Patara School Has 2 New Rescue Puppies

It is not every day you get to deliver two beautiful puppies to a school of excited school children, but this morning that is exactly what we did.

The Turkish government department responsible for Education has started an initiative encouraging all schools across the country to have animals in their grounds and to teach the children about animal care and welfare. Through this they hope those children will take that care and compassion for animals out into the wider world, from their own families, to their friends and colleagues in the future. Education is so important in spreading the welfare word.

Today, the Patara Village school received their puppies thanks to the hard work of SADIK ÖĞRETIR And Eva Henning, working together, and with support from KAPSA. We were greeted at the gate by very excited school children, they could not wait to meet the new arrivals. The new kennel was already in place, in a peaceful garden area and the 70 or so students at the school, aged from 7 to 11 yrs, will all help take responsibility for looking after the pups as they grow.

Eva and Sadik gave the children lots of advice about how animals should be cared for, then the 2 pups were placed on the ground and the children allowed to come and say hello. The looks on their faces said everything, it was most definitely love at first sight for these children and 2 very lucky pups. The pups were were also amazing, so quiet and calm around the children, relaxing and allowing themselves to be petted by so many small hands. Once the children returned to the classrooms, the pups were taken round to their new home in the garden, where they immediately had a good look round, then ventured a little further to discover their new territory. The school grounds are very secure, and next week a further fence will be added around the garden area. On weekends, teachers have already volunteered to come in and feed and water them and ensure their well being. Sadik will also visit regularly to ensure all is well. The pups have already had their first vaccinations, and will continue a course of them over the coming weeks and they will also be spayed as soon as they are old enough. This is where KAPSA plays a role and where your donations are helping education in and around Kalkan – KAPSA have funded all medical care and will continue to do so.

On Monday, the children will all come to school with names for the two girl pups, who are around 4-5 months old, and they will be put in hat and 2 drawn out. We will update you when we know what the children have chosen.

Today has been an incredible example of how team work and education can bring a better life to all animals, and we hope this initiative will go from strength to strength in all areas of Turkey.

We must give massive thanks to the Head Teacher and staff of Patara Village School for wanting to be part of this; to Sadik who sponsored the kennel, collars, leads, etc and will help with the garden fence; to Eva for her tireless pursuit of positive and passionate education about animal welfare here in Kalkan and pulling all this together; and finally to Mesut, who was looking after these 2 pups and FIVE more, all of them dumped in Akbel. The other 5 also need homes soon or they will have to go to the dogs home as they are simply too young to survive on their own, and so many dogs suddenly together in residential area would not be popular.

A wonderful, heart warming and inspirational morning all round.