Donating to Animal Shelters in Turkey...

Hi everyone!

It has only been about 10 days since I started preparing my blog and it has been a crazy and busy time for my mom, so she hasn't had time to prepare posts as frequently as she would like.

As you all probably heard, just one week ago today, a earthquake measuring 7.2 on the richter scale hit the city of Van and its surroundings in the eastern part of Turkey. Many many lives have been lost (over 601 + to date), many people have been injured (over 4,000 +), 188 people were rescued from under the wreckages and countless people are homeless, or because of the after shocks (over 1,000 to date) even if the residents homes are safe, they are too scared to enter their homes.

It will take a long time to recover from this disaster as many buildings not up to code have either collapsed or have been condemned.

Slowly the country is starting to recoup from this disaster and everyone is doing their part by either volunteering, making donations or sending supplies to the area - on the personal, governmental or private businesses basis. Also, many countries from abroad have also sent supplies or made donations.

My mom also prepared a post at her own blog (http://danislogbookdestinationistanbulbeyond.blogspot.com) where she gave people living in Turkey and abroad information on how they could help.

Since I am from the 4-legged world, my heart also went out to the animals living in Van. Naturally, the residents of these cities are busy trying to recover and it is understandable that they could forget about "us" during their trials and tribulations. However, I am proud to say that many dogs were at the site to help the rescue teams in their efforts to locate survivors under the collapsed buildings. Also, my mom heard that a few major dog food brands sent supplies to my less fortunate friends in Van - so thank you to them!

So, I decided to prepare a post on how you can help "my" friends in Van and in fact, all over Turkey. Unfortunately, there are many dogs and cats living on the streets of Turkey and this is a major major problem! There are many shelters (government run and private), but they either don't have enough funding to deal with the high population of strays.

I want to ONCE again remind all potential animal owners... ONLY purchase a dog or cat IF you know you have the patience, love and feel responsible enough to handle what it takes to be an animal owner. Remember... we never really grow up and move out of the house... we don't go to school or have the ability to earn a living. SO... we are TOTALLY dependent on YOU - our human parents to take care of us! Actually, it's really not that difficult, but it is harder for some than others! Many adults purchase dogs at pet shops (now don't get me started on them!) for their kids and then once they realize they really can't take care of them - leave them on the street IF they can't find foster parents (and in most cases they can't!). Can you imagine the trauma? One minute you were living in a nice warm and friendly home and then the next minute you are on the street... more than likely you will not be able to survive on the streets for long...

So, let me now get off my soapbox and give you some information on what you can do to help!!!

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HAYSEV - short for "Hayvan Severler" (or Animal Lovers) is a non-profit organization located in Ankara, our state capital. My mom stumbled upon them by accident when a "friend" of hers shared a link on Facebook. They don't have a website, but you can find them on facebook . What they do is try to re-home and also treat cats and dogs that have been abandoned. On their FB page, you will find their bank account if you would like to make a cash donation to this organization.



They don't have a website with the HAYSEV name, but they do have one called Kolay Mama (easy food) www.kolaymama.com. The website is currently only available in Turkish, but when my mom spoke to one of their representatives, she was informed that it will also be available in English shortly.

This is how the website works: you can purchase products (food, toys, etc.) for your own pets from the categories listed in the left hand column, or make contribution to an animal shelter under the called BARINAKLARA BAĞIŞ  ( which means "donations to animal shelters") located in the right hand column.

Once you click onto this icon, you will see a page with a bunch of foodstuffs or blankets that you can purchase and have sent to an animal shelter and no shipment cost will be added to your order. You can decide which shelter you want your order to be sent to or you can leave it up to HAYSEV. Payments can be made via a credit card (Mastercard and Visa) or via a bank transfer. Then Haysev will send you an invoice via email and also confirm your order! Also, you need not leave in Turkey to place an order - the representative at HAYSEV also informed my mom that they have customers from abroad too! 

My mom has already used Kolaymama several times to send food and she has left it up to Haysev as they know better which shelters have the most needs.

Good job HAYSEV!!!

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The following is another website you can use to send food and more to animal shelters throughout the country: Kangurum



Kangurum is the online website of Migros, a leading major supermarket chain in Turkey. Not only can you order all sorts of products for your own home, they also have link with a list of animal shelters throughout the country that you can select to send goods to - from cat and dog food, to cleaning products and more.

The website is also available in English but most parts are still only in Turkish. To find the link for donations to animal shelters, scroll down on the main page until you see the headings "announcements" and "donation campaigns". Then you will notice an image of a "dog and cat". Click onto this image and it will direct you to the page for donations and this section is in English. Again, Kangurum does not charge for shipping to animal shelters and will send you an invoice and confirmation of your order via email.

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My mom doesn't know of any other organizations where you can purchase food to send to animal shelters, but below is a list of some reputable non-profit organizations that accept cash donations and do their part to help homeless animals in Turkey.

• Barinak Gönüllüleri ve Hayvanlara Yaşam Hakkı Derneği (Association of Shelter Volunteers and Animal Rights to Live) www.bgd.org.tr (website only in Turkish)
• Evsiz Hayvanları ve Doğayı Koruma Derneği (Homeless Animals & the Environment Protection Foundation) www.evsizhayvanlari.org (website in Turkish & English)
• HAÇIKO - www.haciko.org

Dear everyone... this is just the first of many posts that I plan on writing on this subject! I want to make my blog fun and interesting and share my own personal experiences with you, but I also want to help those who are less fortunate than I am and don't live in a loving and caring home.

IF only ONE of you visit one the sites I mentioned above and make a donation... I know I am on the right path!!!!

Thank you for reading my post and if you do make a donation or send food, would you share this with me by sending a comment?? THANK YOU! I would really appreciate that and know that I have at least been successful in helping my 4-legged friends!

Till the next time,

Luka

 

 

 





Me and Zilli...

Hi everyone,

First, I would like to thank everyone who has visited my blog! My mom told me that she is happy with the attention I am getting and she said with time, more and more people will be visiting me - hopefully. It makes me feel good as I am a bit of a "ham" and do love getting lots of attention!

That's another thing with Maltese Terriers... we love attention! The more the better! I can't talk for all Maltese terriers, but I am very very friendly and rarely bark!

I know my mom is happy that I am not a barker, but I'm not so sure how she feels about my extra "friendly" side!

It is true to I warm up to everyone - people, cats, dogs, birds... very easily - whether they want the attention or not! Surprisingly, there are people out there who are frightened of me and flinch and ask silly questions like "does he bite?" when it is very obvious that I am a spirited little guy who loves to just jump on people to show them my affection!

In my first post, I had mentioned that I have other "doggie" friends in the neighborhood and my "best" girl is Zilli! Zilli is a slang word and roughly translated into english means "smart ass", but in an affectionate way! Zilli is 7 years old and I found out today that she was born on October 26th and she is a mixed breed terrier.

Zilli lives in my apartment building and we met about a couple of days after I moved in with mom and immediately fell in love! She, on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with me and barked and growled when I approached her! But, things have changed quite a bit since then and now we are much more friendly and luckily - she is happy to see me!

But, she is a girl and from time to time, still acts coy and gives me the cold shoulder... then, I just sit in front of her and try to appease her!

This normally works and she changes her tune and we take our walks together, but from time to time... she does throw me a look!

However, another problem we have is that we don't get a chance to see each other as often as we'd like and it is my fault!

You see... I am an early riser - which drives my mom crazy! I get up at about 7:00am every morning and I expect her to get up too - even if she went to sleep very late the night before! And... I'm adamant about it and literally force her to get up!

I do this by jumping on her bed and do everything in my power to get her to wake up! She gets really annoyed with me and tells me to get off the bed and "assists" me gently by putting me on the floor! I bet she is going to be really happy when I grow up more and patiently wait for her to get up! But, then again, she doesn't like to sleep too much anyway!

But, for the last few days, I've given mom "permission" to sleep until about 8:00am, so we have been taking our morning walks closer to 9:00am - the time that Zilli goes for her walk! I think I get it now... if I want to see Zilli, I have to go outside according to her terms! I guess the "dog" world is no different than the people world... females are the real rulers!!!

You know... now that I think of it... Zilli and I are very fortunate... we live in loving homes with families that really and truly care about us.

As I mentioned in my first post... there are many stray dogs and cats living on the streets in Istanbul and all over Turkey, but I can only talk about Istanbul. I think its all of our responsibility to take care of our friends - but it is a tall order and major job. Most importantly, the least we can do is to give them so food, water and not treat them badly. All they want is attention and to live in peace - but they do have a rough life and I guess that is why some can be scary and violent - they are trying to survive!

Below are photos of some of my "cat" friends at my housing complex... there are many many more! These two cats might look like the same - but they are not... but, obviously they are siblings!

Mom feeds them from time to time by giving them my scraps and cat food she buys for them ... and during the summer, she made sure to put out bowls of water. She also feeds the stray dogs in our neighborhood with dry dog food... every little bit helps!

Till the next time....

Luka

My First Post!!!!

Hi everyone!

My name is Luka! I am a male Maltese Terrier and I live in Levent, Istanbul in Turkey and TOMORROW IS MY BIRTHDAY!

So... to celebrate my 1st birthday, I asked my "mom" Dani (nickname)/Vildan (real name) to start writing a blog for me too - starting today! You see.. my mom is a blogger too! She started her own blog - called Dani's Log Book: Desination Istanbu and Beyond (http://danislogbookdestinationistanbulbeyond.blogspot.com) in July and I too wanted to jump on the band wagon. She is CONSTANTLY on the computer - writing and writing, so there must be something to this I thought! But of course, she is not just a blogger - you can visit her blog if you want more info on her life.

Like I mentioned above, I will be one year-old tommorow according to the papers the pet shop gave my "1st" family when they purchased me this past February.

Yup... my current "mom" is not my first: I have only been sharing my life with her since May 10.

So, how did our paths cross? On a bright and sunny Saturday afternoon on May 7th, my ex-mom and ex-sister were walking down the street in Bebek when I was "noticed" by my "cousin" Arman who pointed me out to my "aunt" Meltem and said, "look mom, what a cute dog!" An ever-loving animal lover, my aunt and "then" mom started chatting. She told my aunt that they were giving me away because I guess I was a handful and they couldn't take care of me!

I on the other hand do not agree with this  - I just think they weren't ready for the responsibility of taking care of me and now were looking for a way out.

To make along story short... my aunt gave her telephone number to her and said, "if the people who said they would take him, decide not too, let me know - as my sister is looking to own a dog!"

You see... before I came along... my "current" mom was an "aunt" and my current "aunt" a "mom". In December 1994, they became the proud parent/aunt of Çapkın, a fluffy male terrier who brought so much joy to their lives - until his passing in my "mom's" arms on December 29, 2009. The whole family was of course devastated and still remember him and mourn for him as they shared soooo much throughout his 15 1/2 year life! But, let's change the subject now before we all get sad, but I couldn't not mention Çapkın in my blog...BTW... Çapkın means "playboy" in Turkish... but from what I hear, he was far from it!

Çapkın in Lucerne/December 2008

Back to my story... the words uttered by my aunt to my previous owner completely changed my life! My owner (I don't want to mention her name) called my aunt on Monday night (May 9th) to say that I was still up for adoption!!

So... the next morning at around 10:30am, three people (mom, aunt and aunt's husband Ibrahim) showed up at our door and were greeted by the housekeeper! They entered the kitchen where I was and I jovially greeted them by jumping into the arms of my "current" mom! I immediately took a liking to her and her to me. so I put my best foot forward to impress her! I really put on the charm - I was playfully, yet shy!

The housekeeper then gave them my "papers",my bed, leash and collar and 10 minutes after their arrival, I was living my "home" to start a new life!  

Would you believe - I didn't even look back and didn't have any bad feelings or sadness about leaving! In fact, my owner didn't even come out to meet my new mom (housekeeper said she was sick and feeling under the weather to which I say - BS!) and I guess my sister was at school - so the two families never met! This does make me sad in a way, but I guess I was too happy that someone actually wanted me!

Anyway... on my 1st day of my new life... our first stop was my grandmother's house (more on her later) and from there to the vet! Mom took me to Animallia (www.animallia.com) in Etiler because that's where they used to take Çapkın and we have the same doctor! His name is Murat Ilgü and he has a soft touch!

First, he checked my health certificate and apparently my previous owner had not had any of my shots done! I only had the shots that the pet shop had done before they purchased me. It is SO important that all my shots are in order - not just for myself, but also for the health of my family! So, we immediately began a regiment of scheduling my shots - you can't have them all done at the same time, so for the next month, we visited the vet often! My vet was also very proud of me! I guess I am one of those 4-legged creatures that doesn't mind getting a needle and doesn't get weak in the knees as the car drives up to the vet! My mom is very proud of me and that makes me happy too! After all my shots were done, she had me inserted with a chip and they took blood tests which they sent off to some laboratory for analysis. Now, I am all set to travel abroad with my mom whenever because all my documents are now in order!

During our first visit to the vet, she bought me a new bed from the pet shop and threw out the one given by my old owner. Apparently, it didn't smell very nice  - you see, they never "toilet trained" me, so when I had to go... I went in the house... on my bed... She also got me a couple of toys, a new leash and collar and also made an appointment for a grooming! She wanted to have it done immediately, but unfortunately the groomer was totally booked!

Then my aunt Meltem came and picked us up and we went home! I was soo excited - ahhh - a new life! We live in a big housing complex in Levent and there are many places right on the grounds for me to explore and discover. The apartment is nice too and spacious - more than enough room for mom and me!

Just as mom was starting to discover and learn about me... I was starting to learn about her. I realized she loves to take pictures and that's one of the first things we did upon getting home!

With mom

With Aunt Meltem

After a week with my new mom... this is how I looked after my grooming!

First haircut

What a change right??? I did feel a lot better - the weather was starting to warm up and I did feel better without  all that hair! Actually, Maltese terriers always have long hair, but I did like the breezy new look!

Our first week of living together wasn't easy on either one of us! I think I drove my mom nuts with my "toilet" issues! I couldn't understand what the big deal was! In my other house, there were no rules like this... But, here .. everytime I decided to "relieve" myself at whim (thank god she doesn't have carpets!) she would run after me saying "hayır! hayır! (that means no in Turkish... and oh...mom doesn't speak to me in English - only Turkish - we do live in Istanbul, so makes more sense that I first learn the local language and then we can try our hand at English) and then fill a bucket with water and with a stick with some fuzzy thing on the end, clean up after me! I'll be honest with you... it took me about a month or so to realize that I was not supposed to be doing this in the house!!! She did allow me to do it on the balcony, but I was really supposed to "do the deed" during our walks outside in the morning and night!

I also had a lot of temper tantrums during the first weeks! What can I say... I'm a baby and want attention when I want it! But, my mom - who is a Leo by the way - has a very strong personality and is a very busy person and really likes her space! And.. guess what, I was intruding in a major way! Also, I am a super picky eater and DO NOT eat dog food at all and this drives my mom crazy! But, she hasn't been able to get me to eat it yet and instead I prefer a cucumber in the morning, then some meat, chicken or lamb and I LOVE cheese (this I took after her I think, because she is the one who turned me on to it!). But, I don't eat alot... have to watch my figure - I'm about 4,5 kg which is a normal weight for me.

But, we are working out our differences and learning to live with each  - it's a ongoing process! Do we still have problems? Sure! I realized I too have a strong personality - even though I am a Libra.. I am only one day away from being a Scorpio - so makes sense!

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As this is my first post, it will be a little lengthy but I promise to make it interesting and fun so that you don't get too bored, but I am trying to fill 5 months of my life with mom in one post, so that when I continue to post from now on, it will be up to date!

One of the great things about living with mom is that, first, she works from home, so we get to spend lots of time together - I don't know if you know this, but Maltese terriers do not like to be left alone too much!

Also, she takes me with her to lots of cool places around Istanbul! From what I can gather so far, mom likes the "good life" and I have already been to some of the trendiest places in town!

For example, the first place we went together and as a family with my aunt and her family as well was to Masa (www.masarestaurant.com) a trendy cafe/restaurant at a place called IstinyePark (www.istinyepark.com) -  a shopping mall).

At Masa with cousin Arman (before my haircut!)

While there, I met my first friend! Her name is Mia - she is also a maltese terrier and a few months younger than me. Her mom's name is Ceyda... I hope to see her again, but our moms' haven't been able to schedule a get together yet!

Mia and me at Masa

Then, one day - we had another family outing to Chilai. This is a new place that opened right on the Bosphorus in Bebek and a pretty ok place.

@ Chilai

One of my favorite places (because of mom!) is Lucca (www.luccastyle.com) - also in Bebek! I have been to Lucca so many times, I'm now a regular and get along great with all the waiters and other customers! I'm a very friendly dog and so are the waiters and customers at Lucca (and of course our names even though not spelled the same, are pronounced the same!) so we get along very well! Everyone wants to pet me and I in turn reciprocate by jumping up and licking them! Everytime we go, Sonat, Ahmet or one of the other waiters always bring over a dish of water for me - thanks guys!

@ Lucca in October

Lucca

By the way, if you are wondering what Luka means, it is of Greek origin and means "light", so I guess I'm the light of my mom's life (even though she might beg to differ from time to time - especially when I'm naughty!)

Some other places I've visited so far are Backyard - www.backyardistanbul.com ( a cool place overlooking the Bosphorus in Bebeköy); Mangerie (www.mangeriebebek.com) - also a really nice cafe in Bebek, but boy did I get tired walking up those stairs to get there, but it was worth it and once again, I was a hit with the waitresses and customers; Bebek Kahvesi - another very nice casual cafe that has been around for years and years (my mom went there for the first time in 1995!).

@ Backyard with my mom's friend Zeyno

@ Mangerie

Mangerie Cafe

Also, I've been to many places in Nişantaşı too... like Nişantaşı Brasserie (www.grup-29.com), Hardal (www.margroup.tc) and The House Cafe (www.thehousecafe.com).

The House Cafe

Hardal

Beymen Brasserie

 Even though mom has taken me to so many wonderful places so far, I think I enjoyed our vacation to Çeşme the most! I wasn't exactly thrilled to be placed in a small carrying case (even though I didn't make any hassles about it!) and then getting on this thing called an airplane (my heart was beating like crazy) that made lots of noise and flew in the air like a bird, but the end result was great!

We stayed at my aunt Meltem's summer house so I was outside ALL day running around the garden and I actually swam too!!! Not knowing what I was doing, I threw myself into the swimming pool at home and then started flapping my legs - it didn't feel that great, but it just came natural! I also had a "friend" at the house too... my aunt was taking care of a street dog - her name is Cookie - and we got along great!

With Cookie at home in Çeşme

Relaxing at home in Çeşme

They also took me to some cool beach clubs in Çeşme! I went to 7800 Beach Club and Fun Beach many times and went to Şamdan Beach once and I swam in the Aegean each time! It was lots of fun!

@ 7800 Beach Club

After my "swim" at 7800 Beach Cluy

Swimming with my aunt at Şamdan Beach Club

Şamdan Beach Cllub

@ Fun Beach

Fun Beach

Now.. I will really want to speed things up! We returned from Çeşme (which is a resort town about 45 minutes from Izmir) at the end of the first week of August... my mom got very sick with a cold/flu and was laid up for about 2 weeks... and then in September she went to Bodrum (another lovely resort town on the Aegean) to attend a friend's wedding and I spent a few days at my aunt's house and that was fun too! I stayed there again in October when this time my mom went on a grape harvest.

So, as you can see... I have been getting around and I am really happy in my new home! I always say, if you live with someone, you have to share your lives with them and I believe I have a very balanced life with my mom! I have a few friends in the neighborhood too.. my "love" right now is Zilli... she is 7 years old (much older than me!) and a terrier and we live in the same apartment building... we run into each other sometimes during our daily walks. And, then there is Fibi... she is also a terrier - lives a couple of buildings down, but I haven't seen her in a while.. My other two friends or Sunny - a 7 year old cocker spaniel (male) and Chuck - a one year old labrador... they are bigger than me, but we have no problems! 

So...I think I have a good life... like I said mom doesn't leave me alone for too long... of course she goes out during the day and sometimes at night without me... but that's ok...I know she will be coming back home, so I never make a fuss and bark and drive our neighbors crazy!

So, welcome to my blog! I will be writing from time to time - not only to share my life experiences and growing up pains with you - but I will also bring attention to the animal rights issues in Turkey - unfortunately there are too many stray cats and dogs on the streets in our country! They too need our care, love and understanding. There are many animal shelters (public and private) but unfortunately most are not in the best of shape and need support and I will be writing about what you can do to help!

Till the next time....

Affectionately,
Luka