Pezi guard

I’ve been working on this ongoing project for a while now and although it hasn’t finished exactly the way I expected I feel I have something decent enough to show and describe.

The curious thing about dogs on Ikaria is that a lot, if not most of them, end up tied to about 2m of rope, in the middle of nowhere. Quite often without water and food. They last, for as long as they do, roasting in the sun with minimal shade and get replaced by another poor canine soul.

Pezi guard

The purpose of all this nonsense (to the common outsider) is supposedly to keep the goats away from roads and villages. Whether a dog can effectively do this, tied down as it is, is something I’ll let everyone decide for themselves.

Ag. Isidoros guard

I have talked to one of the shepherds about this practice, specifically I wondered why they refuse to use dogs proactively for guarding, herding, driving and other similar duties that resulted in such wonderful breeds as appenzellers, collies, kelpies and other sheep/cattle dogs. (see dogbreedinfo > flock guardians & herding dogs). I didn’t get a definitive answer but I did manage to raise some interest and ended up describing how dogs work with animals elsewhere. So maybe there’s hope. Maybe it’s not just a case of lack of interest, time and energy but more a case of lack of information.

Kalamos guard

Whatever it is, it constantly amazes me how incredibly friendly all these dogs are, despite their miserable existence and ultimate fate. They will greet you enthusiastically and most will assume a submissive position if you approach, then start playing if you feel so inclined. Quite unlike what I’d expect…

Ag. Dimitrios guard

June 15th came and went and I totally forgot about it! June 15th 2007 marks the birthday of the fantastic 8, the H-Gang and I missed their first celebration.

This tiny creature above became the big kahuna below (photo taken in March so he’s probably even bigger now)

I wish I had photos of the remaining 7 at hand but, sadly, I don’t. Miss you guys!

happy b-day

Dogs here at the base have mastered the art of tick collecting down to perfection. A day does not go by without finding at least 1, but usually there are about 5 sucking up blood on various parts of their tiny bodies. It’s amazing they have any left come to think of it…

Frasier on Zizokampos

What’s even more amazing is that ticks, so far, have shown no interest in human blood. Back home you’d probably find similar numbers on yourself after walking through such obvious tick hot spots.

Pepper

The cat is also a safe bet for ticks but, unlike the dogs, she refuses to stay still long enough for me to get them off. Can’t say I didn’t try though…