Our experience with ARK
The little kitten
We had just eaten dinner at Lixouri, when we decided to walk around the harbor. There were beautiful lights glowing, which we wanted to see and take a picture of up close. We walked towards it and suddenly heared a loud miauw. And again, and again. We followed to alarming scream for help, and ended up in front of a trash bin. We took a look over the edge, and there she was. A small black kitten, who could not get out anymore. We knew we had to get her out, so we tried to lift one of us up so that person could get the little kitten out of there. She was too scared though, and crawled away into the trash, still miauwing. I decided to climb into the trash, since we couldn't leave her here like this. Once in, I lifted a bit of trash, before I saw the little one again. I gently grabbed her by the scruff, and handed her over to mom. I got out of the trash and had a better look at the little, terrified girl. She looked at me with tired, little grey/green eyes and we both smelled like garbage, but it was all worth it. We decided to call her Stinky.
What should we do, now that we got her out of the trash? I looked up a shelter on the island, and was happy to find that there was one quite close by. It was ARK, Animal Rescue Kefalonia. It was already quite late, but we decided to call anyway, since they were our only hope. A woman answered the phone, and asked if we could take her in for one night. We stayed at the harbor for a little while to see if we could find her mom anywhere. We saw another black cat, so we put her down to see if they would reunite. Sadly, the cat ran away and the kitten didn't seem attached to the other cat. So, we took her with us to our appartment.
In the night, we took turns watching her, and she was an amazing little girl. In the beginning, she was still quite scared of us, but later on she started really enjoying our company. She slept in our arms and purred when we pet her. She felt comfortable enough to play a bit too, untill falling asleep again. We had a great night with her and then the next day arrived. We had to drive for an hour to the shelter in Argostoli, but she was sleeping in my arms the whole way.
Arriving at ARK
Once we got there, the dogs started barking at our car straight away. It was no mistake, we were in the right place. Stinky tucked her head under my hair and she felt safe in my arms. We walked by all the dogs and then we saw the people from ARK. They warmly welcomed us and put Stinky in a nice travel basket with the blanket we brought with us. We walked with one of the people there, Joyce, to the kitchen and the place for kittens and puppies. They gave Stinky a nice place where she would be able to get used to her new roommates, while not yet going in a cage with them. Joyce showed us around a bit and told us a little about the animals, food and volunteering there.
Short summary:
We found a little kitten in a trash bin and we brought it to the amazing ARK, Animal Rescue Kefalonia. They were able to help us.
A little bit about ARK:
In 2011, a team of animal loving people started this shelter with the help of the municipality who provided the land for the shelter. Animal Rescue Kefalonia is taking care of around 300 dogs and 40 cats which have been rescued from all around the island. The goal is to rescue, provide care and shelter, rehabilitate and rehome Kefalonia's stray animals. They try to provide them with all the medical care and food they need. They also try to raise public awareness and organise groups of volunteers and programs for the animal care and welfare.
Why we are placing this cache
They rely on donations and volunteers, so the place doesn't look like a 5-star animal hotel, but that is not to be expected and that is not why we want to place this cache.. We wanted to put a cache here because what they do is more beautiful than any nice place I've ever visited. They have warmed my heart more than any hot fire or sunny day ever could. The work they do every single day is astonishing and the lives they have saved (and are saving) are countless.
marina and Joyce
Short notices:
- They would love it if you payed them a visit!
- If you are afraid of barking dogs, this might not the best cache for you. The cache isn’t connected to any of the dogs cages, but they will spot you.
- There is a sign with rules if you decide to pay them a visit:
You cannot take pictures
You can’t give food to the animals
You may not put yout hands through the fence
You aren’t allowed to open the doors
Socials:
instagram: Animalrescuekefalonia, https://www.instagram.com/animalrescuekefalonia/
website: http://www.animalrescuekefalonia.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnimalRescueKefalonia/