Tuesday
27 April 2010
Peri-Platanos-Petroskefali-Tyllisos-Gazi
We have an early start this day as we needed to drive some distance to find a place to have breakfast.
We visited a couple of villages but no donkeys to be seen, however we did see a horse which needed our help. She didn’t eat very well and had a foal, so equine dentist Olav began his work.
The owner led us afterwards to another horse in the same village where we had just ate breakfast. He first offered us a drink while they fetched the other horse, a stallion. He received his treatment on the square and as always the citizens were fascinated to see us at work.
The horse owner was asked to feel in the horse’s mouth before and after the treatment. This made him realize the need for Olav’s work.
While busy with the horse a little bird has fallen from tree and the man who offered us the coffee gave it to Hans, who of course took pity on the little creature.
We went to the little shop next to the kafeneion to ask for a box. They were very helpful and even made holes in the box,. so the little bird joined us on our trip. We gave it water with a syringe and in the evening it was picked up by Margaret (volunteer of CAWG). She fosters birds and wildlife and does this with a lot of love and care.
We followed our road to the rescue center in Petroskefali, which had taken in another donkey which needed treatment by us.
From here we continued through several villages but unfortunately no more donkeys were found.
We did meet a lot of very friendly people. At the bakery in Petroskefali we asked for a man with a donkey and horse but he was unavailable however his mother sent us on our way with 2 bags of lovely, fresh cookies.
After having driven around for a while, unfortunately without results, we went back to the north. Here we visited of course Tyllisos where Stephanie and Stephanos are.
Their sweet owner wasn’t there but we were helped by a friend of his who also takes care of them. He had good news for us. Stephanie is probably pregnant, so within a year…
Afer this we went to have a look at a stable with horses and of course Hans wanted to visit the “shop” of the old man who makes hand made head collars etc.
Wednesday
28 April 2010
Vathi-Kritsa-Kalo Chorio-Vlahides-Kokkini Hani
First we went to Vathi where the owner and his daughter were waiting for us,
continuing to Kritsa.
First it looked like the owners weren’t home, one went to the market in Agios Nikolaos and the other was busy refurbishing a house but finally we were able to treat them. A lot of tourists came to have a look at our work.
In the meanwhile we got a phone call from Rebecca and Kerenza, they were on their way towards us when they saw a women with a donkey. As she wasn’t going to wait for the team, they decided to follow her…When we arrived she was just having a rest at a bus stop together with her donkey. This donkey was never seen by us and could certainly use a service! So there we were, standing next to the road at a bus stop. The owner was very distrustful, but nevertheless let us do what we needed to do and asked if it wasn’t hurting her donkey. The donkey was packed with herbs and vegetables on her back. It has its charm to give help in this way.
It is on moments like this that I am wondering how we would react when somebody knocks at your door or stops you on the street and tells you that they will give you a free service treatment to your donkey or horse if you want to. Would you do it? Let people you don’t know touch your animal? People on Crete might think differently about their animals than we do, but for them the animal is very important for the transport or work on the field. So when the animal is not treated well it could lead to big problems. So it is on these moments that I always have a lot of respect and am very thankful that they allow us to do this.
Today we could add two new donkeys to our database.
