Black Dogs and Trixie..adopted by Linda

Linda says:

 

PLEASE DON'T OVERLOOK BLACK DOGS, THEY ARE THE SAME AS DOGS WITH ANY OTHER COLOUR FUR, ITS JUST LIKE THE DIFFERENCE WITH HUMAN HAIR COLOUR, THEY HAVE THEIR OWN INDIVIDUAL PERSONALITY JUST LIKE ANY OTHER BEING.......

This is Trixie, adopted by me:

 

 My beautiful TAG girl Trixie, saved from a certain life of misery on the streets of Kizikli in Turkey by Karen, founder of Turkish Animal Group, and adopted by me.

 

She was saved at approx age 8 - 10 weeks old, she narrowly missed being hit by a truck when Karen saw her, she was super thin with worms and mange around one eye and on her hind quarters. Karen took her to her apartment and nursed her back to full health before she went to the shelter

4 months old. You can still see the mange around the eye

April 2012 before coming to the UK
 

 

She arrived in the UK in May 2012 to start her wonderful new life with her sister Jessie. They are the best of friends and are together constantly. She loves her food, toys, treats and walks, not necessarily in that order, and has a mischievous streak, liking nothing better than shredding paper/tissues at any opportunity when she thinks nobody is looking!  Not to mention digging holes in the garden!


1 year anniversary in UK

 

And the gorgeous Trixie today

 

 












Please support the vital work of Turkish Animal Group, a UK registered charity which relies solely on donations, so that Karen can continue to help the innocent street animals who otherwise have no hope. You can join the fundraising auction and enjoy a bit of shopping at the same time https://www.facebook.com/groups/176841569089029/

 Or you can join the official TAG page to see all the lovely dogs still looking for their forever homes....
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Turkish-Animal-Group-TAG-Dog-Adoptables/193092287368884

Happy Endings. Winnie adopted.

THIS IS WHAT WE DO - FIND THE BEST HOMES FOR OUR DOGS - HAPPY ENDINGS!

Here is Winnie at home. Winnie was adopted by Maggie and Dan from the TAG shelter 10 mths ago and they love her so much! She loves to SWIM

 

 

Sheeba...adopted by Suzanne

 

Sheeba's Story by Karen

 

 

I first met Sheeba in Oct/Nov of 2012 when I received a call from Amanda.

Her leg was hanging and dragging and she was  unable to walk far before falling over.

Amanda informed us that Sheeba had been hit by a car some 6-8months previously.  She had undergone 2 operations which sadly made the leg  even worse.

We took her (a 2 hours drive)  to a more experienced vet.   The only options were to leave the leg as it was or amputate.

 So the only choice we had was to remove the leg as it was still broken in 2 places and being dragged by Sheeba.

 She made a great recovery but sadly we could not take her to the shelter with 3 legs to recover as she needed one on one attention so we paid to have her put into private boarding.

 The German Shepherd UK charity said they would take Sheeba and we were thrilled by this as it was

Sheeba at the bottom in her large Great Dane crate

her only chance of getting out of  Turkey.   Few people want a dog with 4 legs never mind 3 so we arranged for her to be transported in a Great Dane crate with Karen alongside her every step of the way.

 Making regular stops through Europe we finally arrived In The U.K.

 On her arrival in the UK we met with Suzanne a wonderful lady with a massive HEART and she instantly fell in love with Sheeba.

 Sadly she had a hole... very old, from the road traffic accident,  and hair had grown over it.

 The only reason Suzanne noticed this was because her dogs were sniffing the area. Sheeba never bit it or gave any indication anything was wrong, nor did our vets pick up on this.

 We know Sheeba's life will have been shortened because of the bad accident and being on 3 legs but we will never know how long she has left.

 Suzanne and the UK charity GERMAN SHEPHERD UK have been brilliant and Suzanne herself has decided to adopt Sheeba and she will live with her for however long she has left!

Sheeba with Suzanne after arriving in the UK

 TAG would like to thank them very much firstly for confirming that  it would have been hard for us to spot the hole in her leg, it being such an old wound and unable to be seen for all the hair covering it, and secondly  for giving Sheeba the love she so deserves and for allowing Sheeba to come to them.   We will be forever grateful to Suzanne for this and for giving Sheeba a home filled with love! Thank you.  

Marley...Adopted by Laurianne

This is Marley:

Laurianne says:

This is a little testimony for anyone looking to adopt from T.A.G
I would first like to say a big thank you for the whole T.A.G team bringing my gorgeous Marley to me and my boyfriend.

 Karen puts her heart and soul into rescuing many animals in Turkey.  Many people say why adopt from a country so far away and not just give money - My response which a very wise women named Jessie Rescued said to me once 'You can't change the world for all dog's but you can change the world for one'.

Giving a dog a home instead of donating for that one dog is giving it a life, they are happy in a kennel because that is all they know rehoming a dog and giving it a life, food, social skills and happiness is one of the most rewarding things I can now say I have done. I have taken that one dog who came from a life of abuse and god knows what else the chance of a happy and content life!.

... Karen works day in and day out to feed stray dogs, takes them to her home helps them with any problems, raises money for medical care and socialises them into the kennels which doesn't stop there.  All the dogs are loved and given plenty of cuddles and human contact.

 When I collected Marley - I could see how much he didn't want to leave her, she burst into tears as she had grown such an attachment to Marley and him to her, she muttered the words ''my boy, you have a home'' if I ever want to realise truly what I did by adopting its remembering that beautiful moment- this is what it is all about.  The woman in my eyes is an angel and all the team behind the scenes who manage the charity and help show courage, patience, care, consideration and much more.

I am forever in T.A.G'S debt and will always help with donations when I can, if you do adopt from her send her updates and piccies, remember she was their first mummy and the first person to show kindness to them.

T.A.G thank you so much for getting the boy safe here and all the other doggies - thank you for sleeping in the van at night with them Karen and not wanting to leave their side, thank you Denise Harris,  Mo & Sheila French for giving us updates and thankyou Jessie for helping with all of the charity work and supporting me through the process.

Karen thank you for everything you did.

Laurianne Jackson
PROUD OWNER OF A T.A.G RESCUE DOG

If you are interested in adopting a TAG dog, please go the TAG Facebook page (link on sidebar), or leave a message here for me.
 

Transporting dogs out of Turkey.....

...is no mean feat.  There is a terrific amount of legal paperwork to put in place, along with micro-chipping, vaccinations, blood tests, etc, etc.  Then the transport has to be arranged.  A van with suitable cages for the animals, food supplies and water.   And then the long journey, accompanied by one person to every 5 animals,  through Turkey and Europe to the final destination.

One such journey took place last week, and 7 dogs and 1 cat were safely delivered to their owners or adopters/fosterers.  Here are just some of the photos from that trip.

Handsome Gumbo - From the beach in Gumbet where he was spotted by Mo who could not leave him.  He came to the TAG shelter until everything was arranged for his journey to the UK.

Marley and Gumbo 

Sheeba - Our 3 legged shepherd - now with a wonderful lady in the UK called Suzanne who is caring for her until a forever home is found

Sheeba with Suzanne
 

Forest..on his way to Germany and his new owner Incilay

Forest with Incilay and Bill

Having a pit stop at Incilay's in Germany, All the dogs had a free run around in the garden Thanks Incilay and Bill x

Cagla and Missy

Sheeba, Cagla and Missy

Cagla reunited with her owners.  TAG also transport dogs and cats to the UK when their owners re-locate.

Faith on his way to the UK

Faith..arrived in the UK..with his new owner Shiela

Olive on her way to the UK

Spencer reunited with Olive, Spencer first saw Olive on the beach in Akbuk after she had been dumped there. TAG helped him get her to the UK, Here he is with Olive at Dover.

Suzi the cat, now with Annie in the UK














 

Elizabeth's Journey with TAG. Part 4 - Milas

Milas's Story

 

 

 I've just been out with Milas and Frodo for a toilet break. Milas is my foster girl. She comes to me for holidays and breaks and is a beautiful , young dog. She came across in the van with Zorro last November.

Karen picked up Milas as a very young pup . She was sitting in the middle of a road to nowhere- burning in the summer heat with no food or water. She had been deliberately abandoned and would undoubtedly have died without Karen's intervention. She was beside Milas, hence her name. She has the most expressive face and was at the TAG shelter - outside- where she sat at  the gate and busied herself with the outside  dogs, greeting visitors and Karen for a year and a half. She was adored by Karen.

A year and a half later and Milas is a beautiful golden and white spotted girl. She has great athleticism yet  has an easy , quiet temperament and loves people.  It hasn't been easy to get the right person for Milas - through no fault of her own. She is very loving  and gives herself completely to "her" person.

Milas landed up in  England but had to be moved quickly so Diana Gibson in Glasgow helped out and fostered her by taking her into her home. She was spoiled and petted which , by looking at Diana's photos, Milas loved. Unfortunately Diana had her Mum ill at that time so she came up to Aberdeen in the train with Milas and we met her in the station.

Because we had to get a perfect home for Milas ( after her various moves ) we went to the local paper where they did a piece on her and The New Arc - a wildlife Sanctuary near me- said to put their address on the piece with their telephone number  as they were used to finding good homes and could recognise time wasters. This we did and very quickly had two people - one through TAG and one from the paper. Because I needed to home check I took the nearest home - about 5 miles away - although the other home  near Inverness  was also perfect and they did get their own rescue dog.
 Milas is with Sebastian who, when he realised he would get her, set to work -erecting a 6 foot fence round his large garden so she could be free to run- in two weeks. I visit whenever I pass by and she adores him. " She is a blessing " was the last thing he said to me before going off on holiday. He also told me ," If I got the chance of the lottery win  or Milas , I would choose her every day." Sebastian has studied Milas and now thinks she is part Vizsla. He is a retired gentleman on his own and has all the time in the world for her and she adores him. She will be squeaking with joy when she sees him on Sunday.

This is what everyone in TAG wants-  a special home for each TAG dog where there is contact and we always hear how they are doing.

Milas with her new owner
 

Final instalment of Elizabeth's story to follow...Part 5 - Frodo

Elizabeth's Journey with TAG...Part 3 - Morse, Lazy Hound and Zorro.

You will notice in the BLOG that there are many council dog pounds in Turkey. They are cold, frightening places with no outlook or love for the animals.

The dogs are hungry most of the time or are fed stale leftovers or bread, have no toys or chews and have no beds or blankets to lie on. They sleep on concrete- roasting in summer and freezing in winter in small , cramped pens. They exist in  an unloving atmosphere. Many are heart-breaking places with desperation etched into the dogs' faces- desperation for food, desperation for  love and desperation for  a gentle touch.

Morse, Lazy Hound and Zorro came from such a place in Turgutreis.



What keeps these dogs' souls alive? In a word VOLUNTEERS- wonderful people who choose to go along to care for the cats and dogs.

They pet them, hug them, walk them and fight for a better life for them. I call them the Turgutreis Angels.

One such person asked Karen if they could advertise a 3 legged dog on the TAG site. Karen , of course, said yes, go ahead and I saw Morse. I knew EXACTLY who would love him and give him a better life. Morse's crime? - to have 3 legs and he had been 5 years in Turgutreis.  He now lives in Aberdeenshire with Norma and Corey and is SO happy.

Morse



Morse with Corey

The next dog I heard about had been 8 years in Turgutreis. His crime?- to have runny eyes.
Another dog old Lazy Hound's crime? -to have grown  stiff and sore with old age after being kept on concrete for many, many years.

 

Two Turgutreis angels ,Sharon and John, who would walk them  twice a week, had promised Morse , Zorro and old Lazy Hound  when they left Turkey that they wouldn't forget them and do everything they could to get them out and into loving homes. We made contact and  I told them we'd take Zorro home to us and Karen said she'd take Lazy Hound to the TAG shelter to have a better life.
 

Karen then helped us , when I arranged to take Zorro out of Turgutreis , to have him in the TAG shelter to build up his strength for the long journey to the UK.

 

In April 2012 we excitedly drove to Turgutreis to pick up Zorro. He had been washed and groomed and taken to the vets for injections by Jayne, Mandy, Trev and Maria (Turgutreis Angels). They were excited too for old Zorro and so happy for him. I signed the papers to release him and he jumped into the car with complete strangers like us , never looked back and set off for his new life at the TAG shelter.

Zorro leaving Turgutreis shelter after 8 years

Initially we had him in with Lazy Hound but the two old sparring mates argued and fought together so they were separated. Poor Karen lost a precious kennel to Zorro and I'll always be grateful to her for sorting out the two old grumps!! My other problem was Zorro would jump into any water and empty it- can you imagine how precious the water is?  And he's throwing it over his head!
 

I visited my boy again in September and he was one of the gang- running free in the middle of the shelter and being his busy self.

Zorro has a purple tongue - surely a throw back to a chow?-and very thick coat ( probably saved his life in Turgutreis)- and he is at least 10 years old but completely unbowed with what life had up to now thrown at him. He was fatter and his coat was thicker and his right eye was less runny. Bless his heart.

 

He left Turkey in November 2012 and came across Europe with Karen safely. She whispered to me he was the only one in the van who would not do his toilet in the van but wait and wait to go out on his leash. And this guy had had to do his toilet on a concrete pen for 8 years. Bless his heart. 

The Turgutreis Angels tried to find the papers of what had happened to him and why he landed up there but it was too long ago. He has a number tattoo in his ear- something they used to do years ago.

 

He arrived home after a long journey for us  from Folkestone up to Aberdeenshire with Frodo ( another story) and accepted his new life with ease. We had already our 2 black labs, our rescue collie and Toorki in the house, so had Frodo and Zorro in the chalet to rest and recuperate. Zorro decided otherwise and barked and barked and stood looking into the house because he was going to be a house dog for evermore. After a week he came into the conservatory but barked and barked and after another  week came into the kitchen/dining room where it was hot with the Aga. He barked and barked and after a week he came upstairs into the bedroom at my side of the bed. He has never left my side- he is my self -appointed guardian angel, but at least has let me go to the toilet on my own , at last!!!  Bless his heart.

 

Zorro , Zozzie or Zozzicle- which he answers to, has gone from strength to strength. His eyes are almost 100%- I give the left one a little clean every morning; he has a new Mum who he has to guard and he is the grumpy old man when the young dogs get out of hand. Stop that- he growls - behave yourself- and reminds me so much of Mr Badger in Wind in the Willows. A good, old soul. He is at my feet as I write and he has wound his way round our hearts with his funny tongue, his infectious , laughing face and his love of water. We thankfully have a splooshing pool for all his watery desires. 

May you live well and long with us Zozzie. Bless his heart.

Zorro...free at last



 

Elizabeth's Journey with TAG...Part 2 Toorki

Toorki's story.

 

 

Toorki arrived with Princess Ruby and was called Peanut. He was to stay with us a few weeks- a big, quiet, Anatolian cross who loved to run. Thankfully we have fencing round our croft -built a few years before to keep my Mum and her little dog safe  as she walked him as she suffered from dementia.

 

Toorki was initially aloof, didn't like anyone touching his neck/collar and stayed back from showing  emotion. He had been boarded in kennels in Bulgaria and would walk on concrete but not grass. What we initially thought was disobedience was actually him being scared of the feel of grass under his feet.

 

The adoptive couple never saw Toorki -or Peanut-as he was still called- as the whole adopting process fell through and Karen called one Saturday to ask if we'd take him for our own. We had been standing back , knowing he was to go soon, so now we could set about getting his training on course and love him. We clicker trained him with tasty morsels of chicken so that we could touch/hold his neck easily  and he'd come to us. He was highly intelligent and very easily trained. He gave me a few scares though when he jumped the fence before he trusted us completely.

 

He had been picked up by Karen as the villagers where he was, had been going to shoot him for  chasing hens. He had been tried at another home in Turkey but that lasted only 24 hours .  Toorki ( Ataturk is his Sunday name) was ours now and knowing he was going nowhere else turned this quiet , unemotional , standoffish dog into the long-legged, loving, obedient, loyal friend he is today.

 

  Everyone loves him and he has been a wonderful teacher to our young  labrador Willie, letting him climb over him, pull him and play with him- he has SO much patience and a quiet dignity and quite a regal bearing. A wonderful dog.


Toorki with Jenny

Toorki with Robert


 



Toorki, Zorro, Frodo and Milas    



 

 

TAG dogs adopted

TAG have rescued, neutered and spayed in excess of 500 dogs.  All have received veterinary treatment, vaccinations, etc. before being ready for adoption.

Here are just a few of the very many dogs adopted from TAG in recent years...Their stories in pictures.

 

 

If you would like to see more TAG success stories, have a look on the TAG Adoptables page HERE