Monday 27 August 2012

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. 

24 comments:

  1. I'm so glad you did this post. And I'm glad we went to the shelter together to witness firsthand the wonderful work that Karen does. If you don't mind, I'll put a link to this post on my blog now, so we can spread the word even further.

    Jake is adorable and is now Poppy's new best friend!

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    1. I've asked my daughter to get all her Facebook friends involved.

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  2. Okay, you've got me going and I've voted.

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  3. I voted! And thanks for making me aware of this. I can try to at least sponsor a dog and help out :)

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    1. Going to the dog pound is heart rending. I want to adopt all the dogs, which is basically what Karen does until she can find them homes.

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  4. Very cute! Enjoy being new "parents"! ;-) We always had shelter dogs when I was growing up.

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  5. He's gorgeous! Lucky you. Off to vote now. Axxx

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    1. Thanks for your comment Annie (My namesake). I've just started following your blog - looking forward to back-reading.

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  6. Hello, I would gladly put a comment in support of the Turkish Animal Group, but when I clicked on the link and went there, I couldn't figure out how to do it. Do I need to be on Facebook?????? If so, I'm not, so maybe I can't vote. Peace.

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    1. I'm afraid only those with a Facebook page can vote. Ayak and I'll keep you up to date with progress on the vote.

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  7. Is that a D for Done Alan? If so thank you.

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  8. Hope Jake (alias Timmy) has a passport!! Route planning in progress - see you soon we hope K&D x

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    1. Yes he's got his passport. He'll be ready for overseas FF adventures just after Christmas. Just like the old days!

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  9. have liked TAG on Facebook and will do what you asked as soon as I finish here...thanks for sharing this story...blessings to you, Ayak and Karen!

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  10. Jake is adorable!

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  11. to answer your question about FarmVille...it's a Zynga game played by a lot of Facebook folks...I gave it up because I had so few Facebook friends who wanted to play I could never get ahead. it does cost real money to buy some of the items that are needed to get ahead! I'm now playing Farm Story from lavateam...on my Kindle Fire. It's similar to FarmVille...except you can have "neighbors" or "friends" from among the millions of people playing it around the world. I have met a couple from the Netherlands who have a wire haired dachshund...I have Baron of course so we have something to comment on! You don't have to spend real money unless you want to...you just have to be ultra careful not to get hooked into spending money! I have a budget when I've met that then no more for that month! It's working so far...if it doesn't I'll quit like I did FarmVille! the money would be better spent at a local dog rescue facility...so I play the game but give the money to dog rescue...I can do that!

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  12. Aww, good luck with your new doggy. He's lovely. We've thought about getting one from the dog shelter near here but we're so busy and it just wouldn't be fair. We go up there sometimes just to say hello to them all and leave a donation. I'm already a member of the TAG Facebook group but will go and vote, too. :)

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  13. You are so lucky to have this boy! I would have loved him but my westie boy (Hamish) is male dog aggressive. I am also a TAG adopter! We adopted Janet from TAG last July and she is an absolute DARLING. It was a little difficult at first, as we already had two westies (one male, one female) and an OAP cat but everyone gets on famously (sadly our kitty died recently of old age) although there isn't much room left for us humans on the bed! Karen does a wonderful job and I don't envy her heavy workload. She loves each and every one of her charges and it is very hard for her to place them in new homes which is why there are terms and conditions attached to dog adoptions. Bless you for giving this lovely boy a wonderful life.

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  14. I have visited your facebook page. It is so cool.

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