Everything started in Cyprus.
Everything started with housesitting.
Via Trustedhousesitters, we discovered a request from an Englishwoman living in Cyprus, who was looking for housesitters for her 11 cats and 6 dogs, during her four-week absence.
At that time, we were traveling as petless digital nomads, drifting where the wind blew us. We applied for the job and were accepted.
Never before had we taken responsibility for so many dogs and cats at once. All animals came from shelters or were found and nursed up by the landlady herself. All animals lived in the house. They also had a huge garden with sea view. The cats roamed freely across the property. The dogs were walked across the fields daily.
The work around so many animals couldn’t be underestimated. This was not a vacation. More a part-time job. As a result, we were only able to work part-time in our loan job as well. However, since we lived rent-free, this was possible and calculable.
We didn’t fall in love with Cyprus.
We found the landscape to be a bit chaotic, industrial, and unwelcoming. We fell in love with the animal world and the many people, who did everything to accompany the abandoned and tortured creatures into a better life.
You saw them everywhere, the starving street cats, begging for a life-saving crumb of bread. The ornamental birds, which vegetated as decorative objects in way too small cages, in the blazing sun. The watchdogs, drooping lonely on heavy chains, howling the song of death.
It has never been easy for us to really enjoy the countries of Southern Europe, as they are interspersed with so much animal misery. We quickly came to the conclusion, that animal welfare abroad has to play an important role and, managed intelligently, does not have to compete with domestic animal welfare. Those who manage to look away here, who refuse to help here, can hardly justify themselves with an open heart for the battered creatures of their own country.
And then, in the course of an afternoon stroll across Maronies fields, it happened. We found five-month-old Tia. Disposed on a rubbish heap in the middle of an abandoned field. Starving. Full of ticks and fleas. Crawling on two broken legs. Life asked us to take a deeper look and participate.
Suddenly we realized why we came here. This little life should be saved. And not only that. This little picture of misery should travel the world and experience the greatest adventures, a dog can experience.
But Tia’s story is one that I would like to tell elsewhere. More than a year passed before she packed her bags and boarded a plane with her friend Sandy, to leave Cyprus forever.
At this point we would like to mention the Cypriot animal welfare organizations, who do the toughest job in this profession and fight on the front line for a better world. They all deserve our attention and support:
Disabled kittens and cats of Cyprus
Pets2Adopt Cyprus Rescue Charity
Follow Up:
Our favorite places
Archaeological Site of Nea Paphos
Cape Gkreko National Forest Park
