PAWS was formed in 2000 by a few ardent expatriats to attempt to lessen the plight of stray dogs and cats on the island. Being so small an island we had insufficient work for a permanent Vet and so our pets also went undoctored.

We achieved Charity status in 2001 and with the help of the Mayor and his staff we now have a well appointed clinic and a visit once a month by an exceptional Vet, Yiannis, and his assistant Jane from the nearby island of Aegina who tends our pets and attends to the needs of our strays. Our main aim for the strays and feral cats is to feed and neuter and we have dealt with some 500 cats and 50 dogs since we started. We also have visits from "Friends of the Cat Veterinaries" from time to time.

We started with little income organizing dinners and other various fund raisers and now have a manageable income, but are still in need of contribution so as to continue to care for the wellbeing of the animals. Should anyone wish to contribute we have a bank account at the Alpha Bank, Poros, under the name of "PAWS", and be assured the money will be well used. All monies go 100% to the animals. All workers are volunteers who do not take any money at all. See PAWS address for postage cheques, postal order etc.

We have managed to find homes for quite a number of cats and dogs though there are still many cats which we cannot neuter due to local beliefs and so that will always be an ongoing problem, but at least for the most part we have a healthy set of animals. Dogs are now under control and we have only four strays who are adorable and which we hope to house this year.

In 2005 The Royal Society for the Provention of Cruelty to Animals (R.S.P.C.A.) gave us a Certificate of Recognition on Level 1 to the year 2010, and have supplied us with two animal collection boxes which stand at the quayside earning some Euros from the tourists.
 

We do have Friends of PAWS membership for Overseas Members so please contact us if you are interested. The fee for this is 10 Euros. It can be posted to the PAWS address. You will receive membership card + number + updates throughout the year.

Greece has a dreadful reputation for poisoning in the most dreadful manner their unwanted or feral animals, and we are always on the lookout to educate and stop this behaviour, though with the younger people a better concern and understanding is appearing, and often the younger people are looking after the strays and helping us find homes for them. We have a great number of yachts visiting the island during the summer and regretfully their owners sometimes abandon their pets when it is time to leave (often seeing dogs running up and down the quayside looking for them) and this is another problem we have to fight and which constitutes the main number of our stray dogs, which sadly find it hard to adapt to wild living after being kept as pets.