An URGENT appeal:

Will you help save these dogs from execution?

Dear Reader,

She was terrified ...
... trembling and wetting herself.
When she'd seen us, the frightened dog came crawling out of the undergrowth on the wasteland next to our hotel in Hisaronu, Turkey.

We bent down to fuss her and saw she was in a state with fleas, ticks and very thin. We rushed to the nearby shop to get her some food, fed her and left water.

It became a pattern.

Every morning and evening she's wait for us to feed her. Wagging her tail, she'd snuggle in for fuss & cuddles and we named her Olive.

Life on the streets is beyond tough for any dog. But unlike here in the UK where there's several well funded charities who'll help, Turkish street dogs have it much harder.
Many are run over, poisoned, starved, die of disease, or get taken to death shelters where they don't stand a chance.
There was no way could simply forget about Olive when we came home, we had to help her.

Asking around we quickly realised there were no rehoming charities in the area. Fortunately I've helped with UK rescues for 23 years so had an idea of what needed to be done.

We set up a "Gofundme" account online, asking friends and family to donate. Then contacted a local company who specialise in transporting animals.

They explained what needed to be done and the costs involved. We immediately asked them to go and collect Olive.

With her place in a foster home secured, Olive was taken to the vet to begin her treatments. These include flea and worming tablets, mixed vaccinations as well as blood and rabies tests.
It was here we discovered she was only a puppy - just five months old!
Now Olive was safe we thought we could enjoy the last few days of our holiday. But two days before leaving, sat on a mound of mud close to where we'd first met Olive was another, very similar looking dog.

And this quivering, emaciated dog was in a far worse condition to how we'd found Olive.

Speaking to some locals we learned she was Olive's sister and they'd been dumped together. She'd never survive on her own, leaving her would be a death sentence.
We knew we had to save her too ...
We named her Eva. And, leaving some food, called the animal transport company to ask them to collect her.

However, Eva was so petrified you couldn't touch her, or even get close enough to grab her.

They patiently tried for hours to catch her. In the end, it took a little sedative in her food to make it possible.

Eva was taken to join her sister in foster. And their fabulous "foster mummy" started working with them, getting the girls ready to be rehomed.

Back in England, it was time to find Olive and Eva their forever homes.

Being "Kangals" the sisters were going to be large dogs with certain quirks associated with their breed. So there'd have to be homechecks to ensure they were going to the right home
- and a contingency plan in case things didn't work out.
My friend, Elaine and I agreed we'd be the back up for one each. We setup a Facebook page and appealed for home.

There were a few applications but two stood out; one in Cornwall, the other in Yorkshire.

After chatting to them both sounded like ideal families. So I headed to Cornwall while Elaine travelled to Yorkshire.

We rapidly established the homes were perfect and in December last year Olive and Eva made the long journey by road to their new families.

We get regular updates showing he girls settled into their beautiful new homes. I even went to visit Eva in Cornwall back in May where I finally got to touch her.



"It's honestly the best feeling see them so well and happy."

In Turkey there are an estimated 4 million dogs struggling to survive on the country's streets.

And with a new law passing through Turkey's parliament, their lives look to be getting even tougher ...

Dubbed the "Massacre Law", animal lovers fear it will lead to many dogs being killed or end up neglected in overcrowded shelters.

Murat Emir, a senior deputy with the opposition Republican People's Party questioned why the bill called for healthy and unaggressive animals to be collected if they were not to be killed.

And given the question of how the cash-strapped municipalities will find the money to build the necessary extra shelters, a murderous purge of street dogs is a worrying real possibility.
As you can see, Olive and Eva are the - very - lucky ones.
When people saw what we'd done for them, I began to get asked to help other dogs. These included puppies born on the street ...
... dogs dumped with broken bones ...
... and a puppy whose ears had been cut off by children - they'd tried to do the same with his tail!

Wanting to help as many as possible, I set up "Turkish Tails Animal Rescue".

So far we've rescued 43 dogs from the Turkish streets and placed them in foster care.

Some are now living happily in the UK with their new families. The others are waiting for their chance to come here to enjoy their "furever" home.

Making it happen is hard work. But the reward is seeing them happy and settled with families who will love them forever.

However, at a cost of £2,357 per dog, it's not cheap. And there are always more dogs we'd love to help
- right now there's 19 waiting for their chance of a safe life and happiness.
So I'm writing to ask for your help. To ask if you'll make a generous gift to Turkish Tails.

Yes! I'd like to help save dogs like Olive & Eva from the death shelters and get them to their furever homes


Turkish Tails is fully volunteer run and we have no premises or other outgoings. This means every single penny you give is used to help Turkish street dogs.

Will you help us get these innocent, vulnerable dogs out of danger - from both their environment and the new "Massacre Law" - into safe, loving foster care and then onto their furever home?

Your kind donation of £100, £20, £15, £10, or £7 quite literally gives a dog a second chance at life.

Please help them if you can.


Thank you for caring,



Lisa Wilkes
Founder, Turkish Tails Animal Rescue.

PS Won't you help us get the stray dogs of Turkey off the streets, away from danger, injury and being left to die.

What's more, with Turkey's new "Massacre Law" imminent, their situation is even more perilous as they face a short, uncared for existence in a death shelter.

Your generous gift of £100, £20, £15, £10 or £7 will help us save them and find them a forever loving home here in the UK.

Please give what you can today.

I'd like to help