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ARIS - He was found unable to move, lying in the damp dirty basement of a factory that cut and polished marble.
He had been lying there for a week with a terrible injury to his leg that smelled awful from filth and infection..
My first thought was that this leg would need amputation but there was no break to the bone and Despoina looked after him at home for the next couple of months.
At first he needed daily sedation in order for us to change the dressings on his wound it was so very painful. Thankfully, he gradually improved and is now fine. He has a slight limp if he is tired but generally, it is barely noticeable.
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May 2006
Marijo Anne Gillis/WAG NY
Humane activists from around the world gathered for a protest demonstration in Athens, Greece on Saturday, May 20th at 12 noon at Syntagma Square and at 6 pm at the Olympic complex to actively protest what has become a nationwide witch hunt aimed at destroying animal welfare in Greece.
Threats of physical harm and legal action against advocates are rampant, personal computers have been seized, animal advocates tossed in Greek jails and their animals confiscated.
For years, Greek and foreign animal welfare organizations have been battling brutal animal abuse and neglect and now they are rightfully battling the very law that is supposed to protect animals in Greece. Humane legislation 3170, passed in 2003 by the Pasok Parliament is seriously deficient in quality issues and sensible protection.
Convoluted and confusing, animal protection Law 3170 and it's rare pursuit by officials is causing a backlash of horror for those animal lovers attempting to rescue and re-home tens of thousands of Greece's neglected, abandoned and abused animals.
The statues mandate that local authorities be responsible for abandoned dogs, their vaccination, sterilization, identification, re-homing or spay/neuter and release programs.
Purportedly funding for these projects was dispersed for action programs. Yet, 3 years later only 29 of nearly 1,000 municipalities and communities in Greece have initiated humane programs.
The result is devastating. Tens of thousands of abandoned dogs and cats wander the streets, starving, multiplying and becoming the victims of poisonings or random attacks of horrifying abuse.
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Athens
Animal Lovers from all over Europe Protested on the Occasion of the Eurovision Song Contest
"Plight of strays, result in international ridicule."
By Argyro Morou - Eleftyrotypoia, Athens
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Those who arrived at the Olympic Stadium early that evening to watch the Eurovision song contest were treated to a preview of the points and the monsters before they saw the real "monsters" and the other competitors. Animal welfare activists from various European countries (Den- mark, Holland, England, Greece, and others) gathered with the aim of informing visitors what happens to strays in Greece, and to ask for their help.
The shocking photographs of the animals who featured in their placards took those who wanted to sell Greek flags and other objects by surprise but showed nothing more than what is seen daily on the streets.
Pamphlets translated into various languages, were also distributed, speaking for the "animals who have no voice of their own", as was written char- acteristically on one poster.
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The Law (a translation from the Greek newpaper, Eleftherotypia)
"They spoke of the controversial law (3170/2003) which relates to companion animals; of poisoning, abandoning and also the rumours that accuse them of sending animals abroad not for adoption but to be used as "experimental animals"! Despite objections from a very few, their silent protest gained the attention of the Eurovision public, mainly foreigners, who had travelled to Greece from other European countries.
And for those who continue to hide their heads in the sand, let them realise one thing. Only somebody who loves this country wants it to progress. And that somebody may include foreigners. The banners with their shocking photographs are a lot more painless to deal with than that seen by an "E" reader in the National Gardens last Tuesday, at the first Eurovision party in Zappeio.
"Ducks without water and food, eating one another amid other half eaten ducks. Donkeys with broken legs. Skeletal animals, sick, hungry and without water. She describes appalling conditions and as for the reaction of those responsible " the veterinarians who carried out an examination by telephone".
They issued explicit orders for the animals to "eat 50 gram of food (per animal) always with additional salt ", so that they will drink water and not be hungry", she told us." Eleftherotypia - 22/05/2006
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