Bleeding lesions on beautiful street dog’s face and ears

by Katerina Lorenzatos Makris ~

Lesions on street dog’s hind paws

“Do you suppose he belongs to anybody?” Melissa asked.

We stared at the grotesquely bloody dog we had just found in the middle of a mountain village road on the Greek island of Kefalonia.

There didn’t seem to be a home nearby, until the dog showed us that indeed there was one. He slunk up a short concrete ramp to the unfinished second story of a house.

To one side of the ramp, a locked gate barred a stairway that led down to the residence, where lights shone and a TV chattered.

Time and money in short supply for helping needy animals

Melissa tending to dogs in advanced stage of Leishmaniasis disease
at Animal Rescue Kefalonia (ARK).
Every day she brought these patients special
treats to give them a little extra happiness.

I felt embarrassed that friend Melissa Beamish had to see this dog. Of course she was spending every day with many more like him, and with dogs even worse off than him, while volunteering at the island’s shelter Animal Rescue Kefalonia (ARK) as part of her extraordinary mission to provide hands-on help at shelters worldwide.

Nevertheless, she was a guest in Kefalonia, having come from the United Kingdom, and as a proud half-Kefalonian I wanted her to be enthralled by our isle’s stunning beauty—not appalled by its horrors—for at least one day.

Furthermore, this was supposed to be our day off. We were supposed to be relaxing after our little do-it-yourself car tour of the beautiful island—not standing around in a mountain village trying to figure out what to do about a dog who seemed to be either terribly ill or severely injured.

“Hello!” I called out in Greek, aiming for the house. “Excuse me!  Hello?  Is there someone here who we could speak with for a moment?”

A woman answered, “Yes!  Hello! I’m coming!” She climbed the stairs. Soon a young man joined her.

View of Avithos Bay and tiny, sacred Dias islet
from a lovely trail through the hills.
Although it’s one of the loveliest islands on earth,
Kefalonia struggles with problems of
animal abandonment, neglect, and cruelty.
More education efforts and rescue resources
are needed to solve them.

“We’re so sorry to bother you,” I began, “but my friend and I were driving by, and we saw a dog. He’s in bad shape. Right now he’s on your roof, barking.”

“He’s a stray,” said the woman.

Her son “Petros” (not his real name) explained he had first seen the dog two years ago, on the road about four kilometers away. He had started feeding him, and eventually the dog turned up at their home. So Petros had continued the feedings. But no matter how much food he provided to the ravenous dog, he never gained weight.

About ten months before, the dog started losing fur. Then he began to break out in sores.

As the condition worsened, Petros said he tried to contact one of the local animal rescue groups—one that had since gone defunct. At that time, he had described the situation to a woman named Mrs. Tipota (not her real name), who said the group would help. But Petros said he never heard from them again.

He wanted very badly to help the dog more, he said, but didn’t have the time or the money. So he decided to at least make sure he was always fed.  Sometimes, on stormy nights when the dog didn’t show up, he would walk for half an hour in the rain to find and feed him.

A fang ‘tattoo’?

Just a few of the 300-plus dogs looking for love
at Animal Rescue Kefalonia (ARK)

Throughout the conversation I translated for Melissa in English. To my great admiration, she offered important questions for Petros and his mother that my own brain’s freaked-out state wasn’t producing. I continued the translating:

Q: About how long had the dog had the severe lesions?

A: At least a couple of months.

Q: Would the dog let Petros approach or handle him?

A: Yes, unless he was in an agitated state, like tonight. Then Petros wasn’t completely confident in him.

Q: Had he had any veterinary attention?

A: Petros had gotten a powder for the lesions from the pharmacist.

Q: Did the dog come around every day? And if so about what time?

A: Not every day, but most days, and usually in the evenings or nighttime after Petros got home from work.

Melissa looked at me. There was an unspoken question on both our minds. What should we do?

Thanks a bunch, Fates

Our two options:

Option #1 – Find a way to get the barking dog into the car. Phone and probably awaken Marina Machado Kappatou, head of the island’s shelter, Animal Rescue Kefalonia (ARK), and deliver the dog straight there.

Upside: Dog spends the night in safety, and we sleep guilt-free.

Downside: Getting bitten on the way to ARK was a possibility. I really hate being munched by dogs and cats, and would hate it even more if Melissa left the island with a memento “tattoo” in the form of fangs scars.

Option #2 – Leave the dog where he was for tonight, make a sensible plan, and come back for him tomorrow.

Upside: Keep ourselves safe.

Downside: Feel guilty.

Fates, thanks ever so much for giving us this charming decision, I muttered internally. All I asked for was one little day of fun in the sun.

Petros, his mother, and the dog all watched us, waiting for an answer.

Read more about the rescue of Agapi…

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Katerina Lorenzatos Makris is a career journalist, author, and editor. Her fiction includes 17 novels for Simon and Schuster, E.P. Dutton, Avon, and other major publishers (under the name Kathryn Makris), as well as a teleplay for CBS-TV, and a short story for The Bark magazine. She has written hundreds of articles for regional wire services and for outlets such as National Geographic Traveler, The San Francisco Chronicle, Travelers’ Tales, NBC’s Petside.com, Animal Issues Reporter.com, and Examiner.com (Animal Policy Examiner).

Together with coauthor Shelley Frost, Katerina wrote a step-by-step guide for hands-on, in-the-trenches dog rescue, Your Adopted Dog: Everything You Need to Know About Rescuing and Caring for a Best Friend in Need (The Lyons Press).