I’m Petra Poorter, and, together with my partner Frank, I have two Spanish dogs, Viento and Alegra. Viento was found as a pup, in a box in southern Spain. He was dehydrated and covered in bald patches and ticks. Even though he was in a bad way he wagged his tail when he was found. “This is a dog that wants to live” thought the PAWS volunteers and they decided to give this poor little pup a chance. Thanks to the efforts of an English foster family who gave him fluids through a drip and fed him with a spoon, Viento turned in to a beautiful, healthy dog. This wonderful Labrador/Beauceron cross has been living with us since 2001. Alegra, a Shepherd type bitch, from La Palma, followed in 2002.

That same year we went on holiday to Turkey. I had read on the website of the AAI foundation that they were looking for tourists flying to Istanbul who were prepared to bring a dog back with them for whom AAI had found a new home in Holland. Coincidentally we were travelling via Istanbul so I offered to accompany a dog. You can read the story of our visit to the SHKD shelter in Istanbul, and our experiences in accompanying a dog here.

In 2003 we decided to again holiday in Turkey. A former volunteer at SHKD, Sina Karadag, had moved to southern Turkey, and was very active for the Göcek shelter. We made contact with Sina and arranged to visit the shelter. With an average of 65 dogs it is a small shelter compared to Istanbul. It lies in a small wood and is cared for. Sina’s arrival was a breath of fresh air for the sleepy organisation. Thanks to her contacts with AAI and German organisations she was able to arrange for the adoption of several of the shelter’s long term residents in Holland and Germany. We brought two dogs back with us on our return from Bodrum.

As a token of her gratitude for the supplies we had taken with us Sina gave us a towel with the emblem of the shelter embroidered on it. A local textile company had donated these for the shelter to sell, but the local people weren’t interested in buying things for charity. I suggested to Sina that I took a few towels with me to sell to dog-lovers in Holland.

One thing led to another. The Haagsche Courant newspaper offered a free stall at their summer fair, but having only selling towels was a bit limiting, so I gathered together other things to sell. I now regularly have a stand at special markets and fairs around the country.

Someone tipped me off to the phenomenon Marktplaats. Wonderful, the possibility of selling things 24 hours a day on the internet! After selling books via Marktplaats for two years it was time to try something new. I had known Karin for a couple of years via the internet forum www.buitenlandsehonden.nl. She made the dog paw stickers that I sold on my stall. Were they something we should promote more? We launched the stickers on various dog related forums, and they were a hit! A trendy product AND supporting a good cause appealed to the dog-lovers. The cat and rabbit paws proved to be popular too. The magazines Hondenmanieren, Dogma, Onze Hond and Kattenmanieren have run articles on the stickers.

The shelters in Göcek and Istanbul receive no support from the local government, and that is why they need the money so badly. It is very satisfying to be able to help just a little to give those great dogs in Göcek and Istanbul a better life.