Agia Marina Donkey Rescue Newsletter

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Agia Marina Donkey Rescue
Newsletter
GREEK REGISTERED SANCTUARY
NON PROFIT ORGANISATION
AM.
Address:
Agia Marina, Petrokefali, Mires
Heraklion, Crete, 70400
Greece
Phone: (0030) 2892042556
Mobile: (0030) 6949168763
2501..AP.A8072012
visit us on our website
or facebookpage
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Agia Marina Donkey Rescue
Newsletter
“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today
and make a new ending” … This is what we keep in mind when rescuing yet
another donkey, dog or cat. No matter how sad, desperate, frustrating or unfair
a situation is, we try our best to give these animals the best new start in their
life and forget about their past.
The summer season is starting soon so our Sanctuary will be open for visitors
again. During the winter season, we hardly have visitors here and use our time
to repair and prepare for the next season. Like every year, we hope to welcome
many visitors. There is however another side to this and that is the one of distraught visitors seeking help, bewildered by the conditions they witnessed. Sometimes people are demanding that we help and insist it is our duty. They do
forget that we have been sacrificing ourselves (time, money, …) for a very long
time and that we can’t go back to our comfortable home after the holidays are
finished. Of course not all tourists are like this. Some of them will become
friends who follow and support us any way they can. Some even adopt an animal and take it home to give them a chance to a better life.
Greece is still struggling and not just the people. Animals are the first ones to
be left behind. The streets are full of them and they are not a main concern for
the Greek government.
We really need all the support we can get so hopefully there will never be a day
where we might have to refuse a donkey simply because there is no more space
or money so it can make that big new start in their sad life.
A very big thank you to all our friends, fans & supporters who either donated
their time, money or friendship so we can keep helping the Greek donkeys that
need our attention and of course that well deserved new start in life
Spring 2013
New start
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New arrivals
3
Donkeys of the
month
4-5
Adopt a donkey
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Golden baskets
6-7
Outreach
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Latest news
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Registration
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Donk-E-Shop
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For more information
www.agia-marinadonkeyrescue.com
Join our mailing list
follow us on facebook
Adopt a dog
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Agia Marina Donkey Rescue
Newsletter
New arrivals
We had an urgent call from the nearby mountain village of Zaros end
of December 2012, asking us to come and pick up a donkey belonging
to a man who “no longer needed her and if we didn’t come immediately and pick her up, I’ll hang her from a tree” which we didn’t believe for
a moment but the man has a history of mental instability so the
sooner we brought her over the better! We do not have a trailer of our
own and usually borrow one from friends, this can be difficult as trailers are often being used for horse transport or in this case one was
being used and the other had a flat tyre which we fixed so we could
finally pick this beautiful lady up so she can enjoy her freedom at our
Sanctuary. We have named her ARIADNI after the daughter of
King Minos, who helped Theseus kill the Minotaur and find his way
out of the Labyrinth using a thread
In March, we had a call from someone, alerting us to the plight of this
little donkey abandoned and wandering in the remote hills near Karame, South Crete. Our friend Kim kept him safe, fed & watered and
away from the dangers of the road and cliffs. After arranging a trailer,
we brought him to Agia Marina. We chose his name THESEUS as
we think he is a very brave donkey to survive so many days in the arrid
Rocky South Crete Mountains, not only this, but a donkey dealer had
heard he was roaming in the hills and was coming after him! Another
day and it may have been too late
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Agia Marina Donkey Rescue
Newsletter
Donkeys of the month
In January , ANTHOULA started the new year as the first
Donkey of the month. In the summer of 2011, Anthoula was very
ill with two large infected ulcers on each side of her face. Her
owner would not give permission to the GAWF Outreach Vet
team to extract a badly infected tooth, the tooth fell out eventually but left her very ill, extremely weak and with a very bad
temperament. She bit the other donkeys in the herd and would
not allow us to come very near. When we rescued her she was
given a cours of medication and soon she regained her strenght.
After a lot of TLC and patience, she opened up to us.
In February our handsome boy ODYSSEUS was our Donkey of
the Month. In December 2011, this donkey came to us from the
village of Magarikari. His owner was a nice old man who could
no longer provide for him. He loved him very much but he was
going to have heart surgery and had to give his donkey away. Not
all our donkeys come to us with sad stories...He is one of our smaller donkeys but what he lacks in size, he sure makes up in spirit.
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Agia Marina Donkey Rescue
Newsletter
And finaly in March, our beautiful girl VIOLETTA took over
the Donkey of the Month title...In October 2011, we recieved a
call from the son of a donkey owner asking us if we could take his
fathre’s elderly donkey and care for her. We were so happy as we
have asked the owner in 2006 to let us take her, love & car for
her. Now it has finally happened after five long years. Violetta
comes from the Greek name Ianthe, which means violet flower.
PLEASE HELP ~ ADOPT A DONKEY
By virtually “adopting” one of our rescue donkeys, you will be able to help feed and provide medicines for
your donkey. You will receive a certificate of the Donkey of your choice, a photo, a personal profile and regular updates. Adoptions are € 10.00/month or € 100.00/year. Please choose your special donkey by clicking
on their name and send us an email advising which donkey you would like to adopt, the name you would like
written on the adoption certificate and the address to send it to.
The cost of hay here in Crete, varies depending on the time of year from € 7.00 to € 11.00 in the winter
months. Feed has increased 50% in cost over the last years. Most of our elderly donkeys have chewing problems and require a special soft feed mix.
When you adopt a donkey for a full year, you will also receive an “Agia Marina Donkey Rescue” bag.
Adopting a Donkey makes a great gift for family & friends
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Agia Marina Donkey Rescue
Newsletter
‘Fur’ever homes
Remember Beaglee, the beautiful Beagle that was hit by
a car? Someone contacted us and asked if he could come
and check if Beaglee was his dog he lost. They came and
took Beaglee even though she isn’t the Beagle they lost in
August, they fell in love with her. Beaglee has slight
brain damage from the accident and gets confused easily.
She needs a lot of love and patience and we hope she’ll
have a happy life at her new forever home
Mavroula is an ex streetdog who has been loo-
king for her fur ever home for a while. She was
abandoned outside a big home shop near the airport in Iraklion. She lived there, cared and fed by
kind staff for 3 years until the Council wanted
them all removed. Mavroula was Lucky to be
brought to us by a member of the staff. She is a
very sweet, big dog on short legs, & affectionate.
She is waiting to fly to her foster home in Holland
And then there was Bebeka. She had been living in
the streets of Mires, fed on the street by the mother of
a student of Maria’s who lives in a tiny flat and already cares for two rescued dogs. Neighbours had threatened to poison her/ She found her golden basket beginning of January with a lovely lady who lives in the
nearby village of Kamilari
Little Stavros was left wet, cold and hungry at
the church door of the Holy Cros Church
(Timiou Stavros) near the Agia Marina Donkey
Sanctuary. He found his forever home with a
wonderful family who have a holiday home in a
nearby village. It was love at First sight and we
are so happy that this sweetheart is getting a second chance for a good life
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Agia Marina Donkey Rescue
Newsletter
Frixo was rescued 24 hours after being thrown
down a well 4 metre deep in water. He’s only a
young dog but he managed to stay afloat. Luckily his cries were heard by a local German woman who with help managed to get him out.
Frixo is a hunting dog mix, red coat with green
eyes, very handsome and shy, around 6 months
old. Frixo flew out to a foster home in Holland,
end of March. We hope he will find his golden
basket very soon.
The abandoned dogs just kept on coming!
This darling little male puppy aged about 3
months, was found by Eleni after being
thrown into a dumpster bin in Mires. His
name is Argos but his new family will probably name him James. Argos/James is very
affectionate, clever and left together with
Frixo to his forever home in Holland
This little dog, we have named Nikos, was found on a lonely road near Sivas. Skin & bone, starving and
covered in fleas & ticks, his ears chewed by flies and full of sores. Luckily he followed us back to the Sanctuary and was treated by Vet’s and neutered. Nikos is aged about 6 months, and is still looking for his
‘fur’ever home.
A shepard told us that he is a Kritikos Ichnilatis. This is a Cretan hound, a hunting breed of dog from the
island of Crete. It is considered to be one of the oldes hunting breeds in Europe, with a history that goes
backk to 4000 years ago. This is a multi talented dog that comes directly from Crete. It has excellent scent,
speed, agility, durability, that make it an exceptional hare hunter. Cretan hounds also have guarding instincts as well as pastoral instincts.
We desperately need flea/tick serum and worm tabs. There has been a huge surge in the number of strays
over the winter months, many were caught & neutered but they and the barrel dogs need continuous care.
With the warmer weather coming, the flea/tick problem has already started. Mainly needed for medium to
large dogs. Doses can be halved for smaller dogs. Even a packet will help several animals. Please send to:
Agia Marina Donkey Sanctuary - Petrokefali/Sivas - Mires, Iraklion 70400 Crete - Greece
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Agia Marina Donkey Rescue
Newsletter
OUTREACH
Outreach visit GAWF (Greek Animal Welfare Fund) March 2013
March 7th we had our yearly visit from the GAWF~ Greek Animal Welfare Fund Outreach Team of
Equine Dentist & Farrier Elisa and Aris.
Over the whole day the herd all had their teeth and hooves treated, filed and trimmed.
Aris holds little blind Olive while Elisa extracts a rotten tooth which should make an enormous difference
to her abilitly to chew. Our many thanks to the team once again…
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Agia Marina Donkey Rescue
Newsletter
Latest news
For more than 15 yrs our sanctuary in the mid Messara Valley, Crete has been a haven for abused and
abandoned animals of all kinds....no less the wild peafowl in the area and many other wild birds like tsalapetinos or hoopoe and the sousourada, wagglytail, hawks and wild pigeons. As the 100's yrs old gnarled old
olive trees in the valley are slowly been cut down for firewood and to make way for crops, the birds now have nowhere to nestle, nest and breed and feel safe and to worsen matters local farmers are threatening to
shoot them all. The breeding season starts soon and most will come into and around the haven of our sanctuary, a very sad and worrying situation for the wildlife of South Crete
After
Before
New life on the farm …
Beginning of January our mother goat Goldy gave birth to four little baby goats, three girls and one boy.
They are all doing very well. The last born, with the splayed legs, was very weak and took a while to get up
onto her legs but now she is up and drinking like crazy!
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Agia Marina Donkey Rescue
Newsletter
Escape donkeys
Donkeys are very good at opening barrel lids (full of feed)
doors and gates...No less the rescue donkeys at Agia
Marina Sanctuary..In the early dawn hrs we had a drama
here with four of our donkeys escaping through the back
field by breaki...ng the rope & hook on the catch and pushing open the sliding gate..Apollo, Violetta ( expert gate
opener) Phaedra and Pandora. They must have had a ball
during the early morning hours munching away on broccoli, cabbages, broad beans and cauliflower from various
surrounding market gardens !! Luckily with very full tummies they were all easlily rounded up and brought back
home by Fanis...all looking extremely guilty !!
Walkabout Ariadni
The common myth here that donkey are 'stupid' is a very big
mistake..They may be stubborn but 'stupid' they are
not..Ariadni knows only too well how to open gates and go walk
about to greener fields. Luckily she was soon spotted by friends
in the nearby village of Kouses with a very full stomach and looking very pleased with herself.Here we are walking back to the
sanctuary where her old friends gave her a hero's welcome :-)
We would like to thank all our supporters ( some wish to remain anonymus ) who have donated rugs for
our donkeys... Olive, Pinelopi Iasonas & Antigoni all have lovely colourful new rugs this winter. The
winters is the Southern Meditterranean are short and sharp, the coldest months here are Jan, Feb &
March, our elderly donkeys feel the cold and suffer in the wet weather.
We would especially like to thank CARAT UK
( Caring for the Animals Trust) for their donation
towards four new rugs and for their ongoing support
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Agia Marina Donkey Rescue
Newsletter
Finally !
And last but not least and after a very long time waiting, we are so happy to announce that we are finally
an official :
GREEK REGISTERED SANCTUARY
NON PROFIT ORGANISATION
AM. 2501..AP.AP. 807/2012
Donk-E-Shop
Our Donk-E-Shop is still under construction but we will do our very best to get it up and running in April.
Here’s a preview of our postcards...