THERE IS ALWAYS A WAY TO HELP ANIMALS IN NEED!

Here is a letter we received from one of our longtime supporters Kemal:)

"About 10 years ago, I made a promise to myself to find a way to contribute to the wellbeing of shelter animals in Turkey. However, as someone living in the Netherlands for a very long time (but also having a place in and visiting Turkey often), I was not sure of what I could do, except for monetary contributions here and there.  As luck would have it, my searches somehow led me to Sibel Akin, who happened to live close to where I lived in Çeşme. So, I contacted and visited her to ask what I could possibly do to give a helping hand to their cause. Until then I was not even aware of PIT’s adoption system abroad.  So, after having learned of my frequent back and forth travels between Turkey and the Netherlands, I was asked if I could perhaps be a flight volunteer.  I absolutely had no idea what this was, but still said yes, assuming that it is obviously something they needed.  

And so started my now 8 year old affiliation with PIT: That was august 2018.  Me, my wife and our 6 month old daughter, having a 6am flight from Izmir to Amsterdam, and we are accompanying a small dog in its box to be united with its new humans.  I had no idea what I was supposed to be doing exactly from start to finish, so perhaps I was a bit nervous in the beginning. However, once the whole thing was done, what I felt was one of the most gratifying and rewarding experience of my life. So much so that I kinda got hooked on to it. Doing something so little that requires almost nothing on your side to feel this great and to contribute a rescued animal's second chance are inexplicably heartwarming sensations.  

My travels between Turkey and the Netherlands are not as frequent now, but still each time before I am coming to Turkey, I notify PIT to see if there’re any pending paws waiting to go home.  I lost count of it, but I guess during this time, I consider myself super lucky, to have helped unite probably upwards of 20 dogs and 5 cats. And every single time, I try to take a picture with the new owners and the dogs/cats that I help bring, and those moments are simply priceless.  A new lease of life for animals who deserved much better and now got that second chance thanks to PIT’s insane efforts. 

Of course there’re many other ways of contributing to PIT’s cause.  Mine was just one of them.  And I continue doing this with such gratitude and enthusiasm that it has brushed up on my daughter too, who insists on helping the same way.  If I can pass down to my daughter one great thing in life, this should be right up there.  Although what I’ve done during this time has been awesome and insanely rewarding, it’s still next to nothing compared to all those people behind the curtain who are struggling daily in the worsening conditions in Turkey for stray animals.  To me, they are the real, proper heroes.  Long they may continue in their cause. "

We thank so much to Kemal, his wife Inna and their daughter Emma for their on-going help and contributions since the beginning of our journey!

When we join forces, miracles do happen...