Greek vet Lefteris Gallidis contacted PAWS at the end of 2023 offering a 5 day cat neutering visit in February 2024. This was a new venture for the charity as previously we had arranged for UK vet teams to visit Paxos in April or May. However, the visit was a huge success as can be seen from the details below:
Lefteris arrived by ferry from Thessaloniki with 2 assistants Ismini & Maria and his beautiful dog Duki on Friday 23rd February. They were met by Faye and taken to the PAWS municipal clinic where 11 cats were waiting to be neutered! The team settled in very quickly and seemed very impressed by the set up at the clinic. Over the next 5 days, they neutered 90 cats as well as attending to 7 consultations which included an elderly cat that was found at the gate of the clinic. The cat which the team named Flora was in much need of love and attention and is now currently living permanently at the PAWS clinic. Sadly, on the 25th, another small black cat brought in badly injured and put immediately onto an intravenous drip didn’t survive.
On the last day, Lefteris hosted a group of schoolchildren at the PAWS clinic. He explained about the importance of animal welfare, demonstrated a canine examination using his dog Duki and showed them the care we were giving the elderly cat Flora. Education is so important for creating a more compassionate world for all creatures great and small. PAWS is extremely grateful to Lefteris in supporting this project.
Everyone worked extremely hard to make this visit a success and PAWS is very grateful to Lefteris and his team and all the volunteers on Paxos that helped.
After his return, Lefteris sent a lovely email saying how much he enjoyed the work –
“It was an amazing experience. I have been to other islands and shelters, but the PAWS clinic was by far the best. Everything was organised to the last detail. The team and volunteers were great which motivated me even more!”
Lefteris was born in Thessaloniki and graduated from the Aristotle University in 2004 after which he worked on Obstetrics and Reproduction for 3 years. He has his own practice in Kardia which he started in 2007 and also has a PhD in Parasitology. He is currently the main vet for Animal Compassion Europe which is based in Germany.
Amazingly, or maybe not, Lefteris owns 14 rescue dogs and 13 rescue cats!
PAWS sends a huge thank you to Lefteris, Ismini & Maria and hopes that they will all return to Paxos in 2025.
