Group helping place fire-stricken pets with foster families

Nearly 600 people have come forward to open their homes to a pet that lost its home or family in the Attica wildfires, the head of the Dog’s Voice platform for animal protection groups told Kathimerini on Wednesday.

“We’ve had help from a lot of experienced volunteers at shelters, from concerned citizens and from dozens of vets offering their services for free,” said Elena Dede, who spearheaded the drive to help dozens of cats, dogs and other pets found roaming the streets or injured in the fire-stricken towns.

Teams of Dog’s Voice volunteers took in a total of 49 animals on Monday night, among them a few from the Aghia Marina shelter in Nea Makri, while on Tuesday they picked up another 16 from Mati, as well as 17 from Kineta in western Attica.

“The first stop is at a vet and they are then taken to the foster families, which we provide with food and medicines,” said Dede.

“All of the animals are in shock. They have breathing problems and burned limbs. They are frightened and confused,” she added, describing the state of the cats and dogs. “Many will also be in hiding and it may take days to locate them.”