Rescuing a dog in Greece - The Rogue Consultant

The Road South

After an epic couple of days in Romania, we started the descent from Transfăgărășan to Greece. Once in Greece, Katy and I planned to relax for a couple of weeks before commencing stages ‘X’, ‘E’, ‘R’ and ‘B’. The journey south would take roughly 12 hours and cover 850 km!

The Route South

Right from the off, progress was slow. Much like their counterparts in the north, road conditions in southern Romania were treacherous. The need for constant vigilance was made difficult by the breathtaking scenery…

Beautiful Romania

Before arriving in Greece, we had to cross the Danube and drive through Bulgaria. This epic river divides Romania and Bulgaria, the border follows it’s meandering course.

The Danube Border

I decided to cross at Turnu Magurele – an unpredictable and infrequent car ferry. We had a few hours to kill so decided to make the most of them and head down to the riverside. As it turns out, the Turnu Magurele port is situated right next to a quirky little beach club – Briza Dunării. The atmosphere was pumping so Katy indulged in a beer whilst I sipped my Sprite with envy.

Katy on the beach at Turnu Magurele

A couple enjoying the Danube sunset

An afternoon on the beach whetted our appetite for more of the same. As a result, once in Bulgaria, I took the decision to drive through the night and get us down to Greece asap. Early the following morning we finally reached the Greek border and, before long, were camped at the foot of Mt. Olympus. Relax…

Greece

In Greece, we spent the majority of our time in and around the area of Litochoro. More specifically, our days consisted of cold beers and sun on Variko Beach. This huge, sandy beach sits in the shadow of Mt. Olympus and faces the Aegean Sea – it’s an incredibly beautiful, relatively undiscovered place to spend a relaxed couple of weeks…

BBQ on Variko Beach

View of Mt. Olympus from the beautiful town of Litochoro

Betty's Story

It was on this very beach that Katy and I noticed we were not alone. A shaggy, flea-ridden dog was shadowing our every move. If we needed to go to the shops, she followed us and waited outside. When we went to sleep, she slept under the van. If we left for the day, she sat awaiting our return. After a week, we decided to take action and work out how we could help her…

Hiding by our sun loungers

Waking up and finding her sleeping outside the door

The first port of call was local animal rescue charities. Unfortunately, all of the local sanctuaries and organisations were full and desperately under-funded. It was a no go. The second option was to take her to a vet, get a check up and seek some advice. This we did.

Betty’s first trip to the vet

Can we keep her?

Whilst conducting his examination, our vet told us more about the plight of local shelters and the dire need for more funding. At this point, the thought that had been creeping it’s way into our respective minds spilled out: ‘how do we get her back to the UK?’ After a long and detailed conversation covering the rules, procedures and next steps, we agreed to rescue her. Betty was coming with us. When rescuing a dog from Greece, medical tests, vaccinations, checklists and timelines must be adhered to – at some point, I will cover these in a separate blog post. The decision meant we were very delayed in Greece and had weeks to kill whilst the vaccination timelines were followed. It’s safe to say, we now know Variko Beach, Litchoro and Mt Olympus extremely well indeed.

Relaxing with her new family

After a final visit to the vet, her EU passport was ready and we were free to continue the rest of our adventure. And then there were three…

Let’s go

Post-tour Update

Betty is now happy and settled back in the UK with us. We have been taking her for regular check ups at our new UK vet – who have confirmed that she is remarkably healthy considering her tough life in Greece. They also agreed with our Greek vet that she is probably around 15 months old and very lucky to be off the now freezing beach!

Here’s a few of Betty’s firsts: