‘Wag ’n’ Walk’ event aims to help home four more dogs
DOG owners are being urged to turn out in force tomorrow for a fundraiser to help four less fortunate canines still looking for new homes.
They were among 27 dogs found by animal-lovers at a struggling privately run shelter in Vadili — since shut down — the rest of which have already been homed or taken into foster care.
Tomorrow’s “Wag ’n’ Walk” event is being organised by the Golden Paws Association to raise both awareness and funds — through sponsorship and donations — and people are invited to come along with their pets for a “fun hike” starting at 11am from the SeAngle Bar in Çatalköy.
Money raised will go towards paying off outstanding vets’ bills, kennel fees and the travel costs of dogs being sent abroad to new owners. Sponsorship forms are available from the Çatalköy DVD Shop or via the Save Vadili’s Dogs Facebook page, at www.facebook.com/groups/116728785661956/about/.
The problems at Vadili were first reported in August last year when Kimi Watts and Irene Scott were told by fellow animal-lover Medi Biçen about the shelter, housing 27 strays and being run by a local woman who could not cope and needed help.
The trio were invited to visit, and went to see conditions there for themselves, armed with food and medication for the dogs.
“We were afraid of what we would find there and felt very apprehensive about going. However we eventually gathered the strength and decided we needed to visit and see if there was anything we could do,” recalled Ms Scott, who added: “It was heartbreaking.”
All but four recently dumped puppies were found to be underweight, none of the adult dogs had been neutered and most were in desperate need of veterinary care. Living conditions were described as “far from ideal”, with dead rodents and faeces littering the dogs’ sleeping area, while cages left open resulted in some of the animals fighting among themselves and others too afraid to venture out.
With the help of volunteers Catherine Wood and Geraldine Byrne, and vet Niyazi Çelebi, of the Petline clinic in Çatalköy, the shelter was emptied within three weeks, the puppies taken care of first as they were considered the “most vulnerable”.
Since then, fundraisers have been organised by the Golden Paws Association and volunteer Sev Kay, and 23 of the dogs have been rehomed; three on the island, two sent to Germany, one to France and the rest to the UK. Just three remain in kennels and one in temporary foster care.
Nazan Gürtay, who had cared for the dogs since 2012 after being given the land by Vadili’s municipality, told Cyprus Today: “It was a pleasure to look after them but it was very tiring and a huge financial burden. I couldn’t cope with it after the numbers rose because people began to dump their pets here.
“Once in a while I would receive food donations from animal lovers, which helped greatly, but I would have to cook two large packets of pasta for them every day and boil chicken, along with giving them bread. I would try and clean every evening but it became impossible after they reached such a large number.”
She added: “Thankfully Irene and Kimi came along and helped. I still feed some stray dogs in the village — something I do purely out of my love for animals.”