As with many places in the Mediterranean, there were plenty of stray dogs in North Cyprus. It was interesting to see though, that the ones in Kyrenia at least had been “adopted” by an animal welfare charity – they are tagged, neutered, innoculated, de-wormed, and then released back on to the streets where both the locals and the tourists feed them. Last year, someone had given the dogs cardboard boxes lined with newspaper to sleep in – a slight improvement from the bare pavement. This year, I noted that this had been upgraded to a “dog hotel”.
Dog hotel – also note the legacy British post-box
The dogs seemed very happy – lots of waggy tails, and they didn’t intimidate people or beg from them at all. But they did have a tendency to latch on to a group of tourists, and stick with us throughout a visit. They clearly knew the route as well as our guide did, and would bound ahead, stopping every now and then and looking round as if to say “Keep up, you lot!”.
On the last day of the trip, I noticed one of the strays strutting around Kyrenia, looking very dapper in a purple jumper that someone must have given him. He did look very pleased with himself, with his sleeves rolled up so his paws were sticking out, and the buttons done up around his neck!
Purple jumper
