Strays in Greece

We are finally back from Greece - best vacation we've ever been on and we can't wait to go back! The one downside to the trip - there were so many stray animals. Everywhere you turn, there's another animal sleeping in the streets. Another animal looking for food. Another animal either begging for attention or running away. Some of the strays were very skinny, while others were well fed. I did see some bowls of food and water set out in the streets and I can only hope all the strays find their way to those bowls.

Before I get into the main pics, here was a funny poster we found on a hike in Athens. Even though I can't read greek, I'm pretty sure it says to clean up after your pets!

Half way through our trip, I decided to take pictures of some of the stray animals. Here are a few:

One of the dogs at Ancient Agora:

Cats by the Parthenon:

Cats in Oia (Ia):

Caught these fella's sleeping!: (I should note that with most of the strays that were sleeping, we took whatever food we had, usually crackers or peanuts, and put a handful by their mouth or paws, so that when they woke up, they'd get some yummy food)

This dog in Oia (Ia) posed great:

This dog made me laugh:

On our hike with Melba, we came across this doggie (he's to the right of the building):

Sorry for the sideways picture. As we were eating gyros in Fira (in Santorini), this pretty girl sat by us and just stared. Josh gave her some pork from his gyro and I gave her some of the pita from mine. As we were thinking of a name for her, we came up with Gigi (Gigi - Gyros - close enough!)

I'll end with the story of sweet Melba. She really tugged at my heart. Josh and I decided to take a 6.6 mile hike from Imerovigli to Oia (Ia) in Santorini. As we took the first turn from our hotel, I noticed a skinny dog up ahead of us. The dog kept running back and forth in the street, almost getting hit by a truck. We caught up to her and I offered her what food I had - airplane peanuts! She wouldn't take them and ran away when I approached her. As we kept walking, she got up on a ledge. The cliffs in Santorini aren't short by any means. I asked Josh to try to get her down from the ledge and when he went to her, she took to him! She got some friendly pats on the head and even ate peanuts from his hands. Was this a bad idea to feed a stray dog? I wouldn't think so until a few hours later when she wouldn't leave our side!

As we continued on our hike, this sweet girl would run with the people in front of us, come back to us, hike up the hills, etc. As we got to the top of a mountain, I searched my purse for more food. I found a pack of handi-snacks (the crackers and cheese). I got down on one knee and gave her one cracker at a time. She gobbled them up. As I looked at her, I could see her bones and ribcage through her skin. She was so thin. As we continued to talk, I shed some tears. I've never seen such a skinny dog before (besides the husky we saw in Fira) and I had no clue how I could help her. For now, I knew that feeding her and giving her some special attention could only benefit her.

I figured she must be thirsty, so I used the handi-snack container and poured water in it for her. This was most likely one of the first times she's ever drank good clean water. Water in Santorini is not drinkable due to the sulfer from the caldera/volcano. As we continued on our hike, the dog began to stay by our side more. I decided to name her Melba (it was the first name that popped into my head). Melba guided us along the path and we would stop every 10 minutes or so to give her more water. I soon realized we were out of water, which also meant Josh and I had given Melba all of our water and we had none to drink ourselves. Luckily, we came across a stand where we bought some water for ourselves - ok, so it was really for sweet Melba!

She stayed with us until almost the end of our hike. She tracked us down 2 hours later in a restaurant (yes, she came and sat by our table!). As awful as it sounds, the only way to leave her was to, in a sense, sneak away. We hopped on a bus and went back to our hotel. Whenever we were in Oia (Ia) after that day, I always kept a lookout for sweet Melba. Being in Oia (Ia) meant more people, water and food bowls on the street, and some much needed shade.

And now, here are some pictures of Melba:

I think about her every day - wondering where she is, what she is doing. Hoping that someone will invite this sweet skinny girl into their home as a permanent family member. In fact, I wish this for all the strays in Greece. If you are in Greece and are reading this, PLEASE spay and neuter your pets. Right now, it is the only thing that will help control the overpopulation and strays.