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Documentary about Aegiali Project cat sterilizations

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In Amorgos we care for the health and safety of the island cats and their kittens but no animal in need is ever turned away from our center. The cats and dogs of this rocky island, the mules and horses and donkeys and goats and geese of Amorgos are all given aid and comfort by our extraordinary group of veterinarians and volunteers who even, at times, find themselves caring for a sick rabbit or a wounded hawk. Our Center is a hospital and a temporary place of shelter and recuperation. For some it has even become a permanent home. But there is so much more to do.

Will you help us keep this project alive, not only for these defenseless members of the animal kingdom, but, perhaps, also to serve as a model for other centers throughout Greece and beyond.

Please consider donating: we are in urgent need of help!

 

 

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Little Voulitsa

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Little Voulitsa was living with her mother, Voula, and her three siblings in an area where there had been serious outbreaks of disease and infection. Her mother Voula was released back into her home area after having been spayed but we felt that we could not allow Voulitsa to return with her mother since the area is extremely dangerous for young kittens.

Voulitsa is now six months old and she remains at our Center but she is available for adoption. If a home cannot be found for her, in spring when the weather is warmer, then Voulitsa will have to go back to her area.

We ask you to open your heart and home for Voulitsa. The life of a stray is a very hard life. Voulitsa needs a true home. She is now a healthy and active and playful kitten who loves to be hugged. What a gem!

Her microchip number is 941000016719360 and below, you will find photographs of the beautiful girl she has grown into.

A Boy and His Bunny Mike

A young boy called us at the Center asking for our help in finding a cure for his desperately ill rabbit, Mike.

Once the rabbit arrived we immediately called our veterinarian Dr. Dimitris Vasalakis. The diagnosis was a skin disease known as psoriasis that had left Mike so weak he could no longer stand or eat. We were told to begin injecting antibiotics and feeding nourishment and vitamins by syringe. 

By morning, after a night spent sleeping quietly on a heating pad, Mike was able to stand, to nibble on carrots and to drink water by himself. It took so little to reclaim the health and life of this small creature—the intensive care that we were able to provide gave the rabbit the strength he needed to begin to heal and he will stay here with us until he is strong enough to return to his home. At that time we will teach the boy how to recognize any symptoms that might possibly reoccur and to care for the rabbit himself.

We have great hopes that Mike will live a long and active life and we are grateful to the boy who cared enough to bring him to us at the Center. If you want to help Mike and others like him, please consider making a donation. Without your help we would not be able to care for animals in an emergency such as this. Thank you!

Bob

Bob was one of the five small puppies who were abandoned last year outside of a field in Amorgos. After many months with us, a local family of shepherds asked to adopt Bob and begin the work of training him to watch over their herds of goats and sheep. Although we told them that Bob loved to chase anything that moved they assured us that they would be able to turn him into a good watchdog.

Unfortunately, Bob was very happy to chase the herd but not to control it, and, so, after two months, Bob came back to us at the Center. He is now a very sweet and smart boy who loves to be with people. He is calm and gentle with children and he is comfortable with other dogs as well as with cats. As long as there are no goats or sheep to chase he is the most easygoing of fellows.

Bob is now living with his sister Akira and his brother Arangon in an enclosure in Amorgos.  Unfortunately, due to the lack of foster homes and volunteers on the island, these young dogs are able to spend only a short time with the people who come each day to care for them and they urgently need homes and human attention.

Bob’s mother was a pure bred Belgian Shepherd Groenendael and his father was a Greek Shepherd mixed breed. He is one year old, weighs 30 kg, is neutered and fully vaccinated, and his microchip number is 941000016719317.

Our great hope is that Bob will find a new and loving family on which to lavish his immense capacity for joyful affection.

Watch a video of him here.

Do you remember Esthel?

Do you remember Esthel?

Esthel came to our Center in June of 2015 when she was only three weeks old. The kitten was discovered by one of our most active volunteers when she was spending a few days on the nearby island of Kouronisi.

Our volunteer heard a kitten crying with no mother in sight and after waiting to see if the mother would return, the kitten was brought by boat to Amorgos where we received her at our Center and began to feed her by hand.

After three months Esthel was adopted by a wonderful woman from Switzerland. Her name is now Nemesis and she has grown into a happy and beautiful adult cat with a loving home and a bright future.

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Plume: The story of a special cat

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Plume was born in the same building in which our Center is located and for ten years he had a loving family and a best friend in his very own mother. Unfortunately, due to the crisis in Greece, his owner, Francoise, could no longer find work and was forced to move back to her home in Switzerland. For Plume, this was the beginning of a series of tragedies that would change his world forever.

When Francoise left, his own mother died suddenly and Plume was left alone. We, at AZI's center, agreed to care for him. But the peaceful and quiet life that Plume had known did not prepare him for a place filled with so many cats that were in our care.

Plume decided that he was happier spending more time outside in the neighborhood but it soon became apparent that he had developed an infection. Our veterinarian treated him for respiratory disease and gave him antibiotics but when nothing seemed to help we decided to send him to Athens for a second opinion. The discovery of a nasal fistula began a series of three surgeries and five difficult treatments over a long period of time, all of which left Plume in need of a calm sanctuary.

Our dear friend in Holland, Juliette, became interested in Plume’s story and began to search for a home for him, but, because Plume had also been diagnosed with FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus) he would not be able to live among cats who were free of the virus. Juliette and her friends found a shelter for cats in Belgium which seemed ideal for him, Buddy Kat: http://www.buddykat.be/

Nathalie, the wonderful woman from Buddy Kat, fell in love with Plume and agreed to take him into their section for cats living with FIV. First though, he would have to be examined by a veterinarian and treated again for the fistula and so Juliette escorted him from Amorgos to Holland where he stayed with her for two days before being fostered by Nathalie at the Villa Vagebond, http://villa.vagebond.com.

Plume remains at Nathalie's care at the Villa Vagebond as Nathalie fell in love with him. After going through a series of treatments, finally Plume seems to have overcome the problem with fistula.

Plume, in spite of all his problems, is still such a gentle and sweet cat that we hope, despite the fact that he is eleven years old, his time of suffering will soon end. We wish for him a loving home to live out the rest of his days. So many people have become fond of Plume along the way, and we have all done our very best to help him not only survive but thrive.

We wish him well on his journey forward. We hope for our dear Plume an old age of peace and loving understanding.

 

Small Island Big Party

Some of our animal friends’ best friends are human friends.

On November 17th, we were happy to be counted among those friends on an evening when Animal Zone International brought us all together at the Via Emilia Restaurant where Chef William Mattiello was waiting with his Modenese specialties and Maestro Jed Distler had gathered a group of musicians to serenade us with great music ranging from classics to fabulous arrangements of their own tunes.

The evening was one of magic for those of us who had come to celebrate another year of working for the health and the healing and the well-being of the animals of the island of Amorgos. At this time of year there are many galas and benefits, glittering bejeweled affairs in honor of charities and foundations, but this was a special one.

The food and the wine and the music was being shared by a group of people who had become devoted to the idea of helping the most vulnerable among us—and artists and photographers had donated remarkable works for us to bid on, which meant that not only could we go home with one of these works, we had the pleasure of knowing that the money being raised would go straight to Amorgos and the stray cats and kittens and barrel dogs and donkeys and abandoned horses and mules who so desperately needed our help.

There were many other things to bid on, weekends in the country, jewelry, hotel stays on the island itself, and it was clear that a great number of people cared about our project.

Next year, Animal Zone International will once again create a night in which we can come together to celebrate their incredible work and I will be there, sharing in the joy of knowing that the pleasure of our evening will bring safety and comfort to the members of our beloved animal kingdom.

—from the Diary of an Attendee 

Sterilization program completed with great success

Our sterilization program in Amorgos has been completed with great success.

Ninety four cats, sixty three females and thirty one males underwent the procedure in a period of four days. All the cats are in good health and they have been released back into their preferred territories.

Dr. Manolis Vorisis and Dr. Andrianna Papadimitropoulou worked with the help of our volunteer, Hariklia Psaki, for thirteen hours each day in order to carry out this project and, at the same time, some of our local population brought in their dogs for examination and vaccination.

We want to thank the Municipality of Amorgos for their great cooperation and also the Minoa Hotel (http://www.hotelminoa.gr), the Aegialis Hotel & Spa (http://amorgos-aegialis.com/) and the Pension Angeliki (http://www.angeliki-amorgos.com/gr/) for their kind hospitality to our veterinarians. We also want to thank Mike Vekri, owner of the restaurant Asteria, for his grant of tables and chairs.

And most especially, we want to thank our veterinarians  Dr. Manolis Vorisis and Dr. Andrianna Papadimitropoulou who traveled from Athens and Syros to volunteer their services, the writer and editor from Dutch TV, Jaap Poot, for filming this entire process, our volunteers who worked non-stop from morning to night, and, as well, we want to thank the residents of our island who helped to make this happen.

 

Big Night, Small Island: A Benefit for Amorgos

CELEBRATE THE ANIMALS OF AMORGOS

Join us in NYC on Thursday, November 17th for a spirited private party. 

Celebrate with new-found friends, live music, cocktails, extraordinary pasta (gluten free options available), fine vegetarian dishes and a silent auction featuring art, jewelry, and travel exclusives from Greece. 

Big Night, Small Island: 
A Benefit for Amorgos

Thursday, November 17th  •  7pm

Via Emilia
47 East 21st Street
New York City, NY 10010

Since 2007, AZI has been working with the community of Amorgos and volunteers worldwide to educate children and create a sustainable environment for every person and every animal of the island. Your generosity will help provide food, shelter, medicine for the animals, new educational opportunities for the children and a model of sustainability that can be repeated anywhere.

 

Unable to attend?

When you share your support for the animals, the community thrives. Make a tax-deductible donation or find out new opportunities to volunteer, adopt animals, and travel to the island.

 

AZI is a nonprofit tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)3 of the United States Internal Revenue Service code. All gifts are tax-deductible to the extent allowable under the law.

Preview our auction items here

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The Vaccination Program

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Our vaccination program took place earlier this month, over the weekend of July 9th and 10th. It was completed successfully in spite of challenging conditions. The cats tend to hide away in the summer heat and we were only able to find them early in the mornings and late in the afternoons, but even with these difficulties over one hundred and seventy stray cats from the area of Aegiali have now been vaccinated for panleukopenia, calicivirus, rhinotracheitis and chlamydia as well as having been given pills for worming.

Many of the residents of the island have told us that there are still a large number of cats that hid so successfully we could not find them and it is our belief that from now on we should try to conduct our programs before the summer weather grows too intense.

We are happy to say that many of our island cats are now protected from the danger of viruses and we hope to inoculate the rest of their tribe when the weather cools down.

While we were out on the streets and in restaurants and hotels, many people seemed interested in learning about our work here in Amorgos and the island’s residents as well as the tourists who come to this beautiful island have therefore become much more concerned about the health and safety of the island animals.

Volunteer with AZI

Do you have free time? Do you love animals but aren't able to have your own pet? Come to our center and spend a little time with ours—we welcome your help and the animals will love you for it!

Consider devoting a few hours of your day helping these animals in need. We are looking for volunteers to help us take care of the many cats, dogs and equines in our care.

Some simple things you can help us with include:

  • dog walking, feeding, handling
  • cat socializing, feeding, handling
  • equine socializing, feeding, and walking
  • cleaning animal areas and facilities

For more information contact us at luco1982@hotmail.com or 6974990045.

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Voula and Voulitsa

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Little Voulitsa was living with her mother, Voula, and her three siblings, in an area where there had been serious outbreaks of disease and infection.

Only Voulitsa and her mother were found alive when we reached them and, as you can see in the photographs that we have included below, they were both very close to death. After an intense period of care and treatment in our facility both the mother and daughter have not only survived but have each recovered their health and strength.

Voula has now been released back into her home area after having been spayed but we felt that we could not allow Voulitsa to return with her mother since the area is extremely dangerous for young kittens. Chickens and ducks and cats are all kept together in a small yard by a woman who has consistently refused our help with sterilizations and medications, which means that Voulitsa has remained with us at our center.  

Voulitsa has put on weight and has now become an active and very playful kitten but we must continue treatment in the hope of saving one of her eyes. Soon she will need a foster home while waiting for the family that we hope will come to adopt this small girl and give her a safe and loving home—the miracle that we want for all of these animals who are brought to us in their great need.

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Angel

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One early morning in June of this year, a woman who works in a café in the central square of Katapola called our center to tell us that the café cat, who only the night before had been healthy and full of life, was now desperately ill.

Litsa, our coordinator, went to the café at once and saw that the cat was not only covered with a caustic liquid of some kind but that in trying to clean himself he had swallowed much of the toxins and his life was clearly in danger.

At the center we began to clean him and, when the room filled with the smell of lime, we realized that he must have somehow have fallen into a vat of that very corrosive liquid.

We immediately treated him with a course of antibiotics, cortisone, painkillers and creams but he was unable to eat and had developed a high fever. The wounds were severe and we had little hope for his survival but day by day he began to improve and so we gave him the name of Angel.

It took a month of treatment but Angel has now returned to being the handsome boy that he was before the accident. A few of the wounds remain but new hair has begun to grow and his appetite has returned. 

Once Angel’s wounds have healed completely and his fur has grown thick, he will be driven to the central square of Katapola where the sweet lady who has fed him since he was a kitten is waiting for his return.

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Marcos

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During a recent visit to Amorgos by GAWF's Animal Action’s team, we were told of an old mule living in Vroutsi, who, because of his age and his ill health and injuries, was no longer useful to his owner. We decided to take Marcos to our shelter in Katapola where he could be examined by Animal Action’s veterinarian, a doctor who specializes in equines, and it was found that the mule had many physical problems which included a hip fracture as well as malnourishment. But after dedicated care by our team and a good diet, Marcos is no longer in pain and he has begun to put on weight.

Until recently we have kept Marcos in a fenced in area so that he could rest and recover his strength but now he has joined the rest of our equines. This is another one of the small miracles of Animal Zone International since, Paola, the matriarch of our equine herd and a mare who does not easily accept new members, seems to have understood that Marcos is very weak and unable to kick and she grows ever more gentle with the old mule.

We, at AZI, are happy to say that we expect Marcos to live out his old age in a state of peace and well being.