Times are tough and it’s even tougher now because it’s the pandemic. There are people who are stuck at home or who don’t even have a home.
And do you know who else the pandemic is hard on?
The stray dogs. They really don’t have anywhere to go. They can’t charm their way into a house or a shelter. Most people turn them away from everywhere.
But there’s a particular furniture store in Turkey that chose to help these dogs, especially during the nighttime.
The owner of Istikbal Mobile has a soft spot for dogs, especially the stray dogs in this area. Dr. Cem Baykal, the person who took the photos, always noticed this whenever he walked by.
Bu rastgele bir durum değil, kızıltoprak istikbal mağazası yıllardır bu arkadaşlar için dışarı ambalajında bir yatak koyuyor. Bu ikili de sürekli orada. Güzel insanlar var çevrede. @istikbal pic.twitter.com/MraJPu18MF
— Cem BAYKAL (@cem_baykal) January 25, 2021
The store owner always leaves a mattress flat on the ground in front of the store for the dogs.
“The owner of this shop puts one of the beds (with a plastic cover on it) in front of the shop,” Dr. Baykal told The Dodo. “This bed may be the one they sell that day or it may be one of the incoming ones.”
In Istanbul, with a population of 14 million people, there is a divided issue regarding the 150,000 stray dogs and cats that roam around the city.
Most of the locals continuously provide food and water for them. And there are volunteers who go out of their way to make sure they are fed daily.
But there are still some residents who regularly complain about the strays.
The complaints include their worry about dirt, disease, and especially the aggressive behavior of some strays. The government has responded to these complaints by drafting a law to divert the strays to the outskirts of Northern Turkey.
But the animal rights workers had their concerns.
“These animals’ natural habitat is not that area,” Ahmet Senpolat, an Istanbul-based lawyer who runs Turkey’s Animal Rights Federation (HAYTAP), explained. “They were living in our own streets. I call them ‘social animals.’ [The term] social animals means that for example, these animals know to stop at red lights and go at green lights.”
And even the volunteers who feed the strays dogs do not believe this was a good idea, either.
“In the forest there will probably not be enough food, and the dogs could hurt each other when they are hungry,” Semra Tecimen, the leader of the volunteers, voiced her concern.
The law was eventually set aside because of the opposition.
But Senpolat is still worried because it might be reintroduced and pass this time.
It does not address the root cause of the problem – animal smuggling and illegal pet shops.
“Animal smugglers only face a fine of a few hundred euros at worst, they continue to bring expensive pure-bred puppies and sell them to pet stores. People often buy the puppies from pet stores, and abandon them when they become too tough to handle,” Senpolat said.
Back in Istanbul, Dr. Baykal always sees the same pair of dogs sleeping on the mattress.
He later found out these two were inseparable best friends. And most of the people in the area know them well and have always provided food and water for them.
In fact, they’re staying in a richer area, where the residents do not hesitate to help them. But this is the first time beddings have been provided for these stray animals.
“They don’t put the bed on its side, they let it stay flat, and these two stray dogs lay and sleep there every time,” Dr. Baykal shared. “If it is winter, the shop provides a bed every day. And if it is summer, they give them shade and water.”
Dr. Baykal passes by the same area every day and always sees the pair of dogs there.
And on one particularly rainy day, he was glad to see the mattress still outside with the dogs.
“This morning we had very heavy rain in Istanbul, and I saluted my friends on my way to the hospital in the early morning,” he said. “The shop was closed but the bedding was still there. The lazy one was still sleeping, but his friend was awake and accompanied me to the pedestrian crossing for my safety.”
Paying it forward perhaps?
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