Cyprusscene are very conscious of the plight of street animals and we are publishing a series of 3 articles regarding a dog which was found in a terrible condition and near death and the care it has been receiving.
By Kim Betts…….
Kyrenia Animal Rescue …….
In the KAR Office we become used to dealing with all sorts of calls from members of the public – a kitten found, barking dogs, road traffic accidents, calls from worried tourists and the usual calls of complaint (but rarely calls of thanks!). But the most distressing for us to cope with are the cases of neglect and/or cruelty.
We received a call recently from a worried lady, Emma, in Lapta about an abandoned dog in an unused building. We could tell from what she was saying that it was going to be an upsetting case but at the time of her call we had no one in the Lapta area that could go around to see the dog. We advised Emma to contact immediately the Beledeyesi and Police as sometimes they will have a vehicle in the vicinity. During the interim period our Community Warden (Yulian) came back into the Girne area and we asked him to go straight over to Lapta. Meanwhile Lapta police called us to say that they had seen some photos of the dog and believed it was already dead but if not then it would be very soon and they had no one close either. A distraught Emma was with the Police and was so relieved when we explained that help was already on the way – but even she was not sure if the dog was still alive.
The dog had been in the unused building for a couple of days and Emma had already been to a local vet for help but was told just to give the dog food and water – Emma could see that the dog needed more, much more, than just food and water. It was so weak that it was not able to eat and was struggling to even drink. It was quite obvious that despite the distressing circumstances a bond had been struck between Emma and the dog – who she had nicknamed Roxy. We asked Emma to send the photos into the office so that we could set up a case file. It was quite clear, once the photos arrived, that Roxy had not wandered into the building on her own – someone had put her there. She could barely walk initially but this very quickly deteriorated to barely being able to move.
Yulian arrived back at the office with Roxy – we had to carry out an initial assessment before she was taken up to the vet. As you can see she was in a terrible state and we really feared for the outcome. During the assessment we could see (and smell) that she had at least one physical wound, an open wound on her leg which was badly infected, she had eye infections, was seriously dehydrated and emaciated. She was covered in flies and could barely lift her head – but when she did just slightly there was a glimmer of a spark in her eye – maybe there was hope – maybe she could rally!
It doesn’t matter how much time is spent dealing with day to day issues and cases at Kyrenia Animal Rescue nothing prepares us for these sorts of cases. However sad each case is we deal with it in the best way that we can. And however sad, cruel or sickening we always try and find a positive side or it all becomes too depressing for us. Sometimes it is not possible to find that elusive “positiveness” and we all go home very tearful, heavy hearted and with sad bad memories. Maybe the positive aspects of Roxy’s case is the hope that we have all got to her just in the nick of time – also that despite the terrible treatment she had endured she still had enough trust in people, for a tiny sparkle in her eye and a very very slight wag of her tail. Another positive is that there are many caring people in the TRNC, such as Emma, that will go out of their way to help an animal in distress.
Roxy is currently at a local vet where she is receiving treatment and, although she is not out of danger yet, she is responding. We will be updating Roxy’s story when we can – whatever the outcome. But we all have our fingers crossed that Roxy WILL Rally.
