STRAY DOGS SMILES is a very new Non Profit making NGO established in Athens Greece this September 2014. Myself and my German friend Anne, we have 3 Dogs and love walking in the forest nearby our house. The last 2 years, due the financial depression in Greece we observed an increasing number of abandoned Dogs. We have tried several times to collect and take care of dogs found and we had a lot of successful stories of stray dogs, recovering and given to adaption. We now realised that our amateur efforts are in vain and therefore we decided to half in two our Land we own in Athens and create a proper shelter for stray dogs. The field is full of old building material and needs firstly to be cleaned and afterwards to build a beautiful place for 7-10 dogs. 
Till 2009 stray dogs in Greece was a “I do not wish to Know” problem. Since then and with the depression affecting more and more households, plenty of “dog owners” decided that their “pet” wasn’t that important anymore and therefore the easiest way, was to let the loose on the streets. These pure creatures never had to learn how to survive on their own, they were not easily accepted by the “born on the streets” strays and they never knew how to safely cross a street. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a result the number of stray / abandoned dogs on the streets of Athens and mainly our area (where we live), increased dramatically. Lots of these dogs are suffering from different diseases such as Leishmaniasis and parasites. Many are injured either from car accidents or the brutality of Humans.

Unfortunately the increasing number of dogs living on the streets and becoming aggressive in order to survive, turn the population against the stray dogs. As a result, poisoned food is thrown regularly all over Athens. Last year we had over 25 stray dogs poisoned and died in a horrific way in our neighborhood only.

By creating this shelter in our area in Athens and working together with Greek & foreigner volunteers, will hopefully decrease the numbers of stray dogs. In our shelter these unfortunate creatures will be re-trained and therefore given the opportunity to find a warm and permanent house / family.