Turkey has millions of homeless animals and dogs. Although most of them were found as abandoned animals, the majority were born on the streets.
Unfortunately, humans frequently abandon their former pets in remote locations like mountains, making it far more difficult for the animals to find their way back home.
This implies that the animals will frequently encounter severe weather conditions and be more likely to struggle to find food and water.
They are still at risk of attacks from hostile populations and dog catchers.
Fortunately, I met a remarkable woman named Nuray during my most recent trip to Turkey who has devoted her life to protecting stray dogs there.
To visit the hills of Sapanca, Turkey, where hundreds of stray dogs live with scant access to food and water, Nuray drives up there specifically.
She has been feeding and caring for these creatures for the past ten years. She drives past all of her stops in about 2 hours, and she does this practically every evening after work.
Additionally, Nuray travels to nearby hotels and restaurants in Sapanca to gather any leftover food that she may give to the stray dogs.
Nuray occasionally observes that some of the dogs might be ill or injured, and she quickly takes such dogs to the vet as well.
Nuray is finding it more and more expensive to purchase food and petrol at this time due to the falling value of the Turkish Lira.
To find a method for people to contribute to some of these costs, she accepts donations when she can and plans to launch her website shortly.
Nuray said to me that these dogs are like her children, with their own names, personalities, and stories.
She believes that all animals deserve love and that if you have the opportunity to help, then you should.
Nuray also uses a Turkish website where you can donate pet food.
