reintegrated into the streets; anywhere within the borders of the municipality, I am informed. If I don’t tell them where to drop her off, I might never see her again. If I don’t want that, I have to either assign a spot where she is to be reintegrated, somewhere convenient for me, so that I know where she lives as a stray and I can go and see her from time to time, or tell them the address of her future home. These are my options.


29 November 2017
A miracle. A colleague gets me in touch with a man who wants to adopt Rosy. I'm the happiest person on earth. We arrange for the adoption to take place two days later, on 1 December 2017, in the evening.


30 November 2017
I call ΣΥΠΠΑΖΑΘ and tell them the great news. They commit to take Rosy to the doctor again for the last check, and we agree that they will bring her to my place on the morning of 1 December, the adoption day.


1 December 2017
Rosy arrives. Skinny, weak, and totally confused, with an expressionless gaze.

Bag of bones

Deep down, though, I know she must be happy to see me. We take a selfie :)

Adoption day

Seeing how depressed she is, I don't want to leave her on her own for hours until I take her to her new home. So, I invite her to my place. Mocha greets her happily.

Welcome, stranger

Cookie is blissfully unaware of the presence of a stranger on our balcony.

Let sleeping dogs (and a cat) lie

Curled up

In the evening I drop her with her new family. I'm convinced that things can only get better now.

2 December 2017
Noon. I receive a phone call: "Do you accept returns?" My blood freezes. We arrange that he will bring her back the next day.

3 December 2017
She is with me again. This time, really happy to see me. I hug her and she puts her head on my shoulder; it weighs a hundred kilos. I swear I can hear a sigh of relief. I look at her and I think: "What am I going to do with you ...?"



To be continued

Rosy is one of many

Stray dogs were a very common sight in every corner of Greece even before the crisis. Some sources report that there were 1,5 million strays in 2011. The number has apparently doubled since then and it keeps growing exponentially day by day, as only a few of the strays get neutered. But I wouldn't blame it all on the crisis. It's more about the typical Greek mentality when it comes to animals. And don't misunderstand me: I love Greece and I know a great bunch of fantastic Greeks.

Some strays are born in the street, others get abandoned because their owners either get tired of the responsibility or can't afford to keep a pet anymore. Most strays are friendly and don't pose any danger. But they do form packs and some people consider them a threat and they want the alleged threat removed. But where to and by whom?

The methods used by the relevant municipal organisation are pretty much ineffective. When strays become undesirable in one neighborhood, they get relocated to another one where they have to get adjusted to the new reality, make new people-friends who would feed them and offer a bowl of water, and try to deal with local strays which do not necessarily welcome newcomers. Sometimes, dogs try to return to their old neighborhoods and get run over by cars on their journey back home.

If the municipality does not respond, the residents often take matters into their own hands. Poisoning of strays is widespread throughout Greece and it occurs on a daily basis. These cases are rarely, if ever, investigated, and after the first shock of seeing corpses in parks or in the streets, people simply move on. Just a fact of life, isn’t it? The dead animal bodies get picked up by garbage trucks and life goes on. Well, our life, not theirs.

Millions of foreign tourists visit Greece every year. Many of them are shocked by the sight of strays around hotels, tavernas and holiday resorts. Most of them leave and forget ... But there are quite a few who don’t leave alone, but carry a furry friend with them back home. They #adoptagreekstray. The average lifespan of a Greek stray roaming the streets is 2 years. These people make it longer.

Back to my Rosy. Her life was put at risk in the fall 2017, but I chose not to look the other way. She is alive today because I didn't give up on her. With the financial help of a couple of friends, I could afford to have her hospitalized. With the help of others, she was placed in a dog pansion. I need more help to keep her there, safe. But more than anything else, Rosy needs a home.