Big, black, beautiful, and homeless: Sweet dog’s sad luck finally turns
Former Greek street urchin Thanassis / Photo: Katerina Lorenzatos Makris
by Katerina Lorenzatos Makris ~
PLEASE NOTE: The author no longer endorses Dog Rescue Greece and Arnolda Meisel-Westerduin.
Maybe she was mesmerized by the sunset beauty of the bay. Or entranced by the scents of sea and jasmine. Or perhaps it was because I sat there dejectedly confiding in her about him, near tears as we watched him jog by. Or maybe, most likely, she just knows a good thing when she sees it.
Argostoli coastline, Kefalonia, Greece / Photo: Katerina Lorenzatos Makris
Whatever the reason, Arnolda said, “Send him to me.”
I nearly fell out of my chair. “Pardon?”
“I’ll take him.”
“But— “ I began, then stopped. I wanted to ask how she could possibly accept the handsome homeless fellow with whom I’d fallen in love months before. He’s big. He’s black. There’s ridiculous and pernicious prejudice in this world. Black ones typically pose a challenge in the search for families who’ll care for them. And big black ones? In my experience during decades of falling for homeless angels, they are even more of a problem.
Arnolda Meisel-Westerduin holding Alpha (now named Balou in her new home), one of the 4 abandoned “Alphabet Puppies” I rescued from a local Alpha Beta supermarket parking lot and fostered until Arnolda kindly took them to the Netherlands for rehoming / Photo: Katerina Lorenzatos Makris
PLEASE NOTE: The author no longer endorses Dog Rescue Greece and Arnolda Meisel-Westerduin.
Arnolda happily nibbled on her slice of laderopita—a savory pizza-like crust smothered in roasted veggies—which was one of the courses in our vegan feast at the waterfront Old Plaka Restaurant in Argostoli, the main town of the Greek island Kefalonia.
I clamped my mouth shut to hold back the questions. I’ve been in this game long enough to know not to over-scrutinize a stroke of good luck.
If Arnolda, founder of Dog Rescue Greece, said her group could accept him in the Netherlands, then by golly the big black handsome shaggy sweetheart would go to the Netherlands.
PLEASE NOTE: The author no longer endorses Dog Rescue Greece and Arnolda Meisel-Westerduin.
Foster boy Agapi during recovery from wicked disease Leishmaniasis / Photo: Katerina Lorenzatos Makris
I bit a large hunk off my own slice of laderopita, hoping that with my mouth full I wouldn’t be so prone to blabber on about how ecstatic and grateful she had just made me, because then the waterworks definitely would turn on, and Arnolda had already seen me sniffling and sobbing enough about various other animal situations during her short visit to our island.
Thrown out of the bank
Just before Arnolda uttered the fateful words, I’d told her about a certain incident on a fiercely cold, wet, and windy day in February—the encounter that made me vow to get Thanassis off the streets.
PLEASE NOTE: The author no longer endorses Dog Rescue Greece and Arnolda Meisel-Westerduin.
“You make it sound like it’s a bad thing to chew a cable,” said Jorja. / Photo: Katerina Lorenzatos Makris
It happened on February 15, to be exact, just after Valentine’s Day, the second Valentine’s Day in a row I had spent away from my husband while marooned in Kefalonia trying to keep our elderly house here from falling apart, and inadvertently rescuing some animals along the way.
At the time I had two dogs onboard—Agapi and Jorja, both high maintenance—Agapi recovering from a dreadful disease called Leishmaniasis and Jorja being one of the most energetic and intelligent clients ever in my 136-dog rescue career—much smarter than me and needing far more exercise and entertainment than I had time to give her.
There was no way I could take in a third. Besides which, my husband would hit the ceiling, and rightly so. His patience while waiting for me in California alone, caring for our own bustling pack of rescued pooches there, had worn justifiably thin.
Thanassis wet and cold after being evicted from the bank / Photo: Katerina Lorenzatos Makris
Visiting my bank to withdraw some cash to pay the veterinarian for some of Agapi’s and Jorja’s expenses (ironically enough), I heard a bit of a commotion. Turning around, I spotted Thanassis curled up in a corner, dripping wet, trying to catch some warm, dry sleep, probably hoping nobody would notice.
They did.
Suddenly one of the employees loomed over him, very politely asking him to leave. Thanassis pretended to sleep. The employee asked him again. Thanassis curled up a little tighter, perhaps praying that maybe somehow the guy would just go away and forget about him.
Then the employee gently but decisively picked up the large dog—or at least the front half of the large dog—and dragged him to the door.
With his back paws, Thanassis tried to put on the brakes but to no avail on the slickly polished marble floor. He was doomed to be forced back out into the icy, blustery day.
When he realized that there was no point in resisting, he went limp, like a nonviolent civil rights protester, and resignedly allowed himself to be hauled through the door then tossed off the premises.
My heart broke into a thousand bits.
A promise
After collecting the money to pay for my foster dogs’ vet care, I hurried out to find Thanassis on the sidewalk, shivering, his long, silky hair buffeted by gusts of wind.
“Can you help me?” / Photo: Katerina Lorenzatos Makris
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
He leaned against my legs, as much as for warmth as for solace.
“I can’t help you now.”
He looked up at me.
“But I’ll work on it. I promise. I’ll take pictures, and I’ll post you on the Internet, and we’ll see what we can do, OK?”
He turned away, gazing out into the street, perhaps having heard lines like mine before. There really wasn’t much hope for him, and he seemed to know it.
With tears filling my eyes, I snapped some photos.
A daily gamble of life and death
That evening after downloading the pictures, I was struck by what sat behind Thanassis in one of the images—a sign advertising the national lottery. Terribly symbolic of the life of a street dog.
Just staying alive is a gamble for homeless animals / Photo: Katerina Lorenzatos Makris
It’s all just a roll of the dice for them. A daily gamble as to whether they’ll live or die. Diseases, hunger, thirst, cars, poison, shotguns, psychopaths, you name it—all manner of wretched fates lurk in wait for homeless animals—not to mention just the daily, grinding discomfort of weather extremes, with no proper shelter, no soft place to rest, and no claim on any particular pair of human hands or a loving heart to call their very own.
On that miserable February day, I never could have guessed that I would still be on this island three months later, or that Arnolda Meisel-Westerduin would have entered my life and the lives of Kefalonian animals, or that I would be having dinner with her, a dedicated savior of 181 Greek dogs just in the past year, in precisely the correct spot and at precisely the correct hour to see Thanassis trot by. PLEASE NOTE: The author no longer endorses Dog Rescue Greece and Arnolda Meisel-Westerduin.
Sometimes the dice roll right. They did for Thanassis on that warm, fragrant, Greek spring evening.
Almost home
Thanassis is now in the foster care of John and Madeline Nineham, a kind and generous pair of rescuers here in Kefalonia. Last week John and I took him to the vet to prepare him for his emigration. I’ve never seen a dog behave more civilly during what might have been his first time on a vet’s examination table.
While this good-natured dog lived on the streets, local residents including Marina Machado Kappatou, Lisa Antypas, Maria Zontou and many more fed and kept an eye on him. He spent many days hanging around at Zontou’s Argostoli hair styling shop Mia’s, and after we discussed a rehoming plan for him, she kindly obliged my request that he receive flea/tick and worm treatment plus a test for the dreaded Leishmaniasis disease (fortunately he was negative for it). But fostering or adopting is often not possible. For at least six months–from December when I first noticed Thanassis in the Fanari lighthouse area until May when we finally collected him for fostering–he never found a Kefalonian home of his own.
Thanassis’s foster dad John Nineham comforts him at the vet’s office / Photo: Katerina Lorenzatos Makris
So soon he’ll be leaving Greece for Holland. Our loss, Holland’s gain.
Dear Thanassi, right now we don’t know exactly when you’ll be adopted, or by whom, but one thing is pretty certain… Big black beautiful shaggy angel, never again will you need to yearn for a warm, dry, soft spot to lay your sweet head. You’re safe now, and deeply loved. Hang in there, darling. You’re almost home.
PLEASE NOTE: The author no longer endorses Dog Rescue Greece and Arnolda Meisel-Westerduin.
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Please note: Spicy Stories Save Lives is proudly providing part sponsorship for several Kefalonian animals including Viktor and Violetta and their mom Vaso (if/when we find her).
Meanwhile, Kefalonia Animal Trust (KATs) provides free spay/neuter for hundreds of animals per year here. Please give to KATs via PayPal or bank transfer. Spay/neuter and education are the animals’ best hope for a better future.
Also please consider Animal Rescue Kefalonia (ARK), another group on the island that runs a shelter and works miracles with terribly few resources.
Spicy Stories Save Lives and the author of this article have no affiliation with KATs and ARK other than as a friend, volunteer, and donor.
Seen our book? Your Adopted Dog: Everything You Need to Know About Rescuing and Caring for a Best Friend in Need, by Shelley Frost and Katerina Lorenzatos Makris, available through Amazon.com.
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Rescued dogs Jorja and Ipo headed to bright new lives in Holland tonight
‘Don’t leave without me!’: Puppy Ipo will follow foster sister Jorja to a new life
Have tiara, will travel: Greek (canine) princess to emigrate for new throne
Heart marking on puppy’s face symbolizes her loving nature, waiting to give it all to you
Puppy on a chain will never be chained again
Traumatized puppy Violetta now safe thanks to Greek islanders’ teamwork
Terrified feral puppy, please let me catch and save you
Small but spunky animal rescue group on Greek island launches push to spay/neuter 100 dogs
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.org, and Examiner.com (Animal Policy Examiner).
May 20, 2013 @ 07:49:01
Love him already! Good job.
Jun 05, 2015 @ 00:06:49
YOU ARE INCREDIBLE I JUST FOUD OUT ABOUT YOU AND I AM EXCITED WITH YOUR WORK
Sep 02, 2015 @ 11:35:30
Eleni, thanks so much for these kind comments! xo