Hope for a second life ?

People who know me, know i am passionate about animals and especially helping strays. Due to work i have ended up spending time in Istanbul where I have encountered countless of stray dogs. The estimated figure for these dogs is about 150 000 in istanbul alone.  Some of them are more fortunate than others as i have met some kind hearted people who in their community try to look after these dogs in a best way they can,  giving them food and water when possible. However should something happen to these dogs, if they have an accident or fall ill, most of them have no human of their own to care for them. 

I am trying to help these dogs ( and cats ) and this year already my amazing colleagues have helped with donations to get a stray dog suffering from a severe ear infection into a care of a vet where he spent 10 days recovering before he was released back to the beach again. 

The dog whose picture i have used here, is called Hero. My friend Nuray’s stray was taken to a so called shelter and when she went to get him out, she met Hero. Hero was on a death row and me and Nuray made a decision to get him out. He has now gone through a medical check up and is going from strength to strenght happily living in a private kennel i am paying for until we can hopefully rehome him to Germany in a not too distant future.

Today i received news that one of the strays had also been taken, his name is Pablo and he is a beautiful dog inside and out.  We found him in a “shelter “ and they have promised not to put him down. We will go and get him this week if everything goes to plan so he can join Hero in the private kennel and be safe. We do not yet know where we will find a home for him but we will try our hardest to give him the happy life every living creature deserves and while we are looking at the options, there are kennel fees to be paid.

There is another little girl whose owner one day decided she did not want her any more and dumped her along with two cats by the seafront. The confusion this little one must have felt when the person she trusted walked away and left her is heart breaking so she is also on my list to be helped. 

There is also Pablo’s best friend Blondie who is on his own now Pablo has been taken. These two used to always do everything together and Blondie must be wondering where his best friend is.  Blondie is the most gentlest dog ever and all he wants is a person to call his own who will shower him with cuddles and kisses. He sits with me for hours when i brush him or read my book next to him on the beach. Breaks my heart every time i have to leave him and I am looking into options getting him off that beach and finding him a home he so deserves. 

The list goes on and on, there are so many deserving dogs but keeping them safe and rehoming them is expensive. I am committed to pay as much as i can from my own pocket but this is getting much bigger than i ever imagined. Hence me setting up this page, hoping people could help us to help these dogs. So please if you can donate, even a pound makes huge difference but apart from that I would like to ask you to share my appeal. And remember, whether you are on a holiday or at home if you do see an animal in distress there is always something you can do - i was despairing trying to get help for the stray with an ear infection as i coud not communicate with locals and i would not have had any chance of getting this stray to the vet even if i did have the money but it all came together with help from some amazing people in Istanbul and back home.  

So doing nothing is no longer an option for me, my friend Nuray works non stop in Istanbul helping these animals and trust me when i say, these dogs need our help.

Thank you for reading, sharing, donating but most of all, thankyou for making a difference.

Please join our facebook group Hope for a second life ? to read more about what we do.

“ Saving one dog won’t change the world but for that one dog the world changes forever “.