by Nicolas Stephanou
PAWS Grand Gala Buffet
PAWS held its first Grand Gala Buffet on Saturday 21st of October at the Happy Green Cows restaurant in Parikia with great success. The main objective is to institute a yearly event for PAWS which acts as a fund raiser and as well as a fun way of getting everyone together who is worried about the fragility of animal welfare services on Paros. It is also an occasion for citizens to offer their support to the society as well as being informed of the current situation.
We achieved filling the restaurant to maximum capacity, a grand total of 50 guests and with enthusiasm we were glad to have the mayor be the guest of honour even though exhausted after his electoral campaign. It’s great to have support from all kinds of people from all over the Island including the first citizen mayor Ragousis.
We want to take this opportunity to send our warmest thanks to the mayor for honouring the event with his presence. The Happy Green Cows’ team outdid themselves. Stefan Petridis did an outstanding job with a fabulous buffet which could have served at least 100 guests. His partner Theodor was the most gracious host and Vicky from next door’s Magissa shop generously stepped in and became a one night benevolent waitress. We also want to thank Manolis Moraitis for sponsoring the event with his exceptional wines "Sylogi Moraitis" from biologically grown grapes.
It was great to be at an event and see how much enthusiasm has grown over the animal welfare issue. Those who missed the event will have the opportunity to attend next year when we will target 100 guests.
Synopsis 2006
The end of the year is approaching and we can start sharing the results of the past year which were exceptional. Over the past few years PAWS policies concentrated on rehoming unwanted dogs from Paros to mainly Germany where plenty of good homes (for dogs) can fortunately still be found! Thanks to Barbara Burki’s exceptional commitment and efficiency, 2006 will be a record year by the number of rehomed dogs which might well reach a hundred! In the past years, Barbara has been able to successfully coordinate what can be called a "chain to freedom" where a stray is removed from the street usually after someone’s call for help, the dog stays temporarily in Barbara's kennel (the only one currently available for the whole of the Island), travels to Germany with the first available "flugpaten" (a traveller that volunteers to transport one or more dogs to his destination), is taken charge of by a local humane society with a network of foster families until the final home for the dog is found. Going through this chain can take several months, needs the work of numerous volunteers and involves many expenses. The family which will adopt the dog pays an average of €200 which covers usually a good part of the operation’s expenses. The German organization keeps at least half to cover their expenses (often repeating the vaccinations, tests for leishmania etc.), the other half is normally paid to cover the expenses involved in keeping the dogs here and transporting them to their destination.
PAWS policy is to cover the veterinary's expenses involved in having the dogs ready to travel (vaccinations, removal of parasites and worms, microchip and passport) which come up to no less than €70. The feasibility of the whole operation would be jeopardized without this financial help from PAWS. Obviously since we all agree that the best result that can be achieved for a stray is to provide him/her with a good home. PAWS gets the maximum out of every Euro spent in this process. On the other hand there have been a few voices arguing that more of PAWS budget should go towards a few privately kept kennels with dogs that were originally picked from the streets. These dogs rarely leave and the cost for the organization would be impossible. This issue will be brought up at the GA meeting in an attempt to broaden the discussion. The general assembly of members will be held in spring at an optimal moment when maximal attendance can be reached.
In the meantime Barbara's kennel which emptied with the last charter flight in October, is again almost full. She’s sending this almost desperate call:
"Are you travelling to or through Germany or Switzerland? Over 10 puppies and dogs and 2 kittens are waiting for transportation to get to their new families as soon as possible. Please help and give one of these animals a chance by letting it travel with you. For further info call Barbara, 22840 91581 or 6976 322 076".
Election Year
The forecasted general assembly will be as well an electoral assembly since a new board of administration will have to be elected this year. PAWS needs badly thoughtful persons that have a little time to offer and can join the board of administration. Contact us now to let us known of your interest.
Renewal of membership Renewing your yearly membership to PAWS is the least you can do if you want to help animal welfare on Paros. Please don't forget to renew your membership or to become a member if you aren’t a member yet.
Please know that you will find a member's area in our website with analytical details on PAWS current budget and a list of members. The area is password protected to keep out mail harvestrers robots. To login, username: pawsmember - password: letmein.
Board members paused
The board of administration has unanimously decided to pause from their functions Anna Foti and Christopher Breiner for repeated serious infractions and destructive behaviour. The next general assembly will decide whether we want them to be members of PAWS. In the mean while, in no way can they represent PAWS or be considered members of PAWS. |
