We are DASH

Our mission

DASH stands for ‘Dream of a Safe Haven’, it’s our sole mission to provide a safe haven in our shelter for hundreds of homeless, starving and abused dogs that could die without our help and refuge.

Our shelter is in Messini in the Peloponnese region of mainland Greece.

Why we help Greek Dogs?

The number of stray dogs on the streets of Greece runs into millions.
 
Due to the Greek economy many citizens have found it necessary to abandoned family pets due to the cost of feeding them.
 
Today, these once family pets have bread and millions of stray dogs now live difficult and unhappy lives on the streets.
 
Starvation, disease and abuse of stray dogs in Greece are an everyday occurrence.
 
Thousands of stray dogs die of heat exposure and thirst in the summer and in the winter freeze to death with no warmth, shelter or food.
 
Worse still many stray dogs fall victim to a slow death of death by poisoning in an attempt for some Greek villages to control the number of strays.
 
Many stray dogs are treated as vermin and are horrifically tortured.
 
These are just some of the reasons we at DASH are desperate to do all that we can to help Greek Dogs.
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We need your help

We operate solely by volunteers and are reliant upon public donations in money and in kind.

At DASH, we provide care, love, food and veterinary treatment and facilitate adoptions for as many dogs as we are able.

In the longer term are aim is to work alongside the local municipalities to ‘neuter, chip and release’ healthy dogs so that they can be monitored and protected.

We’re also committed to changing the Greek attitude to stray dogs by delivering education programmes in local schools and churches.

Meet our team of volunteers

Katerina

Katerina one of the 2 founding members of DASH. She is the very heart and soul of the shelter and knows each of the individual dogs at DASH.

Katerina oversees daily operations at the shelter, regularly goes out on rescue missions, and conducts the DASH education program which reaches out to local communities, endeavoring to change the outdated culture and attitude to animals in Greece.

Julie

Julie was a mental health nurse in her previous life.

Julie handles all the administration and communication at DASH and supports Katerina from the UK and regularly visits the shelter to assist. Julie recently trained as a dog groomer and has been able to put her skills to very good use!

Julie owns 4 rescue dogs, 3 of which came from Greece.

Patrick

Before joining the small team at DASH, Patrick worked in Construction. His DIY skills come in very handy at the shelter, which, combined with his love for dogs, makes him invaluable.
Patrick owns 5 rescue dogs and one rescued pig – who he has named Bacon!

Morgan

Morgan is a veterinary nurse, loves big dogs, owns a rescued St Bernard & a Great Dane and assists with social media

Ian

Ian was also a mental health nurse in his previous life. Today, Ian arranges UK food donations, coordinates logistics in the UK and regularly travels to Greece to carry out maintenance work at the shelter.

Nik

Is Son to Julie and Ian – it’s a family full of dog lovers!

Nik was inspired to help by his parents and as well as helping DASH also works as a trained drugs counsellor.

Anna & Andrea

Anna lives locally in Kalamata and works at the shelter almost every day.

Anna often brings her daughter; Andrea to help out too! Besides caring for the dogs at the shelter, Anna assists us with our educational program, teaching children to care for and respect animals.

Vasiliea

Another local, Vasilea is instrumental in supporting the shelter by being out and about in the local area.

Vasiliea liaises with vets and suppliers, goes out on rescues and even does the accounts.

Miranda

Miranda is an ambassador for DASH, having discovered the shelter after rescuing a poorly pup from a local beach on her family holiday. In her other life, Miranda is a Fashion & Beauty Editor, Celebrity Stylist and TV Presenter. She visits the shelter regularly and runs awareness campaigns across the media.

DASH news

Thank you for your support!

We’d also like to thank the support of these organisations:
 
• GAR (Greek Animal Rescue)
• PHOK verein der Tierfreunde Kalamata
• KAWS (Kalamata Welfare Society)
• Friends of the Strays of Greece
• Thompson Pet Transport
 
Could your company help too?
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