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During the summer of 2004, we were very lucky to have Elaine, who is a veterinary assistant form Dublin, visit us as a volunteer helper. Here she tells us how that came about, and what it’s like to work at Villa Maura.
Life as a Volunteer at the Kefalonia Animal Trust
 While on holiday in Greece I couldn’t help noticing the amount of stray dogs and sickly looking cats who roamed the streets and hung around the bars and taverna’s looking for scraps. Being an animal lover, I wondered if anyone was doing anything about these unwanted animals and wondered what I could do to help.
When I returned home, I searched the internet for any welfare groups or charities and happily discovered that there were many people who cared, and there were quite a few charities who provided food, shelter and care for the strays of Greece.
The following February I wrote to various charities on the Greek Islands. I got their addresses from their web sites and I offered to work as a volunteer for a month during the summer. I was hoping to get a placement in Kefalonia as it is the nicest Greek Island that I had been to, and to my joy I did!
So I started saving and my boss was nice enough to give me 4 weeks leave from my job at the veterinary clinic.
When I first arrived at the Kefalonia Animal Trust Sanctuary[1] I was overwhelmed by the number of dogs and cats and I thought to myself “I will never remember all their names”, but as time went by I got to know each one of them and their own unique personalities, and everyone’s name. Pat and Dave were nice enough to provide me with accommodation and I settled in well.
A typical day volunteering starts at 9:30 am[2] with breakfast for 45 cats and 17 dogs. A chorus of hungry barks and meows rings out for about 15 minutes until everyone has a full tummy. Dishes are quickly gobbled of their contents then washed, dried and put away for the evening feed.
Then all cattery pens and the dog kennels are cleaned out and disinfected while it is playtime for the animals. They soon tire with the heat and seek shade for the siesta time. By then my work is done and I am free for the afternoon and usually went to the beach or met friends in town for coffee.
In the evening I would return to feed the animals again. The cats were fed first then the dogs. Some of the dogs would bark and bark impatiently wishing I could go faster while others would sit and wait quietly for their turn. Some of the animals were sick and required daily medication, like Sandy and Henry, two rescued dogs who were on tablets for Leishmania which is a disease caused by the bite of a sand fly, which I had never heard of before going to Greece. Also many of the kittens had sore eyes, which needed to be bathed, and drops administered. Sometimes kittens would stop feeding and would have to be separated from the others in the cattery and given special attention, fed by hand and monitored regularly until they were back to their usual mischievous selves.
While I was volunteering at the sanctuary 6 baby kittens were found abandoned in a box on the side of the road, they required bottle feeding ever hour or so as they were far too young to be away from their mother. But I enjoyed playing mother and even did the night shift for bottle feeds.
I worked for 4 weeks at the centre and thoroughly enjoyed it. I became very attached to the animals and was sad to leave them but I hope one day to return and see them all again if they haven’t all found homes by then.
I would recommend volunteering to anyone who loves animals and wants to help, it was a very rewarding and enjoyable experience.
Pat adds:
I have to admit that I found it hard at first having someone to do a lot of the jobs I usually did, but once I got used to it, it was GREAT… The only accommodation we had free was the camper van, and Elaine settled in there quite happily.
Elaine worked hard and was so reliable and trustworthy, we can’t thank her enough and would welcome her back.
We are hoping that when we eventually get a shelter, we will have a lot of volunteer helpers, both winter and summer, the animals like a change of face, and seem to enjoy the attention of someone else other than us.
[1] Although she calls this a sanctuary it is only our home, but we like to think it is a sanctuary for the animals for the time they are here.
[2] 9:30 may seem a late start, but during the summer when there are a lot of tourists around we like to keep the dogs quiet until this time at the earliest, and once they know food is on its way all hell breaks loose, we are now on winter feeding times and start a lot earlier, it is better for us as it leaves us a bit of day for ourselves.
We are hoping that when we eventually get a shelter, we will have a lot of volunteer helpers, both winter and summer, the animals like a change of face, and seem to enjoy the attention of someone else other than us.
Incidentally, not content with working with the animals during the day, Elaine also found the time to go with Carole on one of here “Karolina the Cat” prowls, collecting from the visitors in Lassi. You can see the updated item and pictures here.
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