Newsletter

 Here you can find our newsletter of 2020:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/12EnQvyTxse-h_mLYxeK_31AF7JX0VSo9/view?usp=sharing

If you wish to receive the newsletter by email, please let us know (act.thassos@gmail.com).

Surgery Diana

Last week Diana, the setter with the tumor, was operated. It wasn't easy and she lost a lot of blood, but now she is fine.

She is getting to know a total different life: freedom to walk around in the garden and a warm bed at night.

Being an older lady (probably about 13 years) we don't like to let her travel a long way for adoption. Instead we hope there is someone on Thassos who is willing to give her the loving home she so much deserves.

Diana is an easy going dog, clean in the house, and no trouble at all with other dogs or cats.

If you want to help this sweet girl, please contact us.

Diana before surgery

Diana after surgery

Diana enjoying a soft warm bed

Help us through the winter

In a few weeks time we took in 4 dogs (Albert, Bevy, Carlos and Diana).

Both our enclosures are full and our wallet is empty.

After a year with not one single bazaar, hardly tourists to fill our donation boxes (normally good for € 3.500 income) and no more program from the municipality, we are struggling to pay all our bills.

We were lucky that Mrs. Helena Beels from Holland gave us some generous donations, but most of that was meant for necessary repairs.

And now these 4 need vaccinations, worm/flea treatment, castrations, microchips and surgery.

Not to mention that we need straw and food for the winter…

We are all suffering in this Covid-time, but if you can still miss a few euros we would be very grateful.

Thank you!

Bank account:

Piraeus Bank Limenaria - Thassos

GR06 0171 0620 0060 6213 6774 937 (BIC: PIRBGRAA).

The ascription is: DRASI GIA TA ZOA THASOU

PayPal: 

act.thassos@gmail.com

New setter Diana

Today we took a dog from an old man in Kalivia. He had a setter for years on his little plot with chickens. Someone informed us that the dog has a big tumor.

Tanja went to talk with the man. His reaction was "well, the dog is getting old, what can I do?". Unfortunately many of his generation think like this, and we can only be glad that a lot of the younger generation starts to see it differently.

The man agreed to give us the dog and we convinced him that he has to pay a contribution towards the surgery, even if it is only a small amount.

The setter girl is now staying at Tanja's. She was checked by the vet and at the end of the week the tumor will be removed. The poor girl didn't know what to do with so much space around her, she spent whole day exploring the garden.

We called her Diana.

Pointer found in our HalfWayHouse

When Sophia came on 25th of October to the HalfWayHouse she found this pointer in the outside fencing. Did he find a hole in the fencing and went in himself, or did someone dumped him over the fence???

He is very skinny and has an eye infection, but apart from that he seems healthy. He is still a youg boy.

Today he was transported to the small enclosure in Kalivia where he will stay until he has put on some weight, gets his vaccinations and will be castrated and tested on mediteranean diseases.

Hunting dog found on the streets

This dog was spotted for weeks between Skala Marion and Limenaria. 

Finally we could take her in, because a man in Limenaria was so kind to feed her.

She was immediately checked by the vet, because she had an old big, deep wound on the inside of her back leg.

Now, after a few days of antibiotics and worm and flea treatment she is feeling much better and the wound already starts to close.

As many... she had no microchip. If anyone knows where she comes from, please let us know.

Yamaha re-homed

Yamaha was the first of 7 puppies that was homed. On the island itself.

Unfortunately it turned out that the family was not the right one for him. So in August he came back to us and Gisela & Jürgen were so kind to foster him. He was quite anxious and had to learn all the basics, but in their experienced hands he turned into a lovely boy who loved life again.

They even found him a new family!

Yamaha is now living in Germany and listening to the name Oscar.

Yannick found a home

Half August Yannick moved to his new home. And oh, how did he deserve it!

It all happened very fast: one minute we got an offer for a flight escort but we had no adopted dog, the next minute we got a message that someone is interested in adopting Yannick!

Now don't worry we don't overhaste homing a dog, but this is a family to whom we have already homed 2 dogs, so everything could be arranged very quickly.

Yannick is doing very well in his new home and he has also already met Noah again, his old buddy in the HalfWayHouse. Since they live close to eachother they will seee eachother a lot 🙂

We thank Agnes for escorting Yannick on his flight and as always Jürgen for bringing him to the airport.

Lara RIP 14-8-2020

 This week we had to make the hard decision to let Lara go. She was just getting too old, had trouble walking (even after medication) and didn’t eat anymore.

Lara was a street dog in Limenaria until in 2016 a man from Norway decided to take her home with him. So he named her Lara, arranged vaccinations and a passport. Sadly the man got health problems during his holiday, went to hospital and died. This is how Lara ended up with us. When she was to be sterilised the vet found out that she had a tumor stuck to her uterus which couldn’t be removed. We decided that she would live at home with Tanja so she would be under surveillance in case any problems would occur.

We are glad that we could offer her the last years a family life with other dogs and cats and we hope she is now reunited with her Norwegian friend.

The last Y-puppies moved into their new homes

A week ago the last two Y-puppies, Yanka and Yvette, moved to their new homes!

We are very proud that, inspite of the Corona crisis, we managed to find them all seven loving families and transported five of them to Holland, two were homed on the island.

We thank Filio for driving with Tanja to Thessaloniki for the late flight, and of course Erna who escorted them on her flight!

Vinnie had a shave – who saves Vinnie?

Vinnie is one of the 7 siblings found on the streets in May 2019. Sadly only 2 of them were so lucky to find a home…
It happens that these dogs are very intelligent, which can turn into a problem if they are held in a shelter for a long time. Dogs like this need challenges, playing, search games or agility. In a shelter they can get bored, start damaging fences, dig wholes or worse… get frustrated.

That’s why we ask you to SHARE this message wherever you can to find Vinnie and the other four finally a good home.

Oh, why was Vinnie shaved you wonder? Well he has quite a long fur that needs regularly and good brushing. But when we come to the shelter to feed, water and clean he is so exited that he can’t stand still for long, cuddles are much more important he thinks. So he got a bit matted and, more important, all the grasses were stuck in his fur which can cause huge problems.
But Vinnie is a good boy, who loves attention and has loads of love to give. On the table at the vet’s during his shave he stood still for an hour without any complaint. That is why we are sure that it will be no problem to brush him daily once he is in a family situation.

Can you help Vinnie???

Also Yogi is home

This week it was Yogi's turn to finally go home.
Also his human flew especially up and down to pick him up.

Thank you Marc and also for paying half of his ticket and the chocolates.
And of course we thank Jurgen who did the transport to Kavala airport.

Totally relaxed in his new home

Yola and Yola finally arrived in their new homes

This week Yola and Yoyo finally left for their new homes in Holland.

Due to the Corona virus the families had to wait a very long time to see their babies for real. Well they are not exactly babies anymore ;)

We thank Agnese who flew to Greece to pick up her own dog and take another one as well, and of course Jürgen who brought them to the airport in Thessaloniki.

Later this month also Yogi, Yvette and Yanka will leave us.

We are very happy that all families were very understanding and waited patiently!

New food storage

In the last Newsletter of the Dutch organisation Wereldasielen, our castration programm of September 2019 was mentioned.
https://wereldasielen.nl/…/…/04/Wereldkrant_61-webversie.pdf

It draw the attention of one of the supporters of Wereldasielen, a sweet lady who has supported several projects already.
She contacted us in May and we had a long talk, which resulted in a very generous donation for food and castrations.

But it didn't end here. She wanted to help us with something structural. And since we have a mouse plague since a few weeks we decided to build a "mouse-safe" food storage.
Helena paid for the materials and work and on top gave an extra donation!

Thank you Helena we are so grateful for your on going support!! It makes a big difference in this difficult times.

Joop van Egmond, RIP 4-6-2020

It is with deep sadness that we announce the death of our Secretary, Joop van Egmond on June 4th 2020.

He died peacefully at home after a long illness which he bore with great courage and dignity.

Joop was one of the original founder members of ACT and was totally committed both to the organisation and the animals which it helps. He worked tirelessly behind the scenes, transporting dogs to airports, our trade stand to various selling events and assisting with our building projects. Amazingly, he even found time, with Tanja, to foster dogs which were too old or unwell to leave the island, as well as feeding and exercising the dogs in our enclosure in Kalivia. And of course we must not forget all the cats that he helped with !

So, old friend, rest in peace and take our love and gratitude with you.

The story of Olga and Nora

We were very glad that these 2 (probably) sisters were chosen by Sabine to be fostered at Schnauzen wg in Austria and from there find their forever home.
But after the usual bloodtests we found out that Olga had heartworm…

As always Sabine found a solution. They would go to Dina near Serres and from there the therapy of Olga would be arranged. When Olga is healthy again she and Nora will travel to Austria.

So 10 days ago Petra and Tanja drove the 2 dogs to Serres. Just in time before the islands shut down because of Corona.

Thank you Sabine for arranging and paying for Olga’s therapy and Dina for taking care of them until they can travel abroad.

DOG OF THE MONTH YANNICK

Please help us to find a loving home for our dogs.
All you have to do is SHARE this post, so they are widely spread.

YANNICK

Male – castrated – born 05-2017 – 15 kg – 55 cm

Yannick is way too long with us and needs his own family.
He was left behind on the island just because he grew bigger than expected...
Being a puppy he was quite boisterous but in time he settled down. Now he is a very kind and pleasant dog, very playful and has lots of energy. He walks quite well on a lead and is very good with other dogs. Cats unknown.
Best for Yannick would be an active family.

Interested? Contact us!

DOG OF THE MONTH: VINNIE

Please help us to find a loving home for our dogs. All you have to do is SHARE this post, so they are widely spread.

VINNIE

Male – castrated – born 03-2019 – 15 kg – 50 cm

Vinnie was found on the streets of Thassos with his siblings in May 2019, only 2 months old.

For some he might not be the prettiest, but he looks quite cute don’t you think?
Vinnie is a bit boisterous, the typical rough diamond, who can turn, in the right loving and firm hands, into a fine dog. He needs to learn family life, since he is in our enclosure all his life. But he is very intelligent and will learn fast.

Vinnie needs a family with dog experience without small children. We don’t know how he is with cats.

Zelda and her tumor

Zelda was found tied up beside a road just outside Kalivia. She was probably dumped because she had a huge tumor on her belly. Let’s think positiv and suppose this person left her there knowing she would be found and helped…

Anyway, we named her Zelda and today she was on the operation table to remove her tumor. Not an easy job being the tumor so big as you can see on the pictures (we will spare you the bloody ones).

Vet Giannis did a great job stitching the skin that was left together.

She now is in foster with Roger & Janet (thank you for that!) during her recovery until the stitches can be removed.

Operations like this cost quite some money, so any donation would be more than welcome.

Dog of the month: Nora

Please help us to find a loving home for our dogs. All you have to do is SHARE this post, so they are widely spread.

NORA
Female - castrated – born 11/2015 - 12 kg - 45 cm

Nora was dumped by someone in our HalfWayHouse in November 2018, probably unfit for hunting…
Nora is a very friendly girl. She is a medium sized hunting dog. Very shy at first, but when she knows you she comes for cuddles. She loves to play and go out for a walk. At first she pulls a bit on the lead, but she is a clever girl and learns fast.
Cars are like big monsters to her, so she will need some gentle guiding to get used to traffic.

Nora needs a family that understands that she needs time and let her explore things in her own pace (so no small children).
She is fine with other dogs, cats and driving in the car.