March Report

[Symi Animal Welfare]

Sorry there was no report in February, but I've been away. So much has happened during February and in the first few days of March too.

The winter feeding will continue for a while yet, our street cats are looking healthy and can be seen basking in the early Spring sunshine. There hasn't been a vet visit for some time now so small kittens are everywhere, but thankfully we haven't been inundated with stories of abandoned or starving litters. Neither have there been any reports of the horrific poisonings of previous winters.

Several weeks ago we received a phone-call from one of the teachers at the technical school, she told us that 4 tiny puppies had been dumped by rubbish bins in the Village. They were quickly located and taken to a safe, warm place - that particular weekend was exceptionally cold and the tiny creatures would have certainly perished had it not been for Claudia's mercy dash. A nearby family who had been watching our efforts adopted two puppies straight away, a third was given a home a few days later by a well-known family with 3 young children. Claudia cared for the remaining pup, we were all saddened however when new offers to take him never reached fruition. That was until today, she has just called to say that his new 'mum' is collecting him later this afternoon.

As some of you may already be aware, our friends Robin and Gill Bennett are returning to England at the end of the Spring. During the 10 years they have lived on the island, they have been very involved with Symi Animal Welfare and have cared for so many cats and dogs. Three rescue animals will be going back to England with Robin and Gill along with little Intie-dog who came out here with them back in 2000. Our best wishes to them all for a safe journey and new life in the UK.

On a sad note, Rocky the large pointer-type dog who many of you will have seen in the Village near to the 2As bar, passed away last month after a long illness. His loving owner had regularly taken him to see a vet and was very strict with his medication regime, so the old boy didn't suffer.

Melanie