Yucca’s last update….

It was only just over a month ago that these lovely pictures were made of Yucca being out again with her donkey friends Hebe and Daphne and of course Larry!

It seemed that we managed to pull her through as she was staying out of the stable day & night again. We didn’t need to hoist her up anymore. Even when she had a lie down she could get up, sometimes with a little manual help, but she managed!

Until that day…again…a few weeks ago that she could not get up by herself and we had to help her get into the stable to hoist her up.

From that moment she was bound to the stable again, being hoisted up every morning. She still enjoyed her food and all the love and attention she got, but we could see that she didn’t improve anymore like she did before…

So therefore, we took the very hard decision – as none of us wanted to part with this beautiful soul yet – to humanely euthanise her….

But not before she had a last stroll with her friends around the garden, eating anything in there she wanted and getting her last always much appreciated brush…

Yucca, you will be missed & never be forgotten!!! Enjoy yourself in donkey heaven!!!

Annual Review 2011 – Ανασκόπηση 2011!

Download PDF here to find out what we did in 2011!

Κατεβάστε το PDF εδώ για να ανακαλύψετε τι κάναμε το 2011!

Thank you to everyone who helped in any way not only in the work throughout 2011 but also in the creation of this lovely booklet!

Ευχαριστούμε όλους όσους βοήθησαν με κάθε τρόπο, όχι μόνο κατά την διάρκεια του 2011 με τις διάφορες εργασίες αλλά και για την δημιουργία του εντύπου αυτού!

Σκυλάκια προς υιοθεσία! Dogs for adoption!

Tzoulis Feliz Tilly Marco Choca Sweety Freckles Baby

 Ginger

Where to start??

Time flies when you are having fun…or when you are just really busy!!!

It wasn’t long after I took this nice picture of our three Golden Oldies…bums in the sunshine and happily munching away that things all changed!

This winter the sunshine isn’t such a regular thing as we are usually used too…we are having the coldest and wettest winter ever! 😦

The miserabale, wet and cold weather is the reason that Yucca lay down more until the point were she couldn’t get up anymore! Despite all our efforts she lay, unable to get up, even with help, covered with blankets, waterproof jacket and anything we could find to cover her from rain. Even with help we were unable to get her up… She tried herself several times but couldn’t quite make it either… not even our joint force could lift her up…250 kilo isn’t a light weight I can tell you!

Her appetite didn’t reduce one bit all this time!

Eventually with more manpower and all the strength we had in us we managed to transfer her into the stable where we could rub her dry and make her warm again! While doing this Yucca kept eating…..she had her own priorities and ways to keep her spirits up ! 😉

That same day when our morale was at it lowest we  saw an advert saying a hoist was on sale! Able to lift up to 300kilos!  So we bought it, fixed it in the stable and  tried it out!

Sighs of relief all round…it worked!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂

Yucca not too happy with this strange new way of lifting her up, but as soon as she was on her feet again she started looking happier! And so did we! 🙂

       

After she got used to having her weight on her feet again, found her balance and loosened up a bit she walked carefully around in the stable! Her donkey friends came to have a look how she was doing and Bran (the cat) gave her moral support as well!

Bran should be mentioned especially as she stayed with Yucca almost day& night from the moment she went down and still does now that Yucca is kept in the stable!! Bravo Bran…that is what you call a true friend! 🙂

Yucca has since then been hoisted up twice a day and her situation is difficult to explain….

One day she is good, and she walks  and stands almost all day in the sunshine, the next day she is not so good and lays down after she has eaten all her breakfast which means a couple of hours later…This could be because the day before she was very good and overdid it, it could also be due to having once again a very cold and wet day which can ‘get into’ your joints and bones…Who knows?! Especially when one day all of a sudden she decides to stand up by herself and walk off again!

The vet can’t find anything wrong with her, other then the known physical problems she has had with her left front leg for years now….

Her bloodtest hasn’t showed anything wrong with her…

Her appetite, alertness and willpower show that she is far from ready to leave us…

Our few volunteers are worn out after over 3 weeks of hoisting her up, walking her, giving her special care, but keep faith and keep going with the belief that as soon as the good and sunny weather comes back Yucca will be getting up by herself and won’t have longing to lay down for long periods!!!

With kisses from Yucca 🙂

Maybe you would like to help us by covering some of the extra cost we have had to make to give Yucca more comfort (extra straw & hay), to help her up (hoist), to reduce her pain (medicines; anti-inflammatories and antibiotics)  please see for details http://cretananimalwelfare.org/help/

Thank you very much!!

Charlie needs you… Ο Τσάρλυ σας χρειάζεται…

He is approx. 10 years old and currently fostered at a vet’s surgery. However, despite his great relationship with cats and humans, he doesn’t like non-neutered male dogs 😦 He must therefore find a new (foster) home asap! Please give this oldie some love!

Είναι περίπου 10 ετών και φιλοξενείται σε κτηνιατρείο. Παρά το γεγονός ότι τα πάει καλά με γάτες και ανθρώπους, δεν του αρέσουν καθόλου οι αρσενικοί σκύλοι που δεν έχουν στειρωθεί 😦 Για τον λόγο αυτό πρέπει να βρει νέα οικογένεια (ανάδοχη ή μη) όσο το δυνατόν συντομότερα! Σας παρακαλούμε, δώστε του γεροντούλη λίγη αγάπη!

Message from our donkeys…and Larry agrees of course! Μήνυμα από τα γαϊδουράκια μας και τον Λάρυ για Χαρούμενο 2012! :-)

Zeus… the king of Olympus! Ο Δίας του Ολύμπου!

Zeus was one of the family of four dogs (mother and three pups) that were actually, CAWG’s first ever rescue case! He is still alive and happy (although he does of course have to take lots of medication) and will be 15 in April 2012…

The photo below is of Zeus and his sister Lady when first rehomed many years ago 🙂 Thank you so much to his kind family for taking such good care of them!

Ο Δίας βρίσκεται στην παραπάνω φωτογραφία με την αδερφή του (Κυρία) πριν πολλά χρόνια όταν υιοθετήθηκαν. Ήταν μέλος της πρώτης οικογένειας ζώων (μητέρα και τρία κουτάβια) που περιέθαλψε η Φιλοζωική Κρήτης και όπως βλέπετε στην πρώτη φωτογραφία, ο Δίας γέρασε, παίρνει πολλά φάρμακα και θα γίνει 15 ετών τον Απρίλιο 2012 αλλά περνάει καλά!

Ευχαριστούμε την οικογένεια του για την φροντίδα που του παρέχουν τόσα χρόνια…

Replies on Scratch passing away… thank you all…

I saw him a the few times I visited. So sad.  I have a cat of the same markings who has  adopted me(!!) and she has only one eye.  I have called her the Pirate, and she is a marvelous rat catcher. Enjoy your toast for him! L.

So sorry to hear this news about Scratch. He filled your lives with joy and it must be very hard to miss him. Scratch had a wonderful life at your place and it was filled with love. Now he can play at the other side of the rainbow. Wishing you all a lot of strength. Kind regards, L.

So sad … but what a wonderful 9 years he had … more than most! Thank you for all you do. All the best, J.

I didn’t know Scratch, but I know how it feels to loose a very loving animal friend. After all his pain he now is in heaven with his other friends.
I am sorry for your loss. Kind regards, M.

The messages are always hard to get. But as we say, there is a time to come and there is a time to leave. He had a good life, with difficult moments, but we all have good memories of scratch. May he see all his CAWG- buddy’s in heaven….. With love, J.

Very sorry to hear about Scratch. A.

Tears in my eyes & sending comfort & love to you. H.

I am so sorry for this loss!  Even though having fostered so many animals you must have experienced such loss many times by now, I am sure it is of no consolation, especially for such a unique animal as Scratch. May he rest in peace. D.

So sad to hear the news of dear Scratch. He was such a dear little cat and such a character. What a shock for you. I remember when he used to come up to Dory and she would give him a nudge….he was her little friend. We were hoping to see him next time we come to Crete. He was one in a million! D & T

So very sorry to hear about Scratch.  He was such a character and he will be so missed by everyone connected with The Haven.  Thankfully he appears not to have suffered? You gave him a wonderful life, as you give all the animals, and thanks for that. A.

So sorry to hear this, he was a very special cat. F & A

Our deepest and most sincere condolences. Rest in peace and enjoy your journey beyond, dear Scratch… H & S

Sorry to hear about the lost from Scratch…he will be missed… D. 

Thank you all very much for these wonderful comforting words, they have truly helped us!

Scratch has left the building… Ο Σκρατς μας άφησε…

(Ελληνικά παρακάτω)

A message from his fosterer:

It is with great sadness and a terrible sense of loss that I have to write that early on the morning of 28th November I found Scratch dead in our garden.

For those of you who met the wonderful Scratch and were amazed at his resilience, his confidence and his persistence, I know you will feel as devastated as I am at his loss.

Scratch came to us 9 years ago, blind from untreated, infected eyes and yet so many visitors insisted that he could see, (despite having no eyes left) because he always knew exactly where you were and would be one step ahead of you, looking for attention.

How I miss his company as I feed my other foster care animals. He always had some cat food available but preferred to come and help himself as I worked.

I know you will all join me in raising a toast to a very special character who overcame the odds and came out stronger and better than many of his seeing companions.

May we all learn a lesson from Scratch, a truly special cat, rest in peace, our dear boy.

Ένα μήνυμα από την ανάδοχη γονέα του:

Είναι με μεγάλη θλίψη και φοβερή αίσθηση απώλειας που σας γράφω ότι  νωρίς το πρωί της 28ης Νοεμβρίου βρήκα τον Scratch νεκρό στον κήπο μας.

Για όσους από εσάς συναντήσατε τον υπέροχο Scratch και μείνατε κατάπληκτοι με την αντοχή του, την αυτοπεποίθηση του και την επιμονή του, ξέρω ότι θα αισθανθείτε το ίδιο άσχημα όπως κι εγώ για την απώλεια αυτή.

Ο Scratch ήρθε σ’ εμάς πριν 9 χρόνια, τυφλός από μόλυνση στα μάτια κι όμως τόσο πολλοί επισκέπτες επέμεναν ότι μπορούσε να δει, (παρά το γεγονός ότι δεν είχε πλέον μάτια), γιατί πάντα ήξερε ακριβώς που είμασταν και βρισκόταν ένα βήμα μπροστά από μας, ψάχνοντας για προσοχή.

Πόσο μου λείπει η παρέα του, όταν φροντίζω τα άλλα ανάδοχα ζώα μας. Πάντα είχε γατοτροφή διαθέσιμη, αλά προτιμούσε να έρχεται και να τρώει από εκεί που εργαζόμουν.

Ξέρω ότι θα κάνετε μαζί μου μια πρόποση για έναν πολύ ιδιαίτερο χαρακτήρα, ο οποίος ξεπέρασε τις πιθανότητες και βγήκε ισχυρότερος και καλύτερος από πολλούς βλέποντες συντρόφους του.

Είθε όλοι να μάθουμε κάτι από τον Σκράτς, μια πραγματικά ιδιαίτερη γάτα, αναπαύσου εν ειρήνη αγαπητό αγόρι μας.

Finn enjoying the sunshine….

…well whenever there is any in Holland!

Finn is now almost one year in Holland and he is doing great! Doesn’t he look beautiful?!

Here are some more pics of Finn, on some you see his best buddy Choco as well 🙂

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