Previous Updates

Dear supporters

Life continues to be busy for the ARK team of volunteers. As usual, we responded to numerous calls for assistance from concerned individuals, as well as identifying cases of need ourselves. In the last month 51 animals (46 cats and 5 dogs) received veterinary treatment funded by ARK – some relatively minor (such as sickness & diarrohea, teeth problems, infections, anaemia, allergies and wounds) and some were life-threatening and/or life-changing, eg, various tumours, amputations and major breakages.

Our veterinary bills continue to be substantial and it’s clearly essential that we raise funds in order to meet our costs.

We regularly upload photographs and stories of the animals we help, in order that our supporters are aware of the amazing impact that their donations have.

New legislation

Animal lovers will no doubt be aware of the new law relating to stray animals. ARK received multiple enquiries from concerned people asking for updates on the 17 article bill, which was adopted after last minute changes made in response to widespread opposition. The law is aimed at managing Turkey’s stray dog population, following concerns regarding public safety.

There is undoubtedly an issue regarding the number of stray dogs in Turkey, which is estimated at being in excess of 4 million. However, the solution clearly needs to be humane and compassionate. Thankfully, the late revisions which were made to the bill are a significant improvement, particularly the much-increased restrictions on municipalities’ ability to euthanises animals. It is now only permitted if it adheres to strict conditions. However, there is still a concern that some municipalities could use the new law as an excuse for mass culling of stray dogs, rather than investing in more humane solutions.

The law the places the responsibility of managing the stray dog population on the individual municipalities and introduces potential prison sentences if they fail to meet these responsibilities under the bill. Municipalities are required to collect stray dogs, neuter them and house them in shelters. Some municipalities don’t have shelters at present, but by 2028 all should have them and should ensure that they can accommodate stray animals. A tough ask, indeed, not least regarding the question of funding, which will no doubt be a deterrent in some areas.

Thankfully, Kusdadasi’s Animal Shelter has improved dramatically in recent years and could already accommodate a larger number. In addition, Omer Gunel, Kusadasi’s Mayor, has made it clear that stray animals will continue to be cared for.

ARK will monitor developments and is in the process of arranging a meeting with the Mayor to find out more and to make further suggestions.

The importance of neutering

Animal neutering continues to be a priority for ARK and is a key element in controlling the number of stray animals. In most cases we use the free neutering facilities provided by Kusadasi Municipality at the Barinak (Animal Shelter) on Kirazli Road (primarily for dogs) and the Cat Neutering Centre close to the Hilton Hotel in the Marina area. We encourage ARK supporters and other animal-lovers to make use of these facilities….

Neutering Services for   street animals - contact details:

Appointments   for free neutering of street dogs at the Barinak - 0533 602 8849 or 444 7114, (central helpline, if transport needed)

Appointments for free neutering of street cats at the Cat   Neutering Centre - 

0539 645 2931

Can you help?

We continue to seek volunteers to help us in our range of projects and activities at times that suit you. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you’d like to know more. 

Kusadasi Animal Shelter

ARK continues to have a strong and positive relationship with Kusadasi’s Animal Shelter, which is run by the Belediye (Council). An important aspect of this is the small team of volunteers who assist the staff, providing home-cooked food, treats, comfortable bedding and lots of love and hugs, particularly to the cats and kittens and to puppy dogs. In preparation for the Autumn and winter it’s important that we help to build up a supply of fabric (and rugs etc) to make the animals comfortable. Please let us know if you have and old clothes, sheets etc and we can arrange their collection.

Farewell to Jessica

In mid-September we in ARK will sadly be saying goodbye to Jessica Kucukgunduz, ARK Board member and a member of the much-valued team of volunteers who help at the Animal Shelter. Jess has been a massive asset to ARK and will be greatly missed. We wish her and her husband Cemil a very happy and successful future in their new home in Norway.

Fancy an authentic Indian meal?

As usual, we’re planning a number of events and activities to help us raise funds, as well as to raise ARK’s profile and hopefully attract more supporters. 

There’ll be lots to report on in coming weeks but in the meantime I’d like to specifically promote The Indian Gala Night to be held in the garden area of Saray Restaurant on the evening of Monday 16 September, including a three-course authentic Indian meal (with options) and themed activities. So often we hear people saying that they wish Kusasasi had an Indian Restaurant. In response, Saray recruited an Indian chef earlier this year, resulting in their Indian menu being exceptional. Further details will be posted very soon, but please save the date!

ARK’s ability to help street animals relies entirely on the kindness of our donors and the dedication of our volunteers. Every donation, no matter how small, supports our mission to give street animals a life free of pain and suffering. If you can find it in your heart to make a donation to ARK, we would be extremely grateful. Making a donation through our website - Arktr.org - is very simple and makes an enormous difference to the street animals which rely on the help of us humans.

Very best wishes

Karen Froggatt, ARK President

Dear supporters

February was another busy month for the ARK team of volunteers. As usual, we responded to numerous calls for assistance from concerned individuals, as well as identifying cases of need ourselves. 25 cats and 5 dogs received veterinary care - some relatively minor and some life-threatening.

The recently reconstituted ARK Committee is now starting to focus on achieving the objectives we set ourselves after the January General Meeting. As you'll imagine, there's always lots to do!

Animal neutering continues to be top of our list of priorities, supported by Kusadasi Belediyesi (Council) who neuter street animals free of charge. However, catching street animals can be very difficult (and time-consuming), particularly those who view human beings with suspicion and fear. Using funds donated by our amazing supporters we've been able to acquire so much better cat-catching equipment and aim to get more in the near future. When catching cats we remind ourselves that the average female cat can give birth to around 180 kittens in its lifetime, which demonstrates how crucial the neutering programme is.

We continue to operate feeding programmes in some areas of low population (thanks to some wonderful individual supporters), including at Ephesus, where there were over 130 cats at the last count! We desperately need to avoid expansion of the cat population in Ephesus, though it is outside Kusadasi’s geographical area, therefore we need to find other solutions.

Although the panel of vets we use (Nevzat, Cagdas and Pandora) help us enormously – not least with advice to assist with the many challenges which arise - costs obviously continue to rise. Donations from people who share our passion for animal welfare are our life-blood. I'm delighted to report that there’ll be news imminently on a new donations mechanism which will accept donations in multiple currencies. This is the culmination of months of work by Shawn Parsons of ARK. Shawn’s patience knows no bounds but has been severely tested by the demands and bureaucracy we often face. It's certainly much easier to operate charitable organisations in the UK and I'm sure in many other countries than it is in Turkey ….

With regard to our projects (which there’s a growing list of), we're desperate to attract more volunteers, whether that be feeding programmes, catching animals for neutering, helping at events or involvement in a multitude of other things that the ARK team does. Please let us know if you can help - even if just for a few hours a month.

On our list of objectives is for ARK to have influence on animal welfare practices and legislation as broadly as possible. We are increasingly engaging with HAYTAP, the Turkey-wide animal welfare organisation and aim to work with them to drive change.

The holiday season is fast approaching us. As usual, we’ll be involved in a number of events and activities to help us raise funds, as well as to raise our profile and attract ongoing donations and awareness. In April we’ll be celebrating ARK’s 6th birthday and

hope to do it in style. Please look out for news of forthcoming events and activities, but here's a specific date for your diary - Friday 21st of June. This is the date of our ‘White Party’ (an American tradition), when we’ll celebrate the first day of summer with a high profile event. Following the success of last year's event this year's needs to have greater capacity. I'm delighted to report that it will be held at Seckin Saklik Bahce (Secret Garden). I often think that this beautiful restaurant is one of Kusadasi’s best kept secrets, though it has been there since the 1970s and still has the same owner. It has stunning views, fabulous food and an amazing ambience. Further details will be available in coming weeks. I encourage you not to miss it….

I'd like to take the opportunity this month to thank my colleagues on the ARK Committee and Board, who spend considerable time and attention aiming to make ARK as successful as it possibly can be. We want to alleviate hunger and suffering and to ensure that street animals receive the love and care they deserve. I'd also like to thank the small team who volunteer their time at the Belidiye’s animal shelter. They see first-hand the impact of accidents, illness and sometimes abuse, and continue to do a fabulous job supporting the Belediye team with their tasks, while also giving the animals lots of love, cuddles and individual attention.

Thank you so much for your support and your interest in ARK. Please spread the word as much as you possibly can, in order to help us to help the animals who rely on the kindness of us humans.

Very best wishes, Karen

ARK IN JANUARY 

ARK in January

January was a busy month for ARK. As has been reported separately, our Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) took place on 20th. Two new members - Fisun and Shawn Parsons - were appointed to the ARK Board, joining Jane Moulding, Mary Sayers and myself. Fisun and Shawn have contributed greatly to ARK since joining the ARK Committee in early 2023 and are undoubtedly great additions to the Board. Three new people also joined the Committee at the EGM - Jessica Kucukgunduz, Fahriye Et and Mutlu Et, taking the Committee to its full complement of 16 people.

Since the EGM the Committee has appointed Hatice Yetisgin as a co-optee. Hatice became involved with ARK through joining the team who volunteer at the Belediyesi’s Shelter, giving their love and care to the animals on an ongoing basis. 

The new Committee started straight away on determining ARK’s priorities for the next 6 months. There’s clearly lots to do, but we need to have particular focus on key objectives. It’s not surprising that our number 1 priority is neutering, which is essential to animal welfare. We’ll be reporting on our progress on this and other areas of our work on an ongoing basis.

Providing veterinary care continues to be a key part of ARK’s work. We funded treatment for 31 animals - ranging from treating relatively minor issues to life-threatening ones.

In addition, on an almost daily basis we take street cats (and some dogs) to be neutered by the Belediyesi. Please bear in mind that street cats can be neutered free of charge at the Neutering Centre next to the Hilton Hotel (entrance at the rear). Just call +90 539 645 29 31 to make an appointment.

The January weather added to the challenge for street animals. As I reported last month, we constructed a number of kennels to create warm and dry homes for packs of street dogs and are also engaged in feeding programmes for dogs and cats in some remote locations. 

We can only continue our work if we generate funding. We plan to hold a wide range of fund-raising events and activities, in addition to which we’re working hard to provide easier ways for supporters to make donations to ARK. We’re nearly there and will provide details very soon!

Donations from our supporters are ARK’s life blood, making all the difference between whether we can help animals who so desperately need our intervention. We hope to never say no to pleas for help…

Thank you for caring😺🐶

Karen Froggatt

I apologise for the latenesss of this report, caused not by the pressure of dealing with sick animals but by illness of our committee members and vets.

We had a few wet and windy days and very cold nights in December but the month was generally much warmer than usual and we treated a relatively small number of animals. Our shelter volunteers have increased in number and in the days attended with very pleasing results; conditions and our relationship with the paid staff continue to improve.

We treated  a total of 54 animals; 31 cats and eight dogs received medication, 10 cats needed surgery and three were neutered by our vets (and volunteers took another 20 to the shelter vets for neutering). Our veterinary bill was 21,655, we spent 8030  and another 150 on cleaning materials making our total expenditure for the month 29,835 tl which was just covered by our income.

So far this month we have continued to be blessed with warm weather,  but have already treated more animals and the forecasters continue to warn us of a severe winter ahead,and we have tax bills and professional fees to pay.

If you feel able to help us to ensure that we never have to turn away an animal in need please visit:

www.arktr.org/donate

Thank you for caring. 

The highpoints of the month were related to the shelter where our team of  volunteers works tirelessly in all weathers to give extra love, comfort  and treats to the residents and to assist the paid staff in emergencies,  establishing a good relationship with the shelter staff and the local  government. 

When ARK first  visited the shelter conditions were dire and distressing but, at the  instigation of our Mayor, Ömer Günel and under the leadership of head vet Cihan and manager Fulya it has improved beyond recognition and,  rather than forbidding entry, the staff are now proud to show visitors  around. Conditions improved even further in November with the  installation of an X-ray machine, blood analyser and other diagnostic  equipment which the Mayor had promised ARK at our meeting in the summer.  The highly skilled and dedicated vets are now  able to diagnose and  treat more conditions than ever before without the need to call on  private veterinary practices. 

The  other shelter-related event for which ARK had long campaigned was the  opening of the new neutering centre near to the marina. ARK with our  Gold Partners and committee members Merve and Arda sourced and paid for  all of the surgical equipment in the centre. Shortly after the opening  ARK also provided four beds for the street dogs which sleep in the  waiting room overnight. Now the people of Kuşadası can easily take their  local street cats to be neutered and help control the population. 

An  unexpected development was the revelation that something started by ARK  several years ago has now been adopted and developed by the shelter. In  the bad old days the shelter often ran out of food, sometimes needing  ARK to make emergency provision. ARK persuaded a number of hotels and  restaurants to make their left-over and waste food available. The scheme  wasn’t very successful at first, as the shelter staff often forgot or  management simply couldn’t be bothered to collect the food and it was  just beginning to be useful when covid struck and the hotels closed.  Now, the Mayor has revived the idea and food is collected from  businesses, schools and barracks and processed to produce nutritious  dried food.

Inevitably the highs  were followed by a low – the plight of the Adagöl dogs. Adagöl is a  very popular park, picnic and barbecue area to the north of Kuşadası  close to Kuştur beach. It’s crowded throughout the summer and the  availability of food attracts dozens of dogs and well fed, un-neutered,  dogs breed. This year numbers of both visitors and dogs have been much  higher than normal. In most years summer slowly turns to autumn and then  winter, the number of visitors tapers off and as the the supply of food  diminishes the dogs gradually disperse to find richer pickings  elsewhere until only a sustainable number remain. This year, however,  summer and the food supply ended abruptly, dogs and especially families  with young pups couldn’t relocate quickly and dozens of dogs are left  with insufficient food. In addition, many of the dogs, including puppies  have overflowed to the other side of the busy road and are in constant  danger. To make matters worse, a section of the boundary fence has been  knocked down, the belediye feeding stations stolen and water points  damaged.

One of our committee  members has taken advantage of a promotion by a supermarket chain giving  40% discount on pet food and spent thousands of lira, she doesn’t know  how much, to feed the dogs. Some supporters have made generous donations  specifically for them and this money has been ringfenced for future  supplies, as are donations for the Efesus cats. She and other members of  the committee take it in turns to distribute the food daily. They are  also constructing simple shelters from pallets and scrap timber,  repairing the fence and urging the shelter to concentrate their  neutering efforts on the area.

November  was a much quieter month for our vets than October, partly because we  were able to make more use of the Haybulans and the shelter vets thanks  to their new equipment; 25 animals were treated by our vets, eight cats  had surgery during which one was neutered, 16 received medical treatment  and one dog had surgery. Total cost of the vets bills was 22,050 tl.  Food for the especially vulnerable, not including Adogöl dogs cost 7,750  tl, sundries plus the year’s taxes and fees 8,000 giving a grand total  of 37,800 tl. Additional treatment and home cooked food was provided  free of charge by our volunteers and 16 cats were taken to the shelter  for neutering. Our income, excluding 15,100 tl ringfenced for feeding  the Efesus cats and the Adagöl dogs was 10,050 tl, leaving a deficit in  the general fund of another 27,750 tl, seriously depleting our reserves  so early in the winter.

If you have it in your heart to help please visit www.arktr.org

This has been my longest ever monthly report. It has also been my last.

In  the 20 years or so in which we’ve been involved in animal welfare in  Kuşadası, and especially in the last six years with ARK, Ann and I  enjoyed meeting wonderful people from every continent except Antarctica;  animal lovers, supporters, donors, volunteers, committee members,  officials, vets and other professionals. Thank you all.

When  we started ARK with a group of friends, we thought that we would be  able to step down after a couple of years. Our committee members were  enthusiastic and hard working but none were willing or able to take  over. At last we have a strong team ready and eager to take on the task.

We’ve  achieved all that we set out to achieve but now, I’m 76 and Ann’s 72,  we’ve run out of steam and ideas, it’s time for us to go. ARK today  faces new challenges and has new opportunities to grasp. Our team has  the energy and ideas to drive ARK forward.

Finally,  it maybe wrong to single out one particular person but I’d like to say a  special thank you to Jane Moulding who is the only one remaining of the  group whİch sat around a table in January 2018 and conceived the idea  of ARK. Jane has been instrumental in making ARK what is, according to  the Governor’s Office, the biggest and most effective animal charity in  the province. Her experience, expertise, support, enthusiasm and good  Yorkshire common sense  and practicality will doubtless be as invaluable  to the new team as it has been to us.

We’re  leaving but we’ll still be around and our hearts will be with ARK as  you go from success to success in improving the lives of the street  animals of Kuşadası and maybe beyond. 

Thank you all.

I’m writing this report while the much needed rain is pouring down in our second day of thunder storms. Winter may have arrived.

October  was much busier than recent months for our vets, who treated 45 animals  between them. This total would have been much higher had we not been  able to make use of the Haybulans and the shelter vets now that the  Belediye has provided a new X-ray machine, blood analyser and other  advanced equipment in response to ARK’s requests. We’re looking forward  to the opening of a neutering centre, equipped by ARK in the not too  distant future too.

We make as  much use of the new facilities as we can but they can’t deal with  everything. They’re sometimes overloaded or unable to respond quickly  enough and they can’t deal with animals which will require repeated or  prolonged treatment, cancers or chronic conditions. ARK will still be  needed, to treat the more difficult (and expensive) casualties.

The  45 animals treated by our vets included 18 cats needing surgery (seven  of which were neutered at the same time), 20 cats treated with medicines  and one dog was neutered while receiving surgical treatment. The total  cost was 53,190tl.

In  addition our shelter team took 14 cats to be neutered and an unknown  number of animals with minor injuries and infections were treated by our  volunteers.

Our shelter team  are enjoying their new role and have also been called upon to assist the  shelter staff in their duties at particularly busy times.

We  spent 8,160tl on food, which may seem a lot but with the price of a bag  of medium quality dried food now approaching 1,000tl and a can of wet  food nearly 50tl it’s really very little.

Sundries,  such as cleaning materials and medicines accounted for another 350tl  making our total expenditure for the month 61,700tl.

Donations  and fundraising events provided an income of 57,473tl leaving a  shortfall of 4,227tl, not a good position to be in at the beginning of  winter especially as we will soon have a tax bill and professional  services to pay.

If you can find it in your heart to help, please visit www.arktr.org - without our supporters we can do nothing.

Thank you for caring . . .

 The  weather in September continued to be kind, dry and not too hot or windy.  Schools, both here and abroad head reopened and the number of summer  visitors, tourists and the associated traffic had greatly decreased. The  animals were well nourished and the conditions didn’t favour the spread  of viruses. As a result our vets had a quiet month, treating only 22  animals. Five cats and three dogs needed surgery, twelve cats and two  dogs were treated with medicines. Our total vets bill was 34,775 tl,  with the surgery for just one cat costing 20,000tl. A further 4,835 tl  was spent on food and 150 tl on cleaning materials and sundry items,  making our total expenditure for the month 39,760 tl, which was 12,000  tl more than we received in donations. We need to recoup this deficit  before winter comes with the increase in disease and traffic accidents. 

I’ve  saved the best news until the last. Our loyal and hard working Shelter  Team have had a change of role. Additional staff have been recruited and  our volunteers are no longer asked to clean litter trays, scrub floors  or wash soiled bedding. Instead they’re grooming and playing with the  animals, giving them individual human contact and tender loving care.

If you would like to support us in our mission and enable us to face the rapidly approaching winter please visit

www.arktr,org

without our supporters we can do nothing.

Unbelievably,  the heat and humidity further intensified in August with even night  time temperatures in the 30s.  Accordingly most animals (and sensible  humans who were able) sought respite in shade and sleep. As a result,  our vets had a quiet month with only 24 animals treated, one dog and  seven cats required surgery, 16 cats received medication and a further  12 were taken for neutering to the shelter. One of the cats had two  broken legs which cost 10,000 tl to repair and another cost 3,000 tl.  The total vets’ bills were 31,662 tl and we spent 3,200 tl on food,  making our total expenditure for the month 34,862tl.

Our  members  were busy, however, planning activities for the future, We  enjoyed a fund raising event at ARK Gold Partner Deja Vu Marine by Uğur and organised on the night by Mary. The bar was filled to capacity and Uğur had to acquire additional furniture and change the layout to fit everyone in. Gary Martin,  assisted by the more melodic of the audience, kept us all entertained  and the venue staff efficiently supplied us with food and drink.

ARK, alone of the animal groups of Kuşadası, had committed ourselves to equipping the planned Kuşadası Belediye neutering centre and committee member Arda,  who volunteered to manage the project for us, soon sourced the items  needed at advantageous prices. ARK’s Gold Partner, wonderful dentist Merve,  provided the dental surgery instruments and ARK’s funds purchased two  operating tables, two sets of surgical instruments, an autoclave,  refridgerator, oxygen cylinder with accresssories, two sets of cat  handling gloves, two electric razors, ten cat boxes and a net, we also  anticipate being asked to help with further equipment in the future.

We’re looking forward to the opening of the centre and, on a lighter note, to the fundraising event organised by the Saray restaurant on 18 September with entertainment by Haluk Ozege and a three course meal by the Saray chefs.

If you could help our work with your time, skills or donations please visit

www.arktr,org

without our supporters we can do nothing.

Our shelter team, at times depleted as members had work and visitor commitments continued to provide extra care and comfort to the most vulnerable residents of the shelter. It’s hard work in all weathers but so rewarding. Could you join them. Conditions at the shelter are constantly  improving thanks to the dedication of the our team, the caring staff, the veterinarians under the leadership of Shelter Manager Fulya and the Mayor of Kuşadası.

Our shelter team, at times depleted as members had work and visitor committments continued to provide extra care and comfort to the most vulnerable residents of the shelter. It’s hard work in all weathers but so rewarding. Could you join them. Conditions at the shelter are constantly  improving thanks to the dedication of the our team, the caring staff, the veterinarians under the leadership of Shelter Manager Fulya and the Mayor of Kuşadası.

Following some relatively quiet months our panel of vets was very busy. Only 36 animals were treated in total; two dogs and 34 cats but  ten of those cats required surgery, having been involved in road traffic accidents. Two operations cost over 10,000 tl each and another four over 6,000 tl. Our total vets’ bill was 60,700 tl. Add our food and incidental costs of3,800 tl and our total expenditure for the month came to 64,500, the highest for several months. We would normally struggle to pay this amount but, fortunately  we had received some bigger than usual donations and our total income of 73,000 tl covered this comfortably. 

So where’s the excitement and challenge? ARK and our partners have embarked on projects which will benefit the street animals of Kuşadası, and also the residents and visitors for many years to come. Keep watching our posts for details. To fund these projects we need to raise, in addition to our running costs 300,000 tl.

If you can help us in either our daily costs or these projects please visit 

www.arktr.org and mark your aid as either ‘’daily’’ or ‘’projects’’

Without our supporters we can do nothing

Thank you for caring.

ARK in June 

.First mention this month must go to our shelter team. They carry on performing their sometimes unseen and unthanked tasks regardless of the weather. Towards the second half of the month, as it still is today, it became so hot that, after about nine o’clock in the morning, all that most of us were capable of doing was turning on the air conditioning and the robot vacuum cleaner before opening a cold drink. Even getting to the shelter would have been too much. Our team however continued to clean, scrub and launder, to cook tasty, nutritious, dishes at home, to feed, medicate, cuddle and love the unfortunate residents. Well done to you all. New volunteers to assist will be made most welcome.

 We must also give huge thanks to the owners and staff at Sherwoods Restaurant on Ladies Beach for organising and hosting their “White Party “ to welcome summer and raise money for the benefit of the street animals in Kuşadası. More than 120 people had a wonderful evening and Sherwood donated      17,000 tl      to ARK. Thank you so much, may you have a very successful season.

The number of animals needing our help in June was very low, probably because very few ventured far afield. Our vets operated on   five cats and treated.....25.more 12 cats were taken for neutering at the shelter. Five dogs were treated,..none.. needed surgery.

Our vets bills totalled..18000.. tl and we spent..2600.... tl on food. Including cleaning materials and sundry items, our total expenditure for the month was.21100.. tl

When I was a boy I reckoned my wealth and compared prices in terms of how many Mars bars I could buy. As a young soldier my standard currency became pints of beer. Now when I look at our bank account I see so many lira, an increase on this time last year but, unfortunately, in terms of doses of antibiotics or repairs to broken limbs we have only 25-30% of what we could afford a year ago. The situation is getting worse as many of our former regular donors are being hit hard by rising prices and have written to say that they can no longer help us with money. Our income is plummeting. If you could help please visit our website

www.arktr.org 

It’s not the size of your donation that is important but the size of your heart.

Thank you for caring

 ARK in May

Summer made several attempts to reach Kuşadası in May but was beaten back by winter after just a couple of days every time. However, the inclement weather failed to delay the start of the holiday season and, by the middle of the month the seafront  was thronged with people determined to enjoy themselves, albeit wearing fleeces and sweaters. ARK benefitted from the arrival of the tourists thanks to  two very successful social events; a Coronation party held at Palm Beach Restaurant by Serpil Atlı which raised 5,280tl and a Coffee and Information morning hosted by Uğur at Deja Vu Marın which raised 1,667tl.            

The arrival of tourists brings an increase in traffic and unfortunately an increase in injuries to street animals. One cat alone had broken bones which needed surgery costing 6,500tl funded by ARK and ARK contributed 8,500tl towards the 19,500tl needed to treat another.

In total ARK paid for treatment for one dog and 45 cats, nine of which needed surgery to be treated by our vets at a total cost of 37,850tl. Two cats were also neutered during their operations. 

Our shelter team took 12 cats for neutering in addition to devoting hours of their time, often in pouring rain, to cleaning, feeding, comforting and loving the residents.

ARK spent a little over 2,000tl on food for the most vulnerable in the shelter or being looked after by foster carers and a further 500tl on cleaning, wet food and other materials bring our total expenditure for the month to just under 40,500 tl which was only just covered by donations and the organisers of the social events.

Every penny, cent and kurüş helps.

Thank you to all of our kind donors and volunteers - without you we can do nothing.

- Alan (Animal Rescue Kusadasi)

April saw winter return with a vengeance with rain and icy winds persisting until the end of the month. Nevertheless our shelter team braved the elements to take love, comfort  and special care to the most vulnerable of the captive residents.

Despite the weather we treated relatively few animals, two dogs needed surgery, one at a cost of 6,500 tl, and two were treated with medicine, three cats had surgery and were neutered at the same time, the shelter team took a further 12 cats to be neutered at the shelter and 23 cats were treated with medicines. In all 30 animals were treated at a total cost of 28,500 tl.

There were no major outbreaks of disease, the majority of the medical cases were eye and mouth infections. 

An aside,  last week Ann, a few friends and I visited Catalhöyük, the world’s oldest-known walled settlement, which around 9,000 years ago had a population of more than 8,000. Our guide explained that examination of the many skeletons found there revealed that the main causes of death were mouth and eye infections. Today’s street cats still die of the same, but they are now easily cured if caught in time and treated by skilled vets.

ARK spent a further 6,000 tl on food for the most vulnerable animals in the shelter, Ephesus Cats and foster care, taking our total expenditure to slightly over 34,500 tl which was just covered by 36,500 tl donations received.

If you could help us continue in our mission of saving street animals in distress, please visit

arktr.org and click on donations.

Every penny, cent and kurüş helps.

Without your support, we can do nothing . . .

- Alan (Animal Rescue Kusadasi)