Holiday surprise

I'm really touched by what you are doing @luciusmaximus . I really hope it works out for this cat; he is fortunate indeed to have come across you. Keep us posted.

 

Vet emailed yesterday with this new pic. He looks like a cat now. Vet has done an amazing job, both with the surgeries/treatments he had and all the aftercare.

Aww, thank you for saying that. He was indeed fortunate that we happened to be at the villa. Vet said he was right on the edge and wouldn't have survived much longer.

He has two beds to choose from now and a bag full of toys. I tried to avoid buying anything that remotely resembles a bird or a mouse in the hope - probably vain - that if he sees the real thing he will leave it alone. Given that he was so emaciated and so filthy I don't think he made a very good job of fending for himself, so maybe he's not good at hunting. I live in hope

 

Just had email from vet. Pick up confirmed so Dimitris will be leaving Greece on the 25th to begin his long journey to the uk and, hopefully, a nice life here .
Journey takes 3-4 days.

 

@luciusmaximus, just keep on loving him as you already are and he will settle in just fine. Will he be learning Welsh by any chance?lol

 

Well, I think he will have to as I don't speak Greek . Both languages seem equally as convoluted and complex so he shouldn't have too much trouble picking up Welsh .

 

How is Demitri? I've been thinking about him.

 

The Morning After The Journey Before.

Dimitris began his long journey to us with a 3 hour ferry ride to Volos. From there he travelled overland for 4 days with a pet courier. This last leg of the journey must have been the most stressful as there are number of dogs on the van, all confined in a small space.

He was delighted to see us waiting for him at Liverpool and then slept all the way back to Anglesey, waking only once when we stopped for coffee. When he was released in the caravan he raced around exploring everywhere and kept climbing all over us, head butting us, purring madly, rolling on us.

As you can see from the pics ( taken following morning ) he's begun settling in rather well

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He has vet appointment on Thurs for a check up on his ears, surgery he had done, etc. He's got a bit of an upset tum at the moment, which I think is likely due to the stress of his journey and change of diet.

 

Awww that's so lovely @luciusmaximus Rescue animals give so much love in retturn for your kindness. I've got two rescue dogs from an awful kill shelter in romania...mother and daughter. Their story is heart breaking. We love them so much though. Dotty (the mum) we found out had heartworm and the insurance company wouldn't cover the pre-existing condition....so two weeks after adopting her we ended up paying £6000 for the first heartworm op in the uk....and she is worth every penny. She loves us so much and I'm sure Dimitri will love you so much too. They are worth it x

 

I can't take all the credit. The vet is the real hero for saving his life.

Last night Dimitris decided to sleep with his head on my shoulder. I never thought I would be sleeping with a cat

He still has an upset tum. I thought it was stress related to his journey but its not settling down. Roger has been delegated to dealing with the poo .

 

I'd love to hear their story. What is a kill shelter? Sounds quite awful.

 

It's awful. I've cried so many times for these poor dogs. In romania they pay people (dog catchers/anyone) to bring in strays off the street (or people's pets aswell). The dogs are really badly handled. My poor girl has scars all around her back legs from wires wrapped around her legs and dragged along the floor.

When they're at the "kill shelter" (which are public run!!) they are dumped together in cages and not given food or hardly any water. Within two weeks they will die and if not they are hit over the head with a spade/bat/injection with anti freeze. Sorry to tell you the details (although that's not the half of it-i'll spare you the other details).

Some nice people go in and pay to get the dogs out of the kill shelters and have set up their own shelters and charities and help to get the dogs vet treatment and then find them foster homes or adoptions.

My girl dotty had clearly been tied up for years with a wire cutting into her neck. She has thick scars all around her neck and the vet said the artery in her neck was the size of a chiahuaha? because it had been crushed for years.

She was rescued with her two pups from the kill shelter.



One pup was adopted here and we adopted the mum. My mum also adopted the last puppy (bea)



They've both had more than their fair share of ill health but luckily bea was covered by insurance. We had to pay for dotty's treatment but subsequent things insurance has paid for. Petplan are really good insurers if u are looking for one.

They're both sweet loving dogs and so happy now. I get constant cuddles from them both. Infact I'm laid on the bed now with dotty curled up as close as possible next to me.

 

@luciusmaximus So pleased to hear Dimitris made the tiring journey to you and what a lovely home and family he now has after his horrible start in life.

My sister took an abandoned kitten to Germany from Portugal and she had 16 wonderful pampered years in luxury. We currently have two abandoned babies who are very pampered also.

Bless you and your Greek vet.

 

@Snorky85 ... what a heart warming story you have as well! How did you get them to the UK? Both Dotty and Bea are lucky girls indeed.

PS I lived in Buckinghamshire for 23 years, 5 in Whitchurch and 18 in Upton, lovely part of the world.