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Antonia tells us about one of her rescue operations (check out the pictures in her Fostered Puppies Gallery)
SAM AND HER LITTER
I lost count of the amount of phone calls I received about this dog over the summer months. If people haven’t had two different animals confused, then this same dog, now called Sam, had a litter at the beginning of the season and again at the end. From the beginning of October, when the second litter was born in a cave on the beach in Poros, the phone calls increased considerably and it seems people were travelling from all corners of the island to visit the beach and check the puppies were doing OK. Sam was being fed by beach visitors and tavernas alike, so on the face of it, they all seemed to be fine.
A tourist called Mike rang me quite a few times over his holiday asking if there was anything KATs could do to help. Then, when the weather became bad and the whole litter was washed out of the cave by rough sea, he rang up to 3 times per day. In the end, I agreed to go down to Poros to see what could be done, but finding homes for 6 pups and their mum is no easy task. I told Mike we wouldn’t move them from where they were unless we could find foster homes for them. Those that we couldn’t accommodate, and they were only about 40 days old, would be left there to take their chances. (What you say and what you do aren’t always the same.)
Mike was staying in Lourdas, where I already had an arrangement to meet someone else about a dog with appalling hind leg injuries. Mike was quite persistent and even though I had an appointment to meet Jo from Vanessa’s Taverna two days later in Poros, I agreed to collect 3 of the litter. Jo had promised to look after the mum if all the puppies could be fostered somewhere. So, when I went to Lourdas I collected the “dog with the legs”, as I referred to him, and 3 of the mankiest looking pups you’ve ever seen.
Sue Woods agreed to take 2 of Princess’s Lassi pups, Fatboy and Silke, which were older and on 2 meals a day, so I could keep the little ones.
I went to Poros 2 days later as scheduled and was discussing the problem with Jo on the steps to the beach, when I saw a lady called Barbara who had very recently offered a home in Skala to Red, one of Princess’s puppies. I explained what we were doing there and asked if she could take on any more puppies on a short term foster basis until we could find more permanent homes for them. She agreed, so I handed over the 3 I had in the car with me and then I had to “snake” into the cave to retrieve the other 3.
So it all turned out quite well.
Jo is still fostering Sam and for anyone who saw her at the time wouldn’t recognise her now; she’s been neutered and has found her puppyhood again. She’s also being prepared to go to the UK because Mike has offered her a home.
The first 3 puppies I collected were called Digby, Flora and Kara. Kara is living back in Poros with the local doctor. Digby and Flora are still together and living in Keramies with an English couple.
When they left me, I then retrieved the other 3 from Barbara, who’d helped us by looking after them for 6 weeks. They’re called Henry, Sami and Millie, and they still need mums and dads.
Check out Antonia’s other rescue tales:
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