Turkey - Sefakoy & SHKD
Turkey – SHKD forest shelter in Istanbul and various projects of Stichting ActieZwerfhonden.
In the SHKD forest shelter there are currently living around 657 dogs which are unable to be returned to the streets after neutering and need medical care, because of various reasons. SHKD and Stichting ActieZwerfhonden (who is, financially, fully supporting 357 of these dogs) are working together to give these dogs a better live, even if they can not be rehomed anymore. Then they may live their lives happy and well taken care off in spacious compartments living in small groups.
The main goal of both animal welfare organisations is to neuter and release the stray-dogs so the population will decrease through a “natural” and human way, and educate the people in Turkey both on that subject and on getting to know dogs in a better way.
The costs of medical care for so many dogs is, as everyone will understand, enormous, and SHKD and Stichting ActieZwerfhonden are struggling to keep up with these costs.
To continue our work, and do more projects on neuter and release and education, we can use all the support you can give.
We thank AMCF and her supporters for their support!
Turkey - Marmaris
This shelter can be found since 2005 at the Datca Road, a small 4 kilometer from Marmaris. The shelter is run by Jeannie Thirkill. This Scottish lady put in Marmaris welfare on the map. Besides the capture and neuter sterilization of cats on the street to reduce the population she, in consultation with local people, feeds stray animals (that are already spayed / sterilized). She lives on top of the mountain with about 300 cats and a donkey. In the winter months she is as good as alone. In the summer, volunteers will help her. These include volunteers from Germany, England and Netherlands. The activities are diverse, from cleaning, and performing minor medical procedures but not least also the "hugging" of the cats. Since we are members of the AMCF we receive regular stuff we can take. So on behalf of Jeannie and of course the animals thank you! This kind of "gifts" make life easier and it is nice to know that more people the animals at heart.
Everyone knows Jeannie in Marmaris. The mayor has a soft spot for Jeannie and the animals. He tries, where possible, to help. Unfortunately this is often different in other countries. The veterinarians of Marmaris try their utmost to help. Through the Mayor Jeannie get water delivered. There is no running water in the reception. There is no electricity. From volunteers Jeannie has been given a generator so that at times she has power. Although the reception is, in our view, primitive, the animals are happy. Over the years a lot has improved. There are a number of cages / runs for the cats with specific problems or quarantine. There is a very large run where cats roam freely. Everything in the collection is about the welfare of the animals and Jeannie lives her life for them.
It is always a feast for us when we arrive at the carpark to meet Jeannie and the cats. Every year there are improvements again. There are steps realized that this year so that the cages are easily accessible. There is a new cage for the partially sighted or blind cats. There are also two new cages built in the large run. Often such projects are sponsored by volunteers. Often these volunteers have helped themselves to build and achieve this.
www.marmarisinfo.com/kittycat
Dear people of AMCF, Jeannie on behalf of all the animals in Marmaris undersigned and thanks again for all the things that we might bring to Turkey. We keep you informed of our activities and hope that you next "our" shelter will continue to help shelters around the world. We continue until no more animal suffers.
Turkey - Anonymous
In this part of Istanbul/Turkey there are a few refuges, however the conditions there are horrible. The animal workers need to do their work anonymously because of the controversies in Turkish animal welfare (yes/no neutering, yes/no rehoming abroad). All contacts go through secure and trusted persons. The animal workers try, assisted by local inhabitants to help the stray dogs by sterilization, vaccination and education projects and are also taking care of injured dogs.