It’s heartbreaking to think of the sheer number of cats and dogs abandoned all over the world, but at least here in the U.S., we should feel grateful for the amazing rescue services that we have. Unfortunately, many countries just don’t have the funding available for rescue centers.
The Greek Islands may be beautiful, but stray animals are incredibly common over there since there isn’t enough funding to build shelters.
In fact, the problem is so bad that back in 2015, animal charities reported more than a million strays in Greece because people are simply abandoning pets they can no longer afford to keep.
Many locals set about building their own shelters to help all the abandoned animals. Over in Crete, one man created a rescue center in the town of Lerapetra named Takis Shelter, and he now shares videos of all his rescues onto his YouTube channel as a way to gain more awareness.
Posted by Takis Shelter on Saturday, 17 February 2018
The shelter is now home to more than 400 dogs, 30+ cats, 10 goats, and three sheep- who all rely solely on the donations from people like us to stay alive.
One of the shelter’s most recent videos is heartbreakingly titled: “Puppy abandoned, crying out of a supermarket. Nobody even turns to look at her,” and if this doesn’t sum up the sad reality of Greece’s stray animal problem, then we don’t know what will.
In the video, the shelter explains that abandoned animals are seen so often in the streets that people don’t even give them a second glance.
It’s a problem that Takis could not ignore.
The puppy is absolutely tiny, and when the man approaches her, you can see that she is no bigger than the size of his hand.
Someone has left her in a bare cardboard box outside the supermarket- maybe in the hopes that somebody would see her and decide to take her home with them.
So far, the puppy has had no luck in attracting some adoptive parents – which we’re pretty amazed by since she’s so stinkin’ cute!
But luckily, Takis are here to help.
The puppy is gently lifted up and taken back to the shelter. She’s tiny, but she seems to be healthy and well, and just wants to play! In the video, the sweet pup rolls onto her back and lets the volunteer pet her belly, giving him a few playful nips on his hand as he does so.
Despite being so small, the puppy – who Takis named Maisie – can’t wait to play with the bigger dogs.
She takes a particular shining to Ozzy, a big, brown dog who is recovering at the shelter after being severely tortured and burned by his previous owner.
Ozzy is a little wary at first, but before long, the pair are cuddling up and playing together.
Naturally, it wasn’t long before Maisie was adopted by a lovely couple who owned a farm in Crete. Maisie now lives with a total of eight dogs and eleven cats!
Look how big she’s grown!
It’s a far cry from the lonely life she started out with. Take a look at her sweet video below, and consider donating to Takis Shelter here to help them continue with their amazing work!
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