By that point my heart beat had slowed down to a halt and my mind had wondered to an imaginary peaceful place where people like that girl are drowned at birth.

Note: The comment section in our blog is closed. The goal is to increase the number of posts shared on Facebook and Twitter. I would please request to share this posts in your profile and adding your own personal commentary in your wall.. I believe this will increase the spread of our appeals. Please SHARE

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Finally we are able to make the last update to Michelle’s post!! Here is Michelle’s full story! A rescue operation that spans months, three countries and a small fortune. But it was worthy!!! VERY WORTHY… Just watch this fully it will make your day. Share it in your profiles… it may bring a smile to someone you love.

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Note: The comment section in our blog is closed. The goal is to increase the number of posts shared on Facebook and Twitter. I would please request to share this posts in your profile and adding your own personal commentary in your wall.. I believe this will increase the spread of our appeals.

Update 28 April: The Code of Life

As I write this, it’s just 8 days since I had that conference call with Bulgaria when our team gave me the professional opinion of our vet: To put Michelle to sleep.
Chances were, she would never be able to stand again, even less walk. Also, even if there were any chances, the treatment would involved a number of operations, and it may prove too expensive.
I am extremely proud of our team in Bulgaria but there they were, face to face with a broken dog shaking in pain and one of the best doctors in the country was making a case for euthanasia.
The doctors were not alone in their opinion. Many people, having witnessed the brutality of the accident and the following rescue considered that enough was enough, the best option was a humane death.
A few years ago, when we started dealing with more and more complicate cases we became in need simple guide to revert to in those extreme cases when death was considered the most humane alternative. Something to hold on to when seemingly all hope was lost.
And so we created our Euthanasia Code:

1. Animal is in pain but has chance of recovery no matter how small: NO EUTHANASIA
2. Animal is not in pain and has no chance of recovery: NO EUTHANASIA
3. Animal is in pain and has NO chance of recovery, no matter how small: EUTHANASIA

No animal is ever euthanized because we don’t know what to do with him. It is our moral obligation to find solutions for our rescues.

Michelle was in A LOT of pain, but there was a very small chance of recovery…

And so this code save Michelle’s life…

As you can see in the pictures Michelle is doing great. Her multiple fractures have been fixed, and little by little she is recovering strength. Her muscle tone is excellent. She can stand up for as long as 15 minutes. The scars in her back are spectacular, but as soon as her hair grows back they’ll be nothing but a memory of the past. She is going to be wearing a catheter for a few more days but hopefully next week we’ll be able to take it out.

Alos, by the beginning of next week Michelle’s special bed will arrive from the UK, when it does she will be much more comfortable.

So… all is well… our baby is fighting, and she has thousands of people rooting for her.

I think we can confidently say that Michelle is completely out of the woods.

Michelle is alive not only because of our strict following of a decision code, but because tens of people from all over the world (to the last count, 63 of them), pulled their resources together and contributed to the Simba Fund. Each and everyone of those people, and everyone that shared this story on their Facebook profile has a small share on Michelle’s life.

So, Michelle is now, your dog.

Now, let’s find her a great home!

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Update: 22 April

Yesterday was a BIG day for Michelle…
Here are some Xrays showing the different fractures and how our doctors solved them.
1) Her front left leg is broken.
2)She has purulent endometritis as a result of the abortion.
3)Her sacrum was broken. The sacrum connects to the spine and that is how the nervs got inflamed. We fixed it.
4)The joint that connects the pelvis and the femur was broken. This is what you can see in the picture. The operation was very delicate but we fixed it.

We don’t know yet whether the nevers have been damaged irreversibly.

At this stage we are “cautiously optimistic” (or what is the same, we know she will overcome this but we are not 100% sure yet….

Now,  me tell you something I have learned through my years of rescue… animals are incredible fighters, they don’t give up, it’s us humans that are crying wimps and throw the towel at the slightest sign of discomfort or pain. Animals are the ultimate Zen Masters, if they had a motto it would be: Shit happens!. As long as they have a bit of strength in their bodies they just want to keep going, to get up on their feet and start running again, but to do that, they need our help, they need us not to give up on them and take the easy way out. We are committed to make sure Michelle runs again one day and that, through her example, many other animals get the second chance they so desperately need.

Please give Michelle a hand by contributing to the Simba Fund… the worst is not over yet.

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Update: 20 April

When Killing is not an option

Yesterday evening I received a desperate email from our team in Bulgaria. They were with Michelle at the clinic. They needed to talk to me urgently.
X-Rays had been made, Michelle’s legs are broken, there is also spinal fracture. 48 hours after the accident it doesn’t look good.
Our vet recommended putting Michelle to sleep but they needed to talk to me before taking a decision.
Whilst Mariya and Diana were talking me through Michelle’s many problems I was relieving similar conversations in the past. Dogs and cats that had been crashed by cars or abused by man, and whose conditions looked so serious that, at the time, it didn’t look like there was anything we could do for them.
Animals like Gulumser, Simba, Marlon, Baby the cat, Pufi, Sosis, Oscar, Jati and so many others that at the time of rescue were in such critical condition that many advised us to put the animals humanely to sleep. They are in pain, they are blind, paralyzed, they won’t be able to have full lives, they said…
In each and every case the animals proved them wrong. They wanted to live, they wanted to thrive, they wanted to deal with the cards life had served them.
And they dealt… and they lived…. and they thrived.
We have been told the treatment will be long and costly, but that’s ok. Whilst I understand that private individuals may, at times, face painful decisions purely based on financial considerations I’m one of those that feels that life is priceless, and because of that, cost must not be a part of  the equation. Let’s Adopt is a community of animal rescuers, tens of thousands of people scattered around the world united by a common bond. If a community of this size cannot raise the money needed to save a dog that has gone through so much then we may as well press the delete button, pack up and go home.

Michelle is doing fine, she is in great spirits. From today a kilo of the best available meat will be delivered to her at the clinic. She will be fed a raw diet. This will give a massive boost to her immune system and help her shattered bones and muscle recover.
Today we will also order a Kuranda bed, quite probably, the best beds in the world. This will make Michelle’s stay at the clinic much more comfortable. Who wants to lie in the floor after such an accident?  We will donate the bed to the clinic after Michelle is ready to go home.

So, Michelle’s journey to recovery and a new life has started. We will keep you posted as she progresses.

This is going to be a community effort, in that respect, Michelle’s recovery depends on all of us. Starbucks doesn’t need you to buy yet another Cafe Latte. Michelle, on the other hand could do with your help today.

Please help us cover Michelle’s medical and rehoming expenses, contribute by Chipin In to the Simba Fund. Alternatively you can use paypal directly, our account: thesimbafund@gmail.com

Note: The comment section in our blog is closed. The goal is to increase the number of posts shared on Facebook and Twitter. I would please request to share this posts in your profile and adding your own personal commentary in your wall.. I believe this will increase the spread of our appeals.

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Like most events of this kind it happened on Sunday.
Rally cars driving at incredible speed along narrow roads, hundreds of people on either side, enjoying the thundering noise.
Cheers, claps…
Then, the unexpected… Michelle, a beautiful German shepherd unexpectedly crosses the road. The impact is brutal, the car continues his course..
Cheers, claps…
Get rid of that thing on the road, some said…
She got what she deserved, someone screamed in the background.
A policeman appears, protects his delicate hand with a plastic bag and drags Michelle heavily pregnant body across the road and dumps the body behind a garbage container.
Cheers, claps…

Is this how the story ends? Not really… this is just the beginning…

On Monday morning, Diana Zhikova, director of Let’s Adopt Bulgaria watched the video on the internet and did what NOBODY did until then. She cared.

First she identified the precise location, then she went onto the list of Let’s Adopt! volunteers and made a few calls. A few hours later, one of our members drove to the location, about 150 kilometers away from Sofia, and found Michelle in the condition you can see here.

We don’t know if Michelle’s body was thrown from the top of the hill or if she  crawled down herself, but what we know is that she was in a critical condition, and that her unborn puppies were dead.

Michelle was rushed to a clinic in Blagoevgrad but the clinic didn’t have an X-ray… so, overnight, she was driven to our main clinic in Sofia, where she is receiving the best available treatment, and, why not say, she is been treated like a Queen.

Michelle has a double fracture of her hind legs and a broken pelvis…. she will require a number of procedures but we will do our best for her to walk and run again…

This is one of those stories that is screaming to get out to the world… it speaks of cruelty, of neglect, of lack of moral values, it also speaks of humanity and care, and how we must never turn our back away to an animal in need.

The Simba Fund will cover all of Michelle’s medical and rehoming expenses as it does with all of our rescues. Please help us cover Michelle’s medical and rehoming expenses, contribute by Chipin In on the Simba Fund. Alternatively you can use paypal directly, our account: thesimbafund@gmail.com

We will keep you updated on Michelle’s development. And of course, should anyone wish to adopt her please get in touch with me: viktor@myletsadopt.com

Note: The comment section in our blog is closed. The goal is to increase the number of posts shared on Facebook and Twitter. I would please request to share this posts in your profile and adding your own personal commentary in your wall.. I believe this will increase the spread of our appeals.

Let’s Adopt! started in Istanbul, Turkey four years ago. From the beginning the goal of the group was none other than rescuing animals.

Fulya and myself had been saving animals for years and we had reached a point where we literally had run out of friends where to place our rescues. Furthermore, our friends didn’t seem to share our same passion. In my case, they were mostly bankers, brokers and lawyers undoubtedly interested in many things, being animal rescue NOT one of them.

So we set up to create our own community, a community that shared our same ideals and for whom animal rescue wouldn’t be an unpleasant subject to talk about in the dinner table, but something that really mattered. The goal was, very simply, to find people compassionate, capable and intelligent enough to pass our basic criteria for adoption,

Four years ago, animal organizations in Turkey were small, disorganized, and in many cases populated by people more interested in appearing in pictures and interviews than in actually saving any lives. As a matter of fact, with one or two exceptions, none of those organizations was actually doing any rescue, if by rescue you understand the actual process of rescuing, providing with medical treatment and finding a forever home for the animal. In those days, there were just no efforts to rehome locally. At most, animal lovers would pick up a dog from the street and dump him in a factory, farm, or one of the absolutely inadequate shelters that can be found all over town. Sadly, this practice continues….

Let’s Adopt! showed Turkish animal lovers that there was a different way. That a blind cat or a paralyzed dog, didn’t have to end up his days rotting in someone’s basement, or tied to a chain in a disgusting shelter run by a glorified animal hoarder.. And so we rescued… and we help others rescue… thousands of animals were saved.

Our efforts created two types of reaction amongst two different kind of people. On one side Let’s Adopt Turkey built a most impressive network of compassionate, logical, open minded and sophisticate animal rescuers, ready to go to any extent to rescue an animal. We are proud to say that the best animal rescuers in Turkey are members of our organization and that we are shaping the way things are done in this country. In that respect, there is a Before and there will be an After Let’s Adopt.

As expected, our work also created a strong reaction amongst some. And so, a motley crew of lunatics, people lacking any kind of education and knowledge, individuals with the sort of IQ usually found in rocks and minerals, started creating stories that only a demented person would give credit to. And so they set out to try to do their best to convince people that Let’s Adopt! is not an animal rescue, it’s in fact, a chain of Chinese restaurants serving three legged dogs and cats, blind animals and other handicapped pets to European citizens tired of their national cuisine. And then there is the laboratory rumor…  mental masturbation for the crazy and inadequate that cannot believe someone would be able to achieve what none of them ever could.

Sadly, many people here believed it and we to spend increasing amount of time explaining ourselves or in the most extreme of cases, taking people to court.

And so, we have reached a point where we have to take a decision, to continue concentrating on rescuing and making change, not only in Turkey, but in every country we operate, or to spend our precious time bickering and communicating (in Turkish) with a gang of brainless ultranationalist whackos that could barely recognize their own reflection in a mirror.

As of last week the Let’s Adopt Turkey Page is closed. Whilst our rescue operations in Turkey will continue and grow bigger in size and difficulty, we cannot afford to dedicate further efforts and resources to educate the broader Turkish Animal Lover Community.

Those that have what it takes and wish to remain “connected” with our group and ideas will find us, and will be welcome to join us in Let’s Adopt Global.

The rest, please join Hayvan Severler… and God help you.

In a not so distant future, we will be looking at these days and smile with nostalgia, until then…

Note: The comment section in our blog is closed. The goal is to increase the number of posts shared on Facebook and Twitter. I would please request to share this posts in your profile and adding your own personal commentary in your wall.. I believe this will increase the spread of our appeals.

Update 12 April:

What comes next will shock you, please share it.

Every once in a while this blog reports some shocking story involving a veterinarian. We have had quite a few, whose names and stories have now become infamous. Veterinarians like Onur Salih Karadag, the killer of Bella or Ismail Ay, the veterinarian cum potato farmer at the Hasdal Shelter, or the veterinarian at the shelter of Cerkezkoy. Today we are adding a new name to our Veterinarian Hall of Shame: Dr. Cemaliye Yegane, owner of Peteriner, Nisantasi, Istanbul.

Yesterday, after a day full of calls to her clinic and SMS’s to her public phone (available on the internet with a simple google search), Dr. Cemaliye Yegane confessed that she gave Kral away last week.

You may ask two questions, why? and to whom?. Here are the answers, both of them as incredible and absurdly surreal as they could possible be.

Why?: Apparently Dr. Cemaliye Yegane, a highly intelligent woman, was very concerned that Let’s Adopt!, a rescue network exclusively dedicated to rescue special needs, handicapped, paralyzed, blind animals, would be selling Kral, to a laboratory or a chinese restaurant. In a brilliant move worthy of her extraordinary intelligence, and to avoid such terrible fate for our poor paralyzed Kral Dr. Cemaliye Yegane gave the dog to…

to Whom?: In her own words, Dr. Yegane gave Kral to a man answering to the name of Ismail. Ismail is the person that found Kral and left him at the clinic over one year ago. Ismail is clearly someone that cares/cared for that dog, BUT, is he a suitable adoptant for Kral? You tell me.

Ismail is a 35 year old man, barely educated (it’s unclear whether he finished high-school), currently unemployed since his work as crew in a commercial ship ended, allegedly squatting at a friends living room. Ismail’s situation is what you could say, desperate, it’s so bad that last time we spoke to him he was making plans to emigrate to the United States on a tourist visa and work in the country illegally. Ismail has dogs… It’s unclear to whether he has four or five. What is he planning to do should his unlikely move to the USA come to fruition? His plan is to give one dog to his mother and abandon the others at a shelter in Yalova/Cinercik.

… and now he has Kral.

Based on our experience on similar situations Kral will be either left on the street where he was originally found (we presume with the wheelchair we bought for him), or he will be dumped at the shelter in Yalova/Cinercik within a matter of days.

Because of this, we have started a petition addressed to the Head of the Istanbul Veterinary Comission, Murat Arslan, demanding an investigation into Dr. Cemaliye Yegane professional handling of this case. Dr. Yegane was supposed to act on Kral’s best interest, she is a vet after all!

She didn’t….

We expect Dr. Yegane to start legal proceedings against Let’s Adopt!… each and every single vet in that list tried to. Unfortunately for them, in each and every single one of those cases the prosecutor rejected what were clearly documented cases.

We will continue looking for Kral, in the meantime, please sign the petition and SHARE…

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