Fundraiser to rescue disabled puppies from Turkey

Severn Valley Rescue said: "Disabled animals is something we specialise in, and they need us."

A Shropshire animal rescue is fundraising to bring two disabled puppies from Turkey to the UK to give them specialist care.

Severn Valley Rescue, in Bridgnorth, has joined forces with Aydin Animal Charity, which rescued Muffin and Smiley from an area of Aydin called Death Valley.

Muffin was found crying after having been hit by a car and consequently had to have his leg amputated.

Smiley, who only has half a nose, was found with his dead siblings after being dumped under a pile of rocks, and was screaming out of fear, rescuers said.

"We don’t usually get involved with dogs abroad, but these pair really need some specialist help which we feel we can provide - so we hope our supporters won’t mind us branching out further afield, and will get behind us in helping them," a Severn Valley Rescue spokesperson said.

'Survival chances low'

"The pair will be fully vaccinated and neutered before arriving in the UK, where they will be checked over at the Southwater Vets in Telford to get them ready for a fantastic life in Shropshire."

Founded in 2020, the Aydin Animal Charity has five volunteers in Turkey and five in the UK, who work to provide food, water, and shelter for stray dogs.

Every two days, the Turkish volunteers will take food and water out to stray dogs in the area and see if any are in need of medical care.

Sayuri Walker, who lives in Clapham, is the interim chair of the charity.

"The chances of surviving out there are very low for a disabled dog," she told the BBC.

"Smiley and Muffin are doing much much better, they are in foster care and will stay there until their injuries have healed.

Muffin had to have a leg amputated after being hit by a car

"Both puppies have been so lucky to get an offer for the UK. I doubt they would last too long if they were to go back to the plains. The chances would not be good for these babies."

Mrs Walker said many areas of Turkey were "very anti-dog" and that people had thrown stones at their volunteers, once even pulling a gun on one of their team.

Volunteers previously bought 100 kennels for dogs to be put in safe spaces around the area, but immediately someone hammered them apart.

'Abuse is rife'

"We're now getting land so we can build a shelter of our own," Mrs Walker told the BBC.

However, the most traumatic incident for the charity was when someone poisoned the water they had left out for their animals, leading to the deaths of 40 dogs.

"We lost another nine a month ago," Mrs Walker said. "Animals will take anything, so we don't leave water troughs anymore, we have to take them away with us after giving the dogs a drink."

Speaking about animal abuse in Aydin, Mrs Walker said: "This is rife, it happens every day. We had a puppy shot this morning.

"Someone previously burnt down the reeds a colony of dogs were living in. The bigger dogs got out but 30 to 40 puppies died.

"Dogs are a very divisive topic in Turkey."