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Providing supplies for the Council Kennels
On an ongoing basis, the charity provide 3 x 15kg sacks of dry dog & puppy food EVERY WEEK, milk, food and water bowls, leads and collars, brushes, pup toys, blankets all through winter, (which are normally destroyed and replaced when they get too dirty) and any medicines required for special treatments such as chemotherapy for penile/vaginal tumours (a virus found in Turkish dogs).
Any dogs that are hit by cars or injured some other way and need operations on legs or broken jaws, are treated by the private vet and paid for by the charity, as are the many dogs coming in that have had string tied around their necks when pups and as they have grown, the string or rope has become embedded in the flesh (see photo - the rope had just been removed as it had grown into the throat).
The charity also provided 100 doses of rabies vaccine, so that the strays could be vaccinated when they come in for neutering. Since then, the council have continued this by providing more.
The good news is that from summer 2005 to date, almost 2500 dogs have been neutered and about 600 cats! Dozens have been treated for tumours and once well, neutered and released. Many have had operations for broken limbs and are thriving.
Rehoming programme
We also work very hard to find homes for dogs that are unable to live on the street, with something like 200 dogs having been homed in the last 3 years and that does not include all the puppies that people just go up to the council kennels and take home.
 Many dogs have been given homes by kind Brits and Turks alike, either after their release, or direct from the council kennels, with even disabled doggies getting homes. Cu and Cockles are both blind from cataracts, Charlie has only 3 legs.
Fred had his shoulder broken so badly he had to have platinum pins put in it; he is going to the UK at the end of November, at a cost of over £4000 to Janice, the lady who saw the car accident and fell in love with him. Jasmine is also going, but not for a few months. Another pup is with one of the charity members and is going within the next couple of months and at least 3 have gone to Germany this summer.
Helping not just dogs.....
The charity has also saved a small pony that was being neglected and he is temporarily being looked after by a British helper, until a suitable permanent home is found for him.
The man in the pet shop that was selling monkeys from small cages has also been penalised and been told he is not allowed to sell monkeys; the charity is in the midst of a court case whereby certain persons are being sued for poisoning dogs and cats.
We would also like to see more action for the cats, but as there are literally thousands and most are so feral, they are uncatchable. Sadly, the council at present cannot be involved with them, although will cover the cost of neutering if someone feeding them can get close enough to catch them and get them up to the council kennels on a Wednesday morning early.
Education Programmes
We would very much like to get involved with an education programme too, for the schools and also for anyone interested in learning how to behave around dogs, as there is a large ignorance factor about them, making many people unreasonably petrified of them with no real cause other than lack of awareness.
However, we do need the council to set this up and we have said we will support any seminars, presentations, etc that they care to give. Of course we appreciate that animal issues cannot possibly be high on their agenda of importance in a growing tourism town like Didim and we appreciate greatly the fact that our Mayor understands that the animal issue does need to be addressed and not simply ignored in the hope it will go away, like so many other Mayors do.
Charity Membership
Apart from that, the charity as a group always needs new members, who are resident in Turkey, who can be active or passive, with very small membership fees and meetings approx every 3 months.
We must have a minimum number of members to be allowed to operate as a charity and we have at the moment exactly the minimum, So if anyone resident in Turkey is interested in joining, please call the General Secretary, Gill Erer on 0546 230 0340
We also need volunteer dog walkers at the council kennels. We desperately need someone or a couple to be able to stand in when one of the regulars are unable to attend, as it is the only 15 minutes walk the caged dogs get from 24 hours in a cage. We are only asking for 2 hours of your time which will make between 10 and 15 dogs very happy!
If anyone has any questions about the charity or just wishes to speak to someone they can call Gill Erer on the above number.
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Charity works
