Marios' broken jaw

His name is Marios for a very good reason! Marios got hit by a car and he is still alive thanks to the sensitivity and persistence of a woman from the neighborhood where he lived. Marios comes from Xylokeratidi, an otherwise safe area for cats.

Being hit by a car has cost him a badly broken jaw, but the dangerous thing was that after the accident he was so scared, that he was hiding from people so that he could not be caught to get help from the vet. Due to the fracture, he was not able to eat.

Angela made a lot of effort to find and catch him for many days without a result. When a week had passed since the accident, she decided that on that day he must be caught or otherwise he would not survive. So she asked for help, which was given to her!

The local vet Dimitris went on the spot where the cat had been hiding from the previous day and as soon as the cat felt safe, he went straight to him. The next day, Marios traveled to Naxos where he had surgery.

Marios is now back at our Center where he will remain for at least a month. He eats with appetite, he gained weight and he is more relaxed and happy!

Another soul was saved because a human being cared for him!

Thank you Angela!

Please, don't ignore an animal that looks like it's in trouble—ask for help. Every creature's life is precious.

Here are two short videos of him:

https://youtube.com/shorts/gRfUxCz5gww

https://youtube.com/shorts/vExzPOEK7zo?feature=share

An amazing volunteer from Canada

Her name is Janel, and what an amazing volunteer!

Although she is only 18 years old, she decided to make the very long trip from Canada to Amorgos to offer voluntary help to the animals of our island. This in itself makes her special.

She came to Amorgos and volunteered for two weeks. She cleaned cages, weeded gardens and enclosures, walked dogs, took care of kittens, brushed donkeys, gave her attention and love to sick cats as if she were an already experienced volunteer. Always punctual and always responsible, whatever she was doing. A smiling, sweet, young woman with an eagerness to give.

We thank you from the bottom of our hearts, Janel, for what you have given us and the animals of Amorgos. We will be very happy to see you again. AZI’s family will always be here for you. We wish you a happy life and may all your dreams come true.

Here you can find more information about our Student Volunteering program with which you too can come to Amorgos and help the animals of the island: https://www.animal-zone.org/students-volunteering-program

Hope to see you soon!

A Class Visit

On Wednesday, June 31, 2023, we had the great pleasure of welcoming the children of the kindergarten of Katapola to our Center. The children had the opportunity to see up close the animals we care for. They went crazy with our youngest guests, Luke and Leia, the two orphaned kittens who are 1-month-old. The children helped Litsa to bottle feed them and they couldn't stop petting them.

After the Center, it was the equine shelter’s turn, where the children treated our donkeys and mule with carrots. They also met our two dogs, Voris and Jack, and they learned how to approach a dog safely.

It was a great and happy day and we would like to thank the kindergarten teacher Maria Krithioti from the bottom of our hearts for this initiative, as well as the parents who accompanied the group: Sofia, Mina and Vivy. It is very important that children are taught from a young age to look after, care for, and respect animals.

We are grateful for this sweet gift of the community.

SPRING STERILIZATION PROGRAM

The time for our spring sterilization program has arrived. The Greek Action of Volunteer Veterinarians (GAVV or EDKE, in Greek) will be in Amorgos for this weekend —the 4 & 5 of March. The team will consist of four veterinarians, and the goal is to sterilize 100 cats in two days!

The Municipality of Amorgos are underwriting the transport, accommodation, and meals of the team as well as 30 new transporting cages. GAVV – EDKE will volunteer services, medicines and surgical supplies, and AZI will provide the organization, volunteers, clinic, equipment and other supplies such as detergents and underpads.

This program is crucial to control the animal population on Amorgos. Without it, the cat colonies will balloon to unsustainable sizes, which presents challenges to keeping members healthy and safe.

Please consider supporting our efforts. Donate today!

Thank you!

DEC 2022—We sincerely thank the stores of Mr. Alexios Tsamis and Captain Τροφοδοσίες Ελλάδος in Katapola for the donation of 3 bags of dry food and 3 packets of underpads for the animals we care for. Both AZI and AZI’s animals are so grateful!

Progress Report 2022

Our coordinator Litsa put together the slide show below, showcasing some of our more difficult cases so far this year.

WARNING: some of the images are graphic and therefore may be upsetting to some people.

As you can clearly see, these animals need our help! Some are suffering needlessly. For us to continue to do the work we do, we need your help! Won’t you make a donation today? https://tinyurl.com/Donate-AZI.

We thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

Our dog shelter

Our dog shelter was finally emptied thanks to the adoption of the three dogs we had been hosting, which means that we can now continue the work that we began earlier to maintain the safety and comfort of this small canine compound.

Using bamboo taken from another area where it wasn’t needed, we created a sheltered area to protect from the summer sun and the autumn winds.

We also added new gravel to the ground since it protects the dogs from the mud when it rains. It took over one hundred sacks of gravel to cover the area, which will help keep the dogs clean and dry. We also laid fresh hay in the doghouses. All of this was done in time to welcome two new canine members to our facility.

Next, we must repair the roof so that protection from the rain will help to make the shelter a truly comfortable enclosure.

If you would like to help us with the maintenance of our dog shelter, you can make a contribution here: https://tinyurl.com/Donate-AZI

Our work on Amorgos is dependent on your donations. No donation is too small!

We thank you and wish you the very best during this trying time.

Preparations for winter

Winter is just around the corner so preparations have begun both at AZI’s Center and at our equine shelter so that our animals will have warm shelters during the cold months. The roof of the stable at the equine shelter received a fresh layer of primer and insulating paint. This will help protect the wood from wear and to offer more insulation to the stable.

In addition to the many cats who live inside our Center, we have a number of stray cats who live around our Center. For these cats we have made little houses in our garden which have been filled with hay to offer more warmth, safe shelter, and protection from rain and wind.

A few weeks ago we cleaned the garden, tidied our food and sand supplies and pruned the plants. We are now ready to welcome winter!

Our first customer! These shelters are made for cats like him, who live outdoors around our Center. This one jumped right in even before we were finished, and seems grateful for a soft and safe place to rest.

AZI Slideshow

The video below shows some of the sweet cats and dogs (and a goat!) we have rescued so far in 2020. So many kittens came to us sick and malnourished and now they are beautiful, healthy cats. Some have been adopted but many others still need a loving and safe place to call home.

We can do this with only with the help of our supporters like you. Your contributions are crucial, so please give what you can. No donation is too small! Each creature that comes to our Center gets a chance at a better life. We tend to the sick, feed the hungry, and search out good homes for as many as we can.

Donate here: https://tinyurl.com/Donate-AZI

WARNING: Some “Before” images are graphic.

Scenes from AZI's Center