Come fly with me!

For a sun loving girl like me, living in a sun deprived country like the Netherlands, Greece is the perfect holiday destination. It has everything I want my holiday address to have: lots of sunshine, beautiful beaches, great food, cultural sites everywhere and the local people are just so nice!

Ruins of Aesklepion at Epidavros

 But there's more. Unfortunately. The locals may be super kind to tourists such as myself, they do not show the same hospitality to the stray animals you find roaming the streets (and high ways). Far from it.

Here a stray, there a stray...

The problem of stray animals is huge in Greece. On the mainland in the summer time, you cannot go for a 30 minute drive without seeing at least one skinny dog standing by the side of the road, looking at you with the saddest eyes you have ever seen.

Almost all of the dogs you see standing by busy roads, were not born 'in the wild', but used to have an owner. An owner who got bored with it, found its upkeep too expensive, or just decided to get rid of the dog because the German Shepherd puppy he/she bought grew up.

And since most Greek people do not bother to spay/neuter their pet, there is an endless stream of puppies born to the abandoned animals.

Kroepoek. A 6-month old puppy who had been hanging around the local supermarket for 3 days before I decided to step in and take him home. He now lives in Germany, thanks to Achaic Society for the Care of Animals.

Help a stray

Seeing all those poor, lost souls on our way to an ancient architectural site, or another nice outing, made me so desperate. And knowing I couldn't do anything constructive to help them (like donating to the local shelter, because there IS no local shelter) just added to the frustration.

But then, while looking around online, I found out that there is something you, as a tourist, can do for those abandoned animals. It's easy, really rewarding and... Free! You can help by... becoming a flight partner!

 Local shelters and animal support groups do their best to help as many animals as they can, by nursing them back to health and fostering them (with up to 10 dogs per volunteer!) while looking for a new forever home. But Greeks hardly ever adopt grown dogs. So, these groups turn to organizations abroad for help. Organizations in Western- Europe (Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, etc.), where there are no stray dogs and dogs are valued as pets. As a flight partner, you are a stray's ticket out of hell and to its bright future with a new family, to a life where it will be loved.

How it works

When you volunteer as a flight partner, that's all you need to do: volunteer to be a flight partner. The rescue groups will take care of the rest. They will book the dog/cat on the flight, make sure the animal is healthy, chipped, has had all the necessary vaccinations and has a valid passport. They will also bring the animal to the airport with the proper transportation cage, check the animal in for you and help you get through customs (Greek officials can get grumpy and noisy when there are animals involved. Just let the rescue group talk to (or yell back at) them, it will work out). And, of course, they will pay for the animal's actual flight.
So, what do YOU have to do? Show up at the airport. Preferably on time.

When you arrive at your destination, the animals are wheeled out by personnel. You gather the animals and your suitcases and roll out of the luggage hall to the arrivals area. There, you will be met by another volunteer who will drive the animal to its foster home or (if extremely lucky) forever home.

Lucy, a doggy we helped to fly to safety thanks to a great cooperation between Stray Gang Rhodos and Stichting AAI.

Normally, I want my vacation to last forever and don't want to go  home. But when I'm a flight partner, it's different. I know that, by returning home, I have helped at least one lucky cat or dog to a life of bliss. And although I know there are still so many unfortunate animals left, I will have helped to save at least one. That's what I call: ending your vacation on a high.