News & Events
When Litsa, our coordinator on Amorgos, heard about a little owl (Athene noctua) with a broken wing outside the gym in Xylokeratidi, she immediately went to get her. But, due to strong winds, ferry service was suspended so the owl had to stay with Litsa for three days.
When the winds subsided and the boat finally came, the injured owl was sent to the Alkioni Wild Bird Rescue Center in Paros where she will receive medical care, including surgery. We hope that she will be able to fly again, though we're told chances are 50-50. We will find out how she does in three weeks, and we hope for the best!
Mpoum arrived at the center in July 2014. He had been hit by a car and badly injured. His nose and one of his eyes were bleeding, his head was swollen, and he was unconscious. After a lot of medicine, vitamins, serums, and TLC, he awoke. Sadly, it appears he suffered from mental injury as well, as he did not remember how to eat.
These four adorable kittens are available for adoption. Won’t you consider giving one (or two) a home? If not, we could still use your help! Please be generous and sponsor a kitten; $25 a month will feed and protect one kitten with vaccinations. Donate now--thank you!
After being rescued and saved, the cats of AZI need a safe place to stay prior to being adopted. The Monks of the Monastery kindly offered to lend AZI a piece of their land in Chora as a temporary shelter. A sturdy fence and a indoor space were built especially for the cats. It's a beautiful new home...yet please remember, many of these cats are available for adoption and they would love even more to move from a temporary home to a permanent one. Won't you consider adopting one?
Our newest arrivals are tiny kittens named Nia and Lia. They were rescued by our former assistant Giota in Aegiali. They are about 3 weeks old, they have incredible appetite for food, and they play a lot. They have just started to eat by themselves but they still need the baby bottle for supplemental nutrition and special care. They are absolutely adorable! When they reach the appropriate age, they will be put up for adoption. Contact us if you are interested!
This little kitten was recently diagnosed with a hiatal hernia. She is too young for the surgery, but when she is older it will be completed and she will be available for adoption after that. Angie is an active and playful kitten who has no idea that she has a problem. Please help us help Angie by making a donation today. Another way to help is to sponsor her (or another animal) with monthly payments to support her food and medicine. Thank you.
Lilian (microchip #941000016719370) was found on the side of the road in Langada-Aegiali, skinny and sick, and with no appetite. We immediately started her on a treatment and in two days she began to eat with gusto. Now she is a healthy kitten full of energy, cute as can be. She is available for adoption; who can resist those adorable eyes? We estimate her age to be about three months old.
Angie upon arrival
Angie (microchip #941000016719364) is a tiny female kitten, just 1 month old. She was found crying in the street with her brothers when she was only 2 or 3 weeks old. Her mother had disappeared and the kittens were seriously malnourished and in danger. Luckily a kind-hearted girl took them in started to feed them with a syringe. Unfortunately Angie's brothers were too weak and did not survive. The girl brought Angie to us where we continue to give her intensive care. Angie is now beginning to eat on her own and is growing into a very calm, quiet and playful kitten. The best news is that Angie is available for adoption! Please help us find this sweet survivor a loving home.
Are you looking for an adorable kitten? These three cute kittens are now available for adoption. Please consider opening up your home and welcoming a new furry family member. If you can't adopt, perhaps you can foster. If you can't foster, perhaps you can make a donation. We need your help to continue our work!
Every year around this time the kittens start to come in. Seven have been brought to us, and three are being fostered in Aegiali. Read more about them here, and if you can, please make a contribution or sponsor an animal today. Thank you!
Sara arrived earlier this month, when we received a call from the Mayor about a puppy. A frightened puppy appeared at the school in Chora, so the teacher called the Mayor for help, and the Mayor called us to see if the center could take the puppy. We said yes, so the Mayor himself brought the puppy to our center. The puppy, which the schoolchildren named Sara, is a miniature of Lisa. We guess she is 3 or 4 months old, and it turns out she is a very smart and funny dog. When she arrived, her fur was full of fleas and ticks and she was shaking her ears as if something was bothering her, but she was otherwise in good health. Dr. Despoti gave her a check-up and to check if she has microchip or not.
We have looked for her owner, but no one has come forward. Now that it’s been several weeks, it appears she has been either lost or abandoned, so Sara is available for adoption.
She is currently living in the center and she has become best friends with Liza. We hope to find this very sweet dog a loving home soon.
Two new arrivals will soon be available for adoption. Click on the image below to look at Vales and Rigas, adorable kittens waiting for their new home.
One recent morning Litsa, AZI's coordinator in Amorgos, received a call from a woman about a young cat and her kitten. The mother-cat is not more than a kitten herself at 7 months old and she did not know how to care for her kitten. She gave birth in a hen house where the ground was dirty and cold and where the kitten was at risk of being stepped on. The woman noticed this and tried to move the kitten and his mom to a warm nest many times, but the mother kept moving him back to the hen house. Also the mother cat left the baby alone for long periods of time during the day and he was not getting enough milk, so we brought the baby and his mother to the center. We will keep the mother and kitten together in a crate for a few days so that the kitten will have a chance to nurse and grow strong. Then, we will move them to the office to give her a rest and where Litsa will keep an eye on them. When they first arrived, the poor kitten was so hungry and cold he purred so loudly when he finally had his mother close by, giving him warmth and nourishment.
We named them Bonnie (the mother) and Clyde (the baby). Once the little one has been weaned and the mom has been spayed, they will be released back to the area from where they came.
UPDATE: July 3, 2014--Mom Bonnie and baby Clyde were released today. After being at the center for about a month, baby Clyde has grown up and learned how to eat by himself. Both were given treatments for fleas, ticks and worms, and Bonnie was vaccinated (Clyde is still too young). They were returned to their home area, which is a big garden outside the village, full of trees, and safe from cars or poison. We'll miss them but wish them well.
On Saturday afternoon, volunteers in Aegiali called Litsa, AZI's coordinator. On a walk to the beach, they found a baby goat, only few days old, and all alone. Thinking that its mother was nearby they left it, but two days later they found the baby goat at the same place, and this time, she was clearly weak from hunger. Anastasia and Giorgos undertook to feed her with a baby bottle and put the word out. A wildlife care center in Aegina came forward and was interested in adopting her. They recently rescued another baby goat from Athens, and they wanted to adopt another one to give their goat some company. We thought that this was the best offer for our little rescue too, so we sent her over. Here are some photos of our latest rescue and her new friend.
EKPAZ’s baby goat Feggaroula, who will become Anabell’s friend.
Gorgeous Loulou was found a year ago (March 2013). She was suffering from respiratory disease and continuous diarrhea. Thankfully, after long-term treatment, she got better, and she now is the white beauty that you see in the bottom photo. She was also vaccinated and spayed and is currently living at AZI's center, waiting to be adopted to a forever home.
We have two new baby goats in our care: Thodora and Melenia. *** Thodora was first spotted on the mountain by Angeliki, the president of the Filozoiki. Although Thodora was alone, Angeliki thought that her mother was nearby. But the baby goat had an injured leg, and that was a concern, so Litsa, our coordinator, went to look for her but couldn't find her.
She did, however, find the owner of the baby goat. He told Litsa that he noticed the injured leg for few days. Litsa offered to have the goat treated at the center, and when she was better, the baby goat would be returned to its flock. He agreed and later brought the baby goat over.
We consulted with our vet who gave instructions for her treatment. Day by day her leg is showing improvement and she has started to take small steps with it. In the beginning she was a fearful, wild animal, who was hiding all the time. Now when she hears Litsa's voice, she starts to reply and she comes directly. Litsa tells us she is a very funny little goat!
*** On Sunday, February 23rd, we received a call from a girl in Chora who had seen a baby blind goat in the middle of the main road from Chora to Aegiali.
She had informed all the shepherds who have flocks in the area but after three days and the goat was still there, she turned to Litsa for help. The goat was at a great risk of being hit by a passing car. Immediately Angeliki and Litsa went to rescue the baby goat, who was given the name Melenia.
She was brought to Litsa's garden where she joins Thodora. Our vet was consulted about how to treat Melenia's eyes. We suspect that she was not born blind because she is a fat, healthy baby. It is more likely that due to a sickness she recently lost her vision.
We hope that she will be able to see again one day. Right now, she is still afraid but as she grows comfortable in her new, safe home, we're certain that will change, just as it had with Thodora.
Ingi enjoys a scratch and a stretch!
Our kittens are growing up and ready for new homes! Please check our adoptable cat listing and consider opening your home to a new furry friend. Contact info@animal-zone.org if you have any questions.
Liza when found
On March 21, 2013, members of the association Filozoiki Merimna Amorgou were informed that a dog trapped in yellow plastic cage had been abandoned on the side of the road near Chora, the seat of the Amorgos’ Municipal Government. The cage, was so small (30 cm high) that the dog could not stand upright and was forced to lie in its own feces.
Despite the objections of a police officer who claimed the dog was to remain where it had been found and actually returned to its owner (when found), the FMA volunteers rescued the dog. Later, when the dog's owner was located, he claimed that he had left the dog next to the car of a friend, while he went on an errand, and that the reason the dog was in the cage was to protect it from other animals. His claims and threats, as well as those of the policemen were ignored and the dog was brought it to the AZI Center in Pera Raxidi.
Removed from the cage the dog, a female, was entrusted to the care of a veterinarian. Her conditions were indeed deplorable. The dog was found to have low hematocrit (signs of anemia), poor nutritional status, dehydration, intense ectoparasite load with innumerable ticks throughout her body, mild leukocytosis (evidence of inflammation), and she tested positive for ehrlichiosis. She did not have a microchip and had not been vaccinated.
At the center, the dog, who was given the name of Liza, was treated with competence and care. She was vaccinated and micro-chipped and is now a healthy, friendly, and grateful animal.
The police officer not only did not follow law 4039/2012 and the orders from his employer, the Hellenic Police Department, as well as the recent circular of the Association of Greek Prosecutors, but, against all evidence, tried to convince the members of Filozoiki Merimna Amorgou that the dog's conditions were perhaps not ideal, but definitely acceptable.
Liza’s is one of the many instances of the cruelty against animals which the volunteers of the Filozoiki Merimna Amorgou are determined to vanquish. She was fortunate to be rescued from the hands of her oppressor, but clearly many are the people who do not have any idea of what it means to treat an animal in a manner that could be defined as both humane and civilized.
Liza, healed and happy
Liza’s owner was formally charged and on November 27, 2013, a trial was held in the three-member Misdemeanor Court of Naxos. He was convicted and sentenced to a 1 year imprisonment (the sentence was suspended, as it is customary for a first time offender) and to pay a fine of 5,000 euros. The court also ruled out the owner’s request to regain possession of the animal. Liza was assigned to the Filozoiki Merimna Amorgou and the dog will live at the AZI's center until a suitable home is found for her.
The defendant has appealed the decision and a new trial will be held in the courts of Syros. The sentence and the fine may be reduced, but the ownership of the dog has been denied once and for all. Liza will never have to face her torturer again.
It is a first, very significant victory, for all the good people of Amorgos who aspire to see their island freed from the insane and useless brutality of a handful of ill-mannered, arrogant and backward looking individuals, still strutting among them, as well as from the lethargic laissez-faire attitude of conniving public officers.
A couple of new very young kittens have arrived at the center and are slowing gaining their health and strength.
Artemis, with the beautiful blue eyes, is a female kitten brought to the center as a 1-month old. A kind young man found her and wanted to keep her but his landlady had a different idea about that. He brought Artemis to our center and even offered to do some voluntary work there, which we welcome wholeheartedly.
Fidias and his brother Friksos came to our shelter as frail 1-week old kittens. For some reason their mother rejected and abandoned them. They were found by a man who was concerned for their welfare and brought them to the shelter. Unfortunately, Friksos did not survive despite our best attempts. However Fidias is doing well and growing up.
These lovely kittens will be available for adoption in a few months. Won't you consider giving one of them a new home?
