A couple of years ago, Greece experienced a financial crisis that caused a lot of people to abandon their pets. This is because they could not afford to keep them in the household. As a result, the stray population of dogs had increased to more than a million.
Residents had to work together to help these abandoned dogs get fed every day, and one of them was Theoklitos Proestakis or “Takis”, as everyone calls him. He had put up a shelter Crete to be able to keep hundreds of dogs!
Photo credit: I Love My Dog So Much
It all started when he visited a garbage dump in his town. There, he found small puppies and old dogs living in the trash. He tried to help an old dog with a broken leg at the time, then it was followed by helping another one until he realized he already rescued 50 dogs.
He then started to bring them food and water every day. The dogs were so happy and always waited for Takis to come. They grew stronger with his help.
Residents of the area started to complain about the dogs and even threatened Takis that they would kill them, but he was determined to protect the dogs, so he built a shelter for them. He begged the people to allow him 30 days so he could find another place where he could bring all the animals.
From his own pocket, he took some money to buy land and build his own shelter. He takes care of the animals all by himself and spends his own money for their food and vet bills.
Photo credit: Thema News
It wasn’t easy for him – he had to sell his car, caravan, and nightclub as the bills kept piling up. It came to a point when he was ready to sell his own house, as the authorities “are unable and unwilling” to help him.
He works without a salary for almost 20 hours every day. Word about Takis shelter spread after he posted the recovery of one of the dogs he rescued, and that’s when people started sending their donations. He was able to buy a car eventually so he could bring the dogs to the vet and other places.
“This is not a job. This is a reason to live, what I’m doing,” says Taki.
Guy Gives Up Everything To Save Stray Dogs
This guy gave up everything he owned to save hundreds of stray dogs 👏👏👏
Posted by The Dodo on Wednesday, August 15, 2018
Video uploaded by The Dodo on Facebook