Corfiots Love Animals

I have certainly noticed that people in Corfu are kinder to animals now than when I first started going there more than 25 years ago. In the town, rather than hordes of homeless cats, there now seem to be "clusters" fed and watched over collectively by nearby residents and shopkeepers. And often someone will take one of their "neighbour animals" to a vet when it is in need. Some individuals, Corfiot and foreign, go even farther and take animals for neutering at their own expense.

When we were there last summer, the "Ark" organization had a fundraising sale; a Corfiot manufacturer of leather sandals donated a large number of older models to sell to help the cause. I'm not sure that would have happened 20 years ago.

It does seem that in Corfu, things have improved more for cats than for dogs. OTOH an Athenian told me that there, dogs are the focus of those who help animals, not so much cats.

I think as Greeks have become more affluent, they've been able to discover the joys of pet ownership. (This has its downside, from what I've heard the conditions in some of the pet shops in Athens are pretty bad.) But overall it's a better situation for animals and for people too, if like me you believe the studies saying pet ownership is good for our health.

Quoting Julia:

.... I certainly don't think we can assume that voicing concern over one issue is indicative of disregard for another. We should all do what we can, where we can to make the world a nicer place.

You are so right there! I wish I'd been as eloquent when I was helping out at a sale like the Ark's, back when I lived in Cyprus. A Cypriot lady lit into me saying why did us "British" care about animals so much more than solving the Cyprus question.