Valia Orfanidou volunteers at a number of animal rescue organizations in Greece. It’s a country with millions of stray dogs and one where there is not nearly enough recognition of the importance of animal welfare.
Orfanidou was on vacation at a small seaside village one summer. This sounds pleasant, but for someone like her, it can be a trying experience at times. There are a lot of strays in rural Greece and as she says, “You either have to turn a blind eye or come back home with a dozen rescue dogs.” In the late afternoon each day, she and her own dogs went for a walk along the beach. By sunset, the people were gone and the beach literally went to the dogs; the local strays had all 16 miles of it to themselves.
On one of those late-afternoon walks, Orfanidou noticed one dog in particular coming toward her wagging its tail. She felt panicked. “When you are an animal lover living in Greece, you simply get used to lonely stray dogs wandering around everywhere, and choose to rescue the ones that can’t make it on the streets: the sick, emaciated or hurt ones, the newborns, and the pregnant females.” This dog didn’t fit into any of those categories and really shouldn’t have been a rescue priority. But the dog, who Orfanidou named Blue, obviously wasn’t cut out for life as a stray. She was desperate for attention, too trusting and not wary enough for the mean streets. And so Blue was rescued and after a visit to the vet, went to a foster home.
The good news is that Blue didn’t have to wait long to find her forever home. She was adopted by a family in Holland within a couple of months. This gentle and friendly animal has also found work: as a therapy dog.
Check out the video we’ve posted below to see the entire story of this wonderful rescue dog. Let us know how you liked it in the Facebook comments. Don’t forget to like and share!
