Hello friends.
Today I had planned to share a PAAW House news round up with you, we have been busy backstage recently and have lots to tell. We need to put this on hold for now, here’s why…
Yesterday evening I was chatting to our friend Teresa from The Dogvine. Teresa has supported PAAW house long before anyone had ever heard of us, she has always attended and helped us promote our charity events. Yesterday she had a very sad story to relay about a charity that is close to her heart. We hope that you might consider helping us spread the word and supporting them in any way you can.
ARK (Animal Rescue Kefalonia) is a small rescue charity on the Greek Island of Kefalonia run by two ladies, Marina and Joyce. They look after approximately 350 dogs and 50 cats, mostly strays and street dogs. They rely solely on donations and volunteers for support.
Last weekend Greece was battered by Storm Ianos, a cyclone which caused widespread damage and flooding across the country, boats flipped, trees uprooted, power and water supplies damaged. Kefalonia was one of the islands hit hard by the storm.
The cyclone caused extensive damage at Ark; on Wednesday they had another storm that has left even more destruction. Animal pens have been destroyed, many of the dog escaped (fortunately most of them have now been found). One of the cat enclosures for kittens and sick cats was blown into a neighbouring farmers field, sadly not all of the cats made it.
There has been huge effort from people on the island in recent days to temporarily put the pens back together, secure the animals and clear the fallen trees. Funds are desperately needed to rebuild the pens, replace spoiled food and provide vet care for the animals who need it. A secondary issue has also been caused by fallen trees which provided natural shade for the animals. Some of the pens destroyed were not solid structures, due to destruction of the tree’s funds are needed to provide some solid structures.
Marina and Joyce are dealing with this disaster with no electricity working with headlamps to feed and check on the animals after dark. It’s already been such a tough year at the shelter with COVID-19. The summer tourist season is always a key time for donations with tourists visiting when on holiday, this revenue stream has all but disappeared. The shelter has always found the winter season tough, at times running out of food but this year will be especially difficult.
If you can help in any small way it would be greatly appreciated. You can donate here https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/ARKDORISUK, if that’s not an option then we would love it if you could simply spread the word.
Thank you
Gabby & Vinnie
