In February 2007

it was my turn to go and see the shelter in Vlotho, Germany, where many of the dogs we rescue are sent. Of course I also wanted to visit some of the dogs in their new homes.
The first day in Germany I spent at the shelter to see how it was operated. Even if the weather was not the best, I took some dogs out for a walk. I then had to put a cross on a board next to the dog´s name, and at the right day of the week. This is to avoid that the same dog is taken out twice a day. Every dog needs its share of exercise and individual attention!
However, not all dogs are walked every day, some were let out of their kennels into larger fenced exercise areas. Except for the permanent staff there are also volunteers that come several times a week to take dogs out for walks.
After the walks I spent some time in the cathouse. Nice and warm! It is a bit sad though to see so many cats just sitting and waiting for someone to come and choose them…I was amazed how clean everything was, and how well the cats got along with each other.

In the evening the same day Tanja, who is the vet who runs the shelter and kindly accomodated me in her home, and I went for the first visit. A small Tibetan spaniel mix called Ting-Ling which didn´t live far away. The story of Ting-Ling is that she was thrown over the fence, into the garden of a woman that sits in a wheelchair living in Agios Nikolaos. She was then just a young puppy, and stayed with the woman for some weeks. Since she was unable to have a dog she contacted Friends of the Animals and asked for help to find a home for Ting-Ling. So the little girl went to Vlotho, and there she found her new home. Now she goes to work with her owners, and there she has many dogfriends to play with. Tanja and I were very happy to see that Ting-Ling was so loved by her owners, but she was not so happy to see us! The little girl barked and barked during the whole visit. Maybe she was afraid that we were going to take her away from her home once again. I am sure she was very tired when we left…

The next day we went for a longer drive- to Hannover. The reason for this was to visit a male called Frixos- well now his name was Picasso, which also suited him. This was a visit that I had been looking forward to since Frixos stayed with me the last winter. He was found by an animal friendly Greek woman in the mountains, where he was all alone and very scared. From this you couldn´t see anything now. Instead a confident dog that enjoys his life in Germany. When the door opened and Frixos run out to greet us it was hard for me to keep my eyes dry. This charming Griffon-mix also had a charming owner that had prepared breakfast for us (2 breakfast that day!). Frixos/Picasso was of course in the centre during our visit , and he really looked like he knew it!

 

When we returned from Hannover Tanja and I took her 3 dogs out for a walk. One of them is also a dog that brings back memories to me. Julia, a female that I first saw in a terrible condition in Elounda. She had been left to die, tied in a short rope, suffering badly from Leishmaniosis. She was just skin and bone, and had nearly no coat at all. From that miserable looking dog there was nothing to be seen. To see her now running in full speed, free in Tanja´s garden, or curling up in her warm basket, makes it all worth while.

Our next visit was to a recently rehomed dog- Penn, now Bennie. He had stayed only 5 weeks with his family. They had always had dogs and went for a visit to Vlotho shelter only to have "a look". When they saw and met Penn, they knew he was the dog for them. First week had been a bit difficult since Penn didn´t know many things, but housetrained he was from the very first day!
Penn was found in Elounda full of scars, and very thin. Now his coat was shiny and he relaxed comfortable on his bed when we had coffee and cake. In a few weeks he had adapted very well to life as a family dog.

Bennie and Liza

Bennie and his new wifie

In the end of November 2006 a friend of mine saw a paper box when she was walking her dog. Nothing unusual about that, only that this box moved! Inside were two small puppies, one already dead, and the other one very dehydrated. Probably they had been there 2-3 days. The first days were a bit critical, but the little female survived and went to Germany. She quickly found a home, and to see how she was doing was next on our schedule. When Chloe, now Nellie met us at the door, I could hardly recognize her. She had of course like all puppies grown since she left Crete two months ago. Now she was just like any puppy - biting , playing etc. Let´s hope she doesn´t remember those days in the paperbox.

Not far from Chloe, actually in the same village, lives another of our rescued dogs. A small male called Ollie. Ollie belonged to a litter of 4 that lived on a roof with a Greek family . The motherdog had puppies every year, and what happened to them we rather not think of. After discussion with the family the following was agreed- to take 3 of the puppies + their mother, and leave one male puppy. So 2 male puppies and one female went to Germany with their mother. Since Ollie was only a young wolly puppy when he left, it was not possible to recognize him now, but he had turned into a very good looking dog with nice proportions.

Talk about proportions- on our way back we stopped to see Pelle, a male sent to Vlotho last winter. Tanja said I had to see him. Pelle together with his brother were placed in a box on my veranda late one evening. They were very young ,and had probably just been taken away from their mother.
In Pelle´s case the word proportion doesn´t fit. His head and body look like they are part of a big dog, while his legs are very short. Never mind, what doesn´t come with looks, comes with personality instead. Pelle is a very charming dog that was well known among other dog owners in the area.

A new busy year with animal rescue has started, and already there are many dogs waiting to go to Germany or Switzerland. I hope they will all find new loving homes like the ones I visited on my trip to Vlotho!

Liza

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