|~~~ Die Arche Noah Kreta

Friday, December 02, 2005

Dear Friend of The Haven

Firstly, I would like to thank you for your on going support. Without the moral and physical assistance offered by our stalwart supporters, it would be impossible to carry on. We have the precious knowledge that, with that support, we have changed the lives of over 2,000 animals on the island of Crete. Something we should all be very proud of.

This year was the 10th anniversary of the formation of the Cretan Animal Welfare Group. A time to reflect, evaluate and consider the future. Examination of our original goals, compared to what we are actually doing, made us realise that we have been drawn away from our true aim. Our wish to help each individual animal brought to us may be commendable, but it consumes all of our resources. It is also extremely stressful and frustrating to see the same patterns repeated again and again and again. We are changing nothing.

By keeping the shelter running, we are not changing people’s attitudes at all. In fact, we are giving them an easy way out. While we are busy caring for the poor creatures brought to us, dozens more are suffering unnoticed. We have no time to fight for change; no time to lobby the local councils, no time to campaign to get the law enforced. We want to improve people’s attitude towards all animals, and we cannot do that while we are caring for the few.

There is also the personal aspect in that The Haven is my home. I have no privacy, no personal time and no escape. My family and I live it 24/7. Time is passing and I would like to spend some time with my husband, who has endured this difficult situation with good humour for so long now.

With all this in mind, we have taken the preliminary steps to close The Haven as an animal shelter. This has been a very difficult decision, not taken lightly. However, I do not wish you to think that I will slip quietly into retirement! There is much to be done. There has to be a better way and there has to be permanent change.

There are currently in excess of 50 dogs and 30 cats in our care. They will of course continue to receive our hospitality until such time as they can be re-homed with suitable families. There will continue, I am sure, to be situations when we will need new permanent and foster families for Cretan dogs and cats.

Both as a group and I personally, do hope that you will continue to support us. We have the same common goal – a better future for all the animals of Crete. Together we can succeed! I would be pleased to speak with you about this personally if you feel you would like to discuss it.

Thank you for your understanding.

Gayner Vlastou
CAWG Vice President

“Change starts when someone see the next step” William Drayton

see our website http://www.cawg-greece.com/html/change.html for additional information