Santorini Animal Welfare Association - SAWA

15/09/2024

A throwback to the Summer of 2016, when the idea was born to create the SAWA 2017 calendar titled " Hot dogs and hot dudes"🤣 One thing's for sure, the Calendars sold out and all doggies were adopted Enjoy!

08/09/2024

Welcome Sifis!💛 After still grieving the recent loss of our old faithful donkey Fritz, we were astounded to see this new boy pass the shelter gates yesterday morning as his resemblance to Fritz is amazing both in looks and character. In the welcoming committee of course our volunteer Sandy who once more traveled all the way from Australia to return to Santorini, the place of her heart💙Every morning, before dawn, Sandy drives to the shelter from the other side to the island to tend to the animals needs, baby goats, chickens, ducks, parrots, injured wild birds, rabbits , seagulls, donkeys, pigs and dogs all waiting to greet this resilient lady, who never complains and never loses her smile no matter how hard and tough and hot it can get here! We are wishing Sifis a happy retirement with many carefree years in the company of his friends and Sandy who sadly has to return home as she has been here from early spring, a safe journey until we meet again😍 If you are interested to become a patron to one of our 33 donkeys, mules or horses please visit our hard working team SAWA-Switzerland thank you!

06/09/2024

🎼"This Romeo is bleeding
But you can't see his blood
It's nothing but some feelings
That this old dog kicked up" 🎼
What else can we say about one of the most gentle and stoic creatures in the shelter? Romeo probably born 2019 like so many other hunting dogs spent a lifetime inside a filthy cage or on the end of a heavy chain. Not being "a good hunter" bought Romeo his ticket out of this misery. Of course freedom does not come easy for the streets dogs of this country. Chased down, hungry and emanciated, Romeo finally reached the remote tiny church of Profitis Hlias on the Caldera and never moved but a few steps away. He could not trust humans no more but the kindness of tourists hiking kept him alive as they would offer him water and whatever food they were carrying during the crossing of the trail. This is how we found out about Romeo and went looking for him. As you see in some of these photos that depict his starving body after a long winter hiding at the church, these were the first moments of our encounter. That was 2,5 years ago... And today this marvelous boy is still living in the shelter, he has come a long way though in trusting people and showing his everlasting affection and gratitude. Romeo is an easy going dog that we would love to see finding his happy ending. Most of his life he has only known abuse and neglect from his owner, famine in the streets and finally shelterlife... Every morning on our beach walks Romeo escorts a different volunteer or visitor, he keeps looking in their eyes as to ask: "Are you the one who will take me home? I am tired and longing for my own warm and loving family, please come and find me!"💙 If you might be the one out there, please contact us! Thank you

03/09/2024

We returned again to our little hidden cove in the Caldera just to discover the inevitable, heartbreaking reality of plastic pollution💔... This beach is accessible only by water and as we are boatless we had to paddle there. Precisely 60 minutes, 3 volunteers, 2 SUPs and 10 giant garbage bags full of plastic debris later we sort of rendered it to its natural state- temporarily of course- not for the sake of Santorini's image but for the ones that still inhabit it and have no voice🦤🐋🐳🐬🐟🐠🐡🐙🦀🦞🦐🦑🐚🪸🪼 What we encounter the last years when we enter the Caldera, besides the evidently increased temperatures of its waters is a rapidly diminuishing marine population in an ecosystem totally out of balance. An unsustainable and constant attack of unregulated fishing methods and of course incoming vessel and land related pollution with the exemption of a few feathered marine residents overlooking the plastic "invaders". Thinking of our two own boys Jonathan and Pepe the seagulls, who now also reside in the shelter as they are handicapped, we truly wish that their buddies can stand better chances out there. Every single year, 0.57 million tonnes of plastic enters Mediterranean waters - the equivalent of dumping 33,800 plastic bottles into the sea every minute!!!! We can all make the difference and in the end of the day it is not only about plastic or paper straws, if you think about it almost everything we buy or consume is wrapped in plastic and recycling in Greece is almost a lost game as all begins from the personal awareness of each and every one of us. Reduce, Re-use, Re-perpose, Re-think and then Recycle ♻️ And every time you visit the beautiful coasts and the blue of our poor planet, please just leave behind your👣 footprints and 🫧 bubbles. Thank you💙👌

01/09/2024

Happy Sunday and happy September!Welcoming Arapina, a beautiful old lady from Akrotiri, we have been trying to get in the shelter for a while. She might be tiny in size but mighty in wits💗Wishing Arapina many carefree years of retirement in the company of our farm snd equine family!

24/08/2024

The image of this dead mare has circulated all over the country.💔.. She was discovered 2 days ago by tourists tied up between 2 hotels of Perissa, Santorini, on a field under the scorching sun, in temperatures that hit easily 40's and with a dry bucket of water far out of her reach. So much philosophical debate took over the local and national social media for 48 hours but once more WE SADLY REALIZE that: nobody was willing to call the police, wait for the patrol car and the state vet to record the incident, go to the police department and spend hours to testify and make a report, nobody was willing to sign with their name and of course nobody is still willing to stand up and give us the name of the owner who some of the locals know as it is easier to shed a blind eye and mind their own business. Yes, it was again the same women from animal welfare that had to take another case in their name and another jurisdictional burden on their backs and once more become the whistleblowers and the outcasts of this "civilized community" we live in. But what hurts most is the thought that this poor soul, the white mare with no name, is already yesterday's news and her death just went in vain as nothing changes in this country and when it does there will be no implementation of the new laws or regulations protecting the environment and the animals as corruption seeps everywhere...If this island wants to seriously prevent the next death of a donkey, mule or horse tied up in the sun, they do not really have to go further than the biggest horse riding businesses on the island that bear no shelter whatsvoever to their money making slave horses. Be a responsible traveler not just another tourist DO NOT RIDE any animal no matter where you travel if it is meant for mass tourism it CANNOT be sustainable!!!!! Rest in Peace and run free beautiful girl🌈

16/08/2024

Since we all moved to our forever shelter nicknamed "SAWAland" 3 years ago, our team finally managed to realize the much awaited dream of being able to live in the shelter with the animals and at the same time accommodate volunteers from around the world seeking to help and experience a much different lifestyle off the beaten tracks of this famous island! It is really a great beam of hope meeting more and more families who decide to volunteer along with their teenage children and spend their holidays learning the lessons that only our animal friends can so well teach them and at the same time raise their awareness as well as the values of hard work and responsibility. Sabine and daughter Mara from Germany 🇩🇪 spent time with us last summer and this year returned also with teenage son Levy to offer 2 weeks of work and lots of TLC to the animals. These kids really were up at the crack of dawn, every single day, walking dogs to the beach, cleaning and feeding, taking care of our 32 donkeys, mules and horses and of course the goats, pigs, chickens, ducks, rabbits and other smaller exotic critters finding refuge at SAWA. Mara and Levy never ceased to amaze us with their tireless commitment and devotion to any chore no matter how difficult or enjoyable. The afternoons when the heat takes over 🌞and we all hide, Sabine would take them to discover the beauties of the island and indulge in the refreshing blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea🌊.... Sunset all hands on deck to clean and feed again. 🙏Really great respect to the parents who take the time and energy to expose their children in such humbling experiences and environments that often bear the greatest lessons for the young ones. We really hope that the next Generations will be willing to take over the aging volunteers in rescues all around the world as it is a strenuous occupation that absolutely takes an immense tolll on you both physically and mentally and consists a path that not many will follow. But !!! hope always dies last and one of our missions in this lifetime will be to find and train the next Generation of " keepers and rescuers of the unwanted and forgotten creatures of Santorini" 💙 to continue the fight of the ones who have no voice!

13/08/2024

We are reaching out to all our friends in the UK to help this amazing dog Carson finally find his own family, please share and get him one step closer to his forever home🐾🐾🐾🐾
💙Carson still trying to find his rightful place in this mad world.
🌏Can you or anyone you may know be happy to give him a lovely and fullfilling life.
🏡He will need space. A sercure large garden or better a field. He has become used to living outside with a sheltered enclosure yet hes very clean and can live within a home environment. But doesnt responed well to being confined to small spaces.
🥩Carson is doing well on a mixed diet of Raw and complete biscuits. Natural dog treats, Raw Eggs and he Loves a Peanut Butter smoothered kong.🥜
Hes just over 50kg and super healthy. Still growing. Vets checked him and found him Fit as a Fiddle.
💪🏽Carson is over 14month old now and still entire. Vets advise neutering after 18month of age to keep his body and system growing as it should, Healthly and Strong.
🐕‍🦺🚶‍♂️As a Livestock Guardian Mix Breed Carson is a Very Large Dog who Must have owner that can handle his Strength and Vigour. He walks Beautifully on the lead he has Great Manners. Yet a Steady and Ready Handler he needs.
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦Carson has met different aged kids and really likes to be around them though never lived with younger ones.
Hes and is happy for contact acting Calm & Sweetly by sitting offering Kisses and a Big Massive Paw.
He is pretty good around other animals but not sure about small critters. Calm around livestock. He loves to interact with other dogs & would benifit from having a larger play pal as he really craves being part of a pack.

If anyone wants to meet and greet this wonderful beast or ask questions please message Samantha 😊[email protected]

Please Share to Help Find Carson His Family Match. 🙏🏽
Currently Residing In Lancashire UK

01/08/2024

🌞Beating the heat! 🌞Year after year, we experience less rain, prolonged periods of extreme heatwaves, desertification slowly taking over the Southern parts of the country and especially the Cyclade Islands complex which Santorini is a part of. For the first time the island's renowned vineyards are not surviving only on natural humidity and need to be irrigated and the big desalination units are struggling to keep up with the daily demads for fresh water for an already super arid part of the planet.. Our little shelter is located on the southern tip of the island, hidden in one of the last "still standing" remote areas of Santorini. The six hot months of the year follow mostly the same daily routine : group doggie walks to the beach at dawn as everyone needs the exercise and the healing power of entering the sea!🌊 It usually takes 3 group walks to give a chance to every shelter baby to get walked and feel they have a life! 💗Upon return and more or less after 10 am everyone is hiding in the shade away from the scorching sun... dogs, donkeys, mules, horses, goats, pigs, ducks, chickens and if possible "hoomans" included! So if you are up for an early morning of happy dog madness just show up at 6.45 am for the first walk or 8am for the second one. Our summer luxuries are filling up 3 small pools for the dogs, 2 for the ducks and a big mud hole for our piggies and keeping happy our few remaining small trees. We need one water truck delivery of desilinated water roughly every 4 days to keep the shelter alive 🥺Water is the greatest amenity and we are really hoping to find a solution to one of our most basic needs. Till then our friends are clever enough to always find a place to stay cool. In these hot months our thoughts are always with the animals who have no access to shade or water and especially the working equines of Santorini -horses, donkeys and mules- suffering an endless treadmill in the name of tourism... Any kind of usage of animals as rides in mass tourism, whether it is donkeys, horses, elephants or camels CANNOT be sustainable!!!! So just do not use them!!!! Water is life!!! and for this part of the world it is really a luxury we all have to try and save! It is up to you to be a responsible traveler and not just another tourist in any part ofthe world you visit. Enjoy the island by showing your respect to it's animals and it's stressed natural environment 💚Thank you! 💙

24/07/2024

Meet the ⭐️Misfits⭐️ our amazing 7 siblings that found shelter from the streets in SAWA last Christmas. Kodiak, Kimba, Kairo, Kara, Knox, Kastor and Kali are still waiting for that ticket off the island and into a real loving home🙏 Today they are 9 months old, fully vaccinated, sterilized and their size is around 25 kilos. A mix of action dogs, adventure seekers and big time cuddle bugs🤣Love swimming, long walks and just hanging out with " hoomans". If you are interested in opening your heart and home to one of our Misfits find out more info about them on our adoptions page https://www.sawasantorini.com/young-dogs and just drop us a message! THANKS 😊

18/07/2024

Name suggestions are welcome! These two handsome old boys reached our shelter a few days ago, apparently they have no name🥺. The white mule is very gentle and kind of a serious guy, the much smaller beige donkey is a ladies man and what he lacks in size he makes up for in daring😆We have officially reached the number of 32 donkeys, horses and mules, if you are interested in becoming a godfather to one of our oldies please check out the link to our sister organization SAWA Switzerland who are tiresly and passionately trying to make ends meet in order to secure 4 deliveries of grass bails from the plains of Northern Europe to our tiny, desert island. https://www.sawa-switzerland.ch/

15/07/2024

A big thank you from all our donkeys, mules and horses to the amazing Sophie and Curtis from the British Association of Equine Dental Technicians for flying down to Santorini and experiencing 4 days of shelterlife at SAWA with us. Sophie snd Curtis offered their skills in giving our oldies much needed dental treatments with many teeth removed and better painless days to indulge in grazing! We were really in awe of their experienced work and remarkable horsemanship making treating even our most "difficult patients", which by the way were the horses, look like a piece of cake! And yes nurse Mathilda the piglet has officially started her internship in equine dentistry🐽😁

12/07/2024

"The Coopy"💙 Pyreneese Mountain dog Cooper is a 3 year old wonder dog. He has already lived with us 1,5 years and we have seen him turn into a magnificent adult much respected by all the packs in the shelter. Cooper is many things: adventurous, brave, the best all weather swimmer, the guardian of the shelter also referred to as " the boss" but above all he is our much beloved friend. Recently one of the biggest newspapers in Greece featured our shelter's swimming stray dogs with Coooper leading them on it's front page! If you are interested in offering a second chance in life to our giant waterboy please drop us a message 😊

09/07/2024

Welcoming Maria! Beautiful, tiny mule Maria was surrendered by her owners to retirement after a lifetime of service to the island. Besides a deformed jaw bone she aquired in her early years, her general condition is looking great and her character is super friendly! In no time Maria was recognized by old mates Thor and Georgina making her integration to the SAWA equine family even easier. We wish her many carefree years in our little safe haven 🌸🩷

06/07/2024

Looking back at an extremely hot June immensely full of action and lots of heartwarming moments with all the creatures dwelling at SAWAland as we were fortunate to be surrounded by
so many longstanding team members who never forget that their second home is in a small shelter somewhere in the Aegean 🌊 Sea. Great respect to all the girls for keeping the dream alive as year after year they return to spend their "official holiday" with the homeless animals of Santorini. Endless miles of walking the doggies to the beach in dawn, cleaning, feeding, getting footage to promote their adoption, taking care of the visitors and sharing their immense love amongst our babies💗 A thank you from the heart to Sandy from Austalia, Cathrina from Denmark, Irini from Switzerland, Ute, Doro and our special Neckarpfoten team Celine and Jelena from Germany!Here is shelterlife in June through their eyes 📸 enjoy! And a Happy Birthday to one of our youngest volunteers Celine, who has been helping us for 11 consecutive years and with Jelena turned their passion for the animals to a wonderful carrer in dogtraining! 🦮🐕‍🦺👣💙🐾

29/06/2024

Better late than never! Yes SAWA is officially on Tik Tok, follow us for more daily, crazy and loving moments with our four legged and feathered residents🐾🐕🐕‍🦺🐩🫏🐎🐖🐐🐏🦆🐓🐣🦅🕊🦜🐁

29/06/2024

Harmony in motion💚Donkeys, mules, goats, pigs, chickens and ducks follow Dave as breakfast is being served!

Check out sawasantorini’s video.

22/06/2024

Strawberry moon nights🍓🌙 Sharing the warm, sheltering sky of the summer solstice, donkeys, mules, horses, goats, pigs, ducks, chickens and dogs say good night under a full moon giving their shelter an extraordinary glow⭐️

16/06/2024

These little pigs did not go to the market and they definitely did not stay at home!🐽😆Not your average companion animals but such amazing sentient beings with an intelligence even higher than that of "man's best friend" and feelings way too similar to us humans... if you ever get a chance to spend some time with a pig your mindset will probably be changed for life!!Little Helmut amd Mathilda are growing fast, they learned their names just during their first week in the shelter when they were around 3 weeks old and they already know how to jump in the car for a ride to the beach! Their daily antics, their loving nature and inquiring minds never cease to suprise us!🩷

30/05/2024

Update on Mr Peanut !🥜 🐾If you have followed the story of this English Pointer recovered one month ago in a state of serious malnurishment and covered with hundreds of ticks we are happy to let you know that Mr Peanut is doing fine, blood tests are clear and spirits high. Following some weeks of TLC at the SAWA crew quarters and lots of affection from visitors and volunteers, Mr Peanut is currently indulging in the adventures of Captain Jacques Cousteau in search of the Lost Atlantis 😂PS this hunting dog has become a bird lover as you can see by his side Morgan the Cockatoo is assisting him in his research 🤣Mr Peanut is sterilized and up for adoption if you are looking for such a love bug of a companion please drop us a message!

20/05/2024

Where do you really want your life to lead you? How far are you willing to go? How much are you willing to risk? For Fritz and Gaby founding members of SAWA-Switzerland it is the animals of Santorini that lead them to the other side of the continent, answering the great questions of purpose that at some point we will all ask. Three years ago SAWA itself reached the point for the second time of becoming "homeless"... Fritz and Gaby without much thought took the great decision to buy this remote piece of land on the island that is today home for almost 70 dogs, 30 donkeys, mules and horses, numerous goats, pigs, rabbits, ducks, chickens and a handful of crazy but deeply committed humans that take turns always living with the animals. The shelter itself was nick-named SAWAland as it is really the first time SAWA is truly independent and has become a very unique safe haven, close to the sea, for the island's animals in need. Last week with the initiative of SAWA-SWITZERLAND and the support of the family Eriksson who have become the fairy godmother of the Santorini's retired donkeys, another shipment of 15,5 tons of hay arrived from the plains of the Swabian Alps. A great feast for the oldies and of course all the farm animals as nothing goes to waste and their bellies are always full💚 Big shout out to all our friends supporting the ongoing endeavor of SAWA Switzerland 🇨🇭 to secure as many shipments as possible of feed 🌾for our Santorinian babies 🇬🇷 for more info and for our German speaking friends interested in volunteering at the Shelter you can visit
https://www.sawa-switzerland.ch/

17/05/2024

The daily reality of every small rescue on this planet💔 please rethink your options...

Simple Analogy — Why rescues can’t save them all…

Every time rescue is asked to take an owner surrender- we have to somehow make room on our little raft for that dog.
When an owner says stuff like “I don’t have time to give them the best life” or “I have to move” or “they have too much anxiety” it really falls flat because that means if we bring them on the raft, another dog out there in the freezing water (pounds and shelters) gets to die.

Every day rescue adjudicate life and death by gate keeping who can get on the boat.

Rescues Groups are the tiny Rescue Boats.

The Ship is our community at large.

The iceberg is comprised of puppy mills, careless owners, backyard breeders, and irresponsible people who won’t spay/neuter.

Please be kind to rescue groups, we are trying our best!

12/05/2024

Wishing a Happy Mother's Day to all the Mammas out there and to all the tireless, unbroken rescuers who have or not children of their own and have become the closest to a mother figure for so many four legged, furry or feathered creatures in need. Keep up the fight girls our babies need you! 🌸🌼🩷🌟🌼🧡🩵🪻🌷💐

11/05/2024

Joyful morning as our excited doggie residents check out their new collars, leashes and harnesses donated with love by Peter, Gaby and Michaela from Germany and Georgeta and Kendrick of Max and Neo from the States! Thank you guys, no matter how far away we know your hearts are always close to the ones in need 💜🩵💙💚💛🧡🩷❤️