Shaggy Dog Story

I could blame this month's poor showing on the blog front on heat-induced laziness but I have an excuse:  BacktoBodrum has been busy with a new family member. We were doggy people before we left Turkey 12 years ago, but working full-time in the UK wasn't conducive to full time dog ownership so we contented ourselves with looking after other people's animals.  Now that we're back home and the renovations are just about finished, we've been toying with the idea of getting a dog but haven't done anything about it.  Ten days ago, I saw a picture of Jake on Ayak's  Facebook page and knew that this was the doggy for us. http://ayakturkishdelight.blogspot.com/

Ayak is a supporter of TAG, the Turkish Animal Group and she reposts all their rehoming requests.  I didn't get my hopes up as Karen, who runs the group had a lot of interest in Jake, but thanks to Ayak's reference, I somehow got to the top of the list and the next day Ayak and I set off to TAG's dog compound near Didim.  I was glad I wasn't on my own, as Karen's direction to turn right at the mushroom!!  and keep going, had us driving for 45 minutes along beautifully empty forest roads, not sure where we were going to end up.  We finally got to the village next to TAG's headquarters and transferred to Karen's car which, I think she will forgive me for saying, is held together with hope, a prayer and probably a lot of dog saliva. As we bumped over the rocky track, I thanked all divine beings that it wasn't my chassis that was being grated and bounced over the boulders. Karen is one of those rare people who have found their cause and single-mindedly live out their mission, ignoring all the pitfalls and reverses that would have anyone else running for the hills.  Her aim is to save the lives abandoned dogs. She has built a refuge for some 60 rescued dogs in the middle of nowhere and every single dog in the pound is happy, exercised  and well-fed. Her aim is to re-home all of them and I urge all readers to take a look at her Facebook page. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Turkish-Animal-Group-TAG-Dog-Adoptables/193092287368884

TAG is a registered charity in the UK and reliant on donations, although Karen uses her own resources when donations don't cover the costs. Can I ask everyone who reads this blog and has a Facebook account to log on to https://www.facebook.com/vivatspringwater and write a post that you vote for the Turkish Animal Group to give Karen the chance to win a £2,000 donation.  If everyone who reads this blog does this one simple thing in the next few days, she stands a good chance of winning. 

I'm a believer in short posts to I'll continue Jake's story tomorrow.