PAWS Elects New Board

PAWS held elections for a new board on 30 May, one year ahead of schedule, due to the resignation of three board members in April and May. Members of the assembly voted in this order for Stella Kosta, Bram Van Spronsen, Vicky Sarrou, Crystal Jones, Yiorgos Maroulakis, Lena Yacoumopoulou, Anna Maria Koumioti and Anthi Aristeraki, putting in place another board with a majority of Greeks (6 out of 8), as has been the case since 2005. The new positions are: Stella Kosta, president; Bram Van Spronsen, vice president; Yiorgos Maroulakis, treasurer; Crystal Jones, secretary; Lena Yacoumopoulou, media. The supplementary board members are Anna Maria Koumioti and Anthi Aristeraki. (In June, Vicky Sarrou resigned from the board and Lena Yacoumopoulou, next supplementary member in line, replaced her.)

Reporting to the assembly, outgoing president Nicolas Stephanou said that a record of 64,000 euros was received in 2009 in the form of donations, membership fees, collection boxes, charity and fund-raising events, but a record number was also spent on rehoming stray dogs, neutering cats, running the animal shelter in Tripiti, vet bills, medicine and food, leaving 900 euros in the bank at the end of 2009. The tally for the two main activities of PAWS in 2009 was 225 strays rehomed to Germany (200 dogs and 25 cats) and 160 cats neutered from September 2009 to May 2010. In addition some 300 calls were received reporting animal abuse, abandoned animals and request for adoptions and neutering.

According to Stephanou, PAWS will not get a new lease on the animal shelter in Tripiti, which is currently sheltering double the number of dogs it can comfortably handle, and PAWS must look for new premises on an urgent basis. He said he hopes the Municipality will honour its promise of providing a proper shelter. Stephanou concluded that as long as the current mentality prevails, PAWS will continue to serve as a fire brigade for abandoned and abused dogs and cats.

A Heroic Story
By the end of last summer, Valentina, who works at Nisiotiko, a hotel in Drios, found over 20 half-starved neighbourhood cats. She struggled all winter to feed them on her meagre salary and by the time she called PAWS in May, a dozen were already pregnant and others were quite sick. PAWS installed a collection box to help fund sterilisations in the neighbourhood and Valentina raised enough money from long-time visitors at the hotel to neuter four cats within a week. As a sad indication of the state of animal welfare in Paros, Valentina is criticised by many Drios residents for catering to the cats.

PAWS at the Park Festival
Joining local associations for a week of culture and ecology, PAWS set up an information stand and did some fund-raising at the Environmental & Cultural Park of Ai-Yiannis Detis. PAWS also hosted two dog obedience training sessions with trainer Iakovina Louki. Thanks to Frank Tocher for designing PAWS’ new generic poster in record time for the festival, another one on sterilising cats and a third on the dog-training sessions. Thanks also to Anna Maria Koumioti for her art work and for installing the exhibit with creative flair, to Blondie Vucich for designing an educational panel for children; and to volunteers Lornie Caplan and Manu Vandermele for minding the stand at times when it became quite hot!

PAWS Helps Donoussa
This spring, a group of teachers on Donoussa decided to do something about the increasing cat population, even though they have no vet or animal welfare group. They persuaded GAWF, the U.K.-based Greek Animal Welfare Fund, and Athens-based Nine Lives to send a vet for three days in late June to do some mass neutering on the school premises. The teachers were unable to find a single cage for the project, but PAWS came through with 7 double and 6 single cages via Blue Star – enough to hold 20 cats. Thumbs up to teacher Bessy Stathopoulou for spearheading the project.

Adopt a Pet Rabbit
This light brown bunny was brought from Athens to Paros by Matt Barrett of Travel Guide to Greece fame, to live on a farm — but its intended home did not materialise. According to Matt, he’s more like a house cat, toilet-trained and great with children! Call 22840-51334 or 694-545-1645.

Read how the rabbit escaped his drab life in Athens: www.greecetravel.com -

May Tally
Twenty dogs were rescued; another 11 were rehomed to Germany; and 18 cats were neutered —15 (almost all pregnant) females and 3 males.