Venus

Venüs iki gün önce kurtarıldı.

Venüs’ü sahiplenin: v.larkhill@googlemail.com.

Venus rises

—–

Venus!

Venus was rescued two days ago.

Whilst we cannot take responsibility for more local rehoming we are making an exception here because the rescuer is one of our foster
homes for disabled cats and we must keep spaces free in this house.

This is Venus… what can I say.. the pictures speak for themselves..

Adopt Venus: v.larkhill@googlemail.com

Venus reads!

Hera looking for a home

Sarikiz

Blind dog in shelter

Shelter reform in Turkey… 3.

This is a continuation of part 1 and part 2

3.  It is time for Shelters in Turkey must put together proper adoption programs.

Adoptions are vital to the running of a shelter in a country where No-Kill is Law.  Shelter managers should spend as much effort if not more, in trying to find good homes for the animals that they do in running the daily chores of the shelter.

If every dog and animal that dies in a loving home was replaced by a dog adopted from a shelter, adoption could give a massive blow to all those backyard breeders and Petshops doing business by breeding and selling dogs.

In North America studies show people get their dogs from shelters only 15% of the time for dogs, and less than 10% of the time for cats.

Not surprisingly there are no statistics of adoptions in Turkey but I would go as far as venturing that the adoption rate is less than 5% for dogs (if lucky) and not even 1% for cats. A real joke, and a failure of the system.

If shelter managers made as much of an effort at educating the population about adoption as they do in engaging in silly and hysterical cat fights, they could increase the number of homes available and create space in their overcrowded shelters, thus increasing the quality of life of the dogs unlucky enough to find themselves there.

Based on our experience the number of animal lovers in Turkey is far bigger than most people assume, and it is growing. But as more and more people are becoming interested in owning an animal, very few of those receives any kind of education about the situation of animals in this country.

It is time for shelter managers to put a real effort in improving their adoption programs.. and to make the process as logical and efficient as possible. It is absolutely idiotic for a shelter like Atasehir, where thousands of animals are wasting their lives in chains and suffering constant mistreatment by lazy and unmotivated municipal employees, to have an adoption schedule of two hours a day: between 13 hrs and 15 hrs. If you are seriously trying to find homes for those animals you should be working on it 24 hours a day, seven days a week, you should have proper websites, Facebook Groups, one of you should be in charge of answering emails on a constant basis, another one should be learning how to blog, to use Twitter, to create a network to find homes for your animals.

A special effort should be made to rehome handicapped animals, and when a suitable home cannot be found in Turkey you should be humble enough to seek help of rescue groups overseas.

Three legged dogs in shelters

It is dramatic to watch the collection of three legged dogs and blind dogs in Turkish shelters.

Instead, the adoption programs of the vast majority of Turkish shelters is, as of today, a ridiculous joke… and in the end the ones that pay the price are the animals.

Shelter managers, shelter volunteers, it is time to sit down and create a new strategy because the one you have right now is simply not working. Look around you, thousands of dogs in chains. The situation is dramatic, tragic, embarrassing, and even more so when most of you would never consider adopting one of those animals and focus your attention on golden retrievers. Those dogs should be in homes. It is your obligation to find a good home for each one of those animals. If you are not up to the task then you may as well pack up your stuff and go home.

Viktor Larkhill

v.larkhill@googlemail.com

Let’s Adopt!

Paris Before

Sevgili Dostlar,
Sahip Çıkalım! son iki senedir, bitmez tükenmez bir gayretle üyelerini hayvan sahiplenme, kısırlaştırma ve hayvanlarla ilgili diğer konularda eğitmeye çalıştı.
Son iki senedir, hem Türkiye’de hem de yurt dışında, daha önce örneği görülmemiş, eşi benzeri olmayan bir bağlantılar ağı, her sorunu çözecek ilişkiler kurmaktayız. Bu süreç içinde, üyelerimizin inancı ve güvenini kazandık.
Ancak yine de başaramadığımız hissine kapılıyoruz.
İnsanlara en can alıcı kısmı anlatmayı başaramadık: SORUMLULUK

Paris after

Başarısızlık riskini minimuma indirebilmek için Türkiye’de var olan en ağır sahiplenme kurallarını getirdik: Sahip Çıkalım! evinizde bir hayvan beslemediğiniz takdirde size bir başkasını vermeyecek. Sahip Çıkalım! hiçbir hayvanı bahçede ya da fabrika türü bir yerde bakılmak üzere sahiplendirmeyecek. Bu kurallar bizler için son derece iyi işlese de aslında kurtarabileceğimiz hayvan sayısını kısıtladı. Ancak bu kısıtlamaya rağmen, neredeyse % 100’e yakın bir başarı oranını da garantiledi.
Sorunlar beklentilerle başladı. Gerçek şu ki, son derece sert olan söylemimizin altında, aslında bizler oldukça yumuşak kalpli insanlarız ve bu nedenle, daha koyduğumuz ilk kural üzerinden beklentiye girdik… Hayvan sahiplenmek istediği sırada evinde herhangi bir hayvan beslemeyen “hayvan sever”lerin sözlerine inandık, bu insanların ne hayvanları ne de bizleri hayal kırıklığına uğratmayacaklarını düşündük.

Simba before, just arrived to Istanbul

Bu tür sahiplendirmelerin çoğu başarısızlıkla sonuçlandı… Yaşanan ekonomik kriz zaten zor olan yaşam koşullarını daha da zorlaştırdı ve bugün, hayvanları sahiplenirken “sonsuz bir sevgi ile sevecekleri” sözünü veren kişiler, bu hayvanları tekrar bizlerin sırtına yüklüyorlar. Hem de eşi benzeri görülmemiş bir oran ve hızla…
Bütün bunlar nedeniyle birtakım tedbirler almak zorunda kaldık:
1.    Sahip Çıkalım! bir daha ASLA “bir hayvan kuralı” konusunda istisna yapmayacak. İnsanlar hayvanı ne kadar isterse istesin, ne kadar söz verirse versin, bir daha asla istisnalar olmayacak.
2.    Sahip Çıkalım!, bugün itibariyle, yeni vakalar almayı kesmiştir. Şu anda bakımını üstlendiğimiz hayvanları sahiplendirmek için elimizden gelenin en iyisini yapacağız. Ancak hiçbir yeni hayvan alınmayacak.

3.    Sahip Çıkalım! sahiplendirmeye devam edecek ancak bütün kaynak ve gayretini yurt dışındaki ortak ağını geliştirmek/güçlendirmek ve hayvanları sahiplendirme başarımızın en basit ifadesiyle % 100 olduğu yurt dışında yuvalandırmaya odaklayacak.
Dolayısıyla, bugünden itibaren, yerel olarak sahiplendirme konusundaki yardım taleplerinizi yanıtlayamayacağız. Eğer içinizden biri, bir hayvan sahiplenmek isterse, lütfen bizi arayın. Sizin uygun bir sahip olacağınıza inanırsak, size yardıma muhtaç bir hayvan buluruz ancak son köpeğimizi de sahiplendirdikten sonra, bir daha yerel yuva arayışına girmeyeceğiz.

Simba, adopted in Seattle

Bu, Sahip Çıkalım!’ın yuva arayışına son verdiği anlamına gelmiyor. Tam aksine, sahiplendirmeye devam edeceğiz, ancak çok daha seçici bir biçimde… En çaresiz vakaları tek tek seçeceğiz: Sakat köpekler, üç bacaklı hayvanları, körler… Bu hayvanları özenle seçecek ve onları yurt dışında sahiplendireceğiz. Bütün bunları hiçbir masraftan kaçınmadan yapacağız. Umuyoruz ki, bir gün Türkiye’de yaşayan hayvan severler ne yapmaya çalıştığımızı anlayacak ve adlarına yakışır bir şekilde davranacak: Evindeki koltuğa en çok uyacak köpeği (ki bu köpek sahibi için en ufak bir sorun yarattığında kapının önüne koyulacaktır) arayan kaprisli ve aptal insanlar yerine özverili hayvan severler olacaklar…

Bu yeni politika bizi daha da özgürleştirecek ve bu sayede BÜTÜN zaman ve kaynaklarımızı sorumlu insanların kendi başlarına halledebilecekleri konular yerine eğitime ayırabileceğiz. Toplumun “hayvan sever” kesimi birçok kademede eğitime muhtaç: Hayvanların davranış ve ihtiyaçları, kısırlaştırma ve diğer ahlaki konular…
Sahip Çıkalım! bu boşluğu doldurarak yoluna devam edecek…

Saygılar.

Viktor Larkhill

v.larkhill@googlemail.com

——

Ears Before...

Dear Friends,

For the last two years Let’s Adopt has worked tirelessly to educate its members about adoption, sterilization and animal issues.
For two years we have been building an unprecedented network of connections, facilitating relationships, both within Turkey and overseas. In the process we have earned credibility and the trust of our members.
However we feel we have failed.
We have failed at instilling the most basic of the messages into people’s heads. Responsibility.
In order to reduce the chances of failure we set up the toughest adoption rules in Turkey. Let’s Adopt wouldnt give you an animal unless you currently had an animal at home, Let’s Adopt would not give any animals in adoption destined to be kept on a garden, or a factory. Those rules have worked very very well for us. True, it has limited the amount of animals we could save, but it ensured a nearly total success rate.

Ears After

The problem came when we made exceptions. The truth is, under our tough retoric we are very soft-hearted people, we made expections to the first rule, we believed the words of “animal lovers” who didnt have an animal right then but who promised us they would never let their animals, and us, down.

In the vast majority of those those adoptions have failed… The economic crisis has made things tougher, and people who promised eternal love for their animals are now dumping their animals back on us at an unprecedented rate.

All of this forces us to take three measures:

1. Let’s Adopt will NEVER make another exception to the One animal rule. No matter how much those people want the animal, no matter how many promises, we wont make exceptions again. Never.

Gulumser before

2. Let’s Adopt stops, as of today, to take up new cases. We will do our best to place the animals we currently have under our care, but no more new cases will be considered.

3. Let’s Adopt will continue rehoming but it will focus all its resources and efforts in strengthening its overseas partner network and rehoming our animals overseas, where our success rate is, simply put, 100%.

As of today we wont be able to answer your request of assistance with new cases to be rehomed locally. If any of you wants to adopt an animal by any means call us and, if we believe you are suitable well find an animal in need for you but after we have placed our last dog we wont be seeking local adoptions any longer.

Gulumser After

This, does not mean Let’s Adopt will stop rehoming, not at all. We will continue doing so but in an even more selective way. We will be handpicking the most desperate cases, the handicapped animals, the three legged, the blind ones, and will rehome them overseas. We will be doing so regardless the expense in the hope that one day, the “animal lovers” of Turkey will have understood what we are trying to do and will live up to their name becoming just that, selfless animal lovers instead of capricious silly people looking for the cutest dog to match their leather sofa. Dogs that will be dumped the moment they have the slightest personal problem.

This new direction will allow us to be freer and to dedicate ALL our time and resources to education instead of having to deal with issues that responsible people should be able to deal with on their own. The “animal loving” community is in desperate need of education at multiple levels, animal behavior and needs, animal nutrition, even moral issues… Let’s Adopt! will continue providing just that.

Regards

Viktor Larkhill

v.larkhill@googlemail.com

The villagers told us she had been there, unable to move for over a week. Some of them were giving bred and water to the dog, others were complaining and wanted the dog removed just in case it would recover and started attacking people.. Nobody bothered calling a vet. Nobody. One week.

Unbelieveble…

We rescued the dog, treated her broken hip. We named her Amanda.

She lives now in Germany, with a lovely family.

It doesnt look like she will be attacking any Turkish villager any time soon…

Abandoned in the garden of a mental institution…

We saw this case on the net… we were very touched by the helplessness of the poor animal and the callousness and viciousness of the so-called-owners. He was just there, abandoned in that park, approaching everybody and wanting to play. The usual shitty neighbors were complaining, the dog was about to be picked up by the municipality and, in all likelihood killed as it is the custom here.

These are the first pictures we saw of Puffy on the net.

And then we intervened… one of our volunteers went and rescued the dog inmediately. A few days later that person, whom we had never spoken earlier, drove the dog all the way from Ankara to Istanbul.

Today Puffy leads a happy life with Gokhan and his family in Istanbul…

Yesterday we went to a location in Besiktas to take pics of a mother cat.

She is paralysed from two bottom legs. Very sad story, she gave birth on the street, whilst trying to find a safe place for her kittens she got stuck on a metallic blind who damaged her lower leg nerves who
became paralized.

She still managed to raise four beautiful little kittens that run around like devils.

We have found families for the kittens but we have now to deal with Marijo.

It looks like she is beyond repair, a vet treated her with cortisone and it seems this ended all chances of recovery. We are putting our vet on the case but it doesn’t seem very hopeful.

We are of course not even going to try about finding a home for this cat in Turkey. Do you know anybody willing to take up this case? No.. of course you dont…

So we are sending this cat (we have named her Marijo) to NY. To a very very special place where animals like her can live with love and dignity.

We will cover all expenses ourselves, if you are flying to New York within the next month and wish to take Marijo the cat to her new home get in touch with us..

ivan10000@gmail.com

UPDATE 1: After a visit to our vet, Ali Ulker, we have decided to put Marijo on a special treatment that will, hopefully, make her recover the use of her legs. Well leave that chance in NY to be taken by another animal in real need.. for now Marijo stays in Istanbul…

UPDATE 2: Today, three months after our initial visit to Marijo we received the following pictures..

What can I say… Here is a lesson to all of those who give up at the smallest sign of adversity… to those who find easier to throw away the animal or take it to a prison camp (turkish shelter)…

Here is a lesson for all of us.

Without hesitation, here are the contacts of Ali Ulker, the vet that made this miracle possible…

Ali Ulker.
Arti Veteriner Klinigi
4.GAZETEC0LER ST. UCGEN SK.A-20 T-7
LEVENT
(212) 281 73 54

The rare occasions we are not accused by some idiot of selling dogs to lab in Germany our friends and supporters say we are heroes… whilst we are certainly not the villains sociopaths such Adile Pannicke in Germany, mad witches like Nesrin Citirik (Adana’s Barbie) and Gizel Hazan, or institutional liars like our dog killer friends at the Beykoz municipality, we dont really like to be labelled as heros.. that is too much of a name. We are just people doing the right thing.

These are the faces of the real heroes and the leading characters of this story… they are the ones that deserve love and praise.. not us… we would be happy with hearing less of the lies, witnessing less of the jealousy and seeing more people doing the right thing for a change.

Boncuk:

He was dropped in the road in front of the Beykoz shelter after Ergul decided to take over the shelter for his own obscure purposes. He had been kicked in the back by his previous owner and he was partially paralyzed.

He was adopted by Sebnem, one of us. He’s safe now and happy now.. a real dandy as well!!

This is Brad. He was run over by a car, his hip was badly broken.. he was operated and experienced a great recovery.

He lives happily in Germany now.. not on an evil laboratory like some paranoid idiots believe but on a wonderful family.

This is Charlie: 10 yr old.. black… nobody wanted him in Turkey… Ergul wanted him dead and we just simply couldnt find a family for him in Istanbul as he was not pretty enough.. or was not pure breed.

Someone decided Charlie deserved a chance… He lives now in Germany. He dislikes warm beer..

This is Ginger.. she came to us about to give birth, she raised the puppies like a great mother..

Another case of great dog not good-looking enough for many people..

She now lives in Germany with her sister Alice the Cat!

This is Maria… a hunter dog… Like thousands of other hunters dogs she was discarded like garbage by those she served loyally for years.

She had very little chances in Turkey… would you adopt a dog like this?

so we flew her to Germany, she changed her name and forgot about the hunters that abused her and dumped her..

This is Swan…. she was run over by some idiot on his way to Sunday mangal and had to have her leg amputated. The mangal fanatic did not bother stopping. She saved her life but had zero chances of being adopted in Turkey.

so we flew her to Germany where she lives as the three legged queen of the house!!!

This is Tony when he arrived at the shelter… looked a bit like a golden / lab but not golden enough for many golden lovers..

Zero chances in Turkey… I can imagine quite a few turkish ladies going mad at the idea of that poor dog

peeing on their living room..

So he went to Germany, where people dont freak out when a dog pees on the floor.

He was a bit sick after the trip..

but he has been just fine every since.. Tony has a great life now..

So.. please reconsider this obsession with breeds.. a dog is a dog, regardless of his pedigree or, in the case of our dogs, lack of it.

Turkey has a severe stray dog problem. The only solution is Sterilization and Return to the dogs territory. This, combined with a change of mentalities is the only way we will ever solve the stray dog problem.

Please neuter your dog.

Please adopt a stray.

Contact us through the blog or directly on: ivan10000@gmail.com