Phil Johns

I need to put this into words, After all you all know we our lost loved, protected andsupervised dog lost his many years to come, because he thought he knew better. He was my Diefer he was my 39th birthday present from my wife and daughter,
He probably lived quite a boring life in the UK for 7 years. He came to Turkey with us, he had little choice. Here in Turkey we wished to give him more freedom (when appropriate) as he didn't have to say to us see you later because we were going out to work all day.
We do not not will not regret bringing him here, he had many wonderful times, walking around the coastal path, playing stones in the water. We do not live in a tourist area, and I do not want to defend how we let Diefer live his life here by the sea, with the companionship he got from our adopted street dogs and our British friends dog, only to say we were always responsible owners. (no details required). Diefer was a great ambassador for canine human relationships, last summer many Turkish mums brought their children to our house to stroke our dog, our local shopkeeper amused Diefer by showing his friends how clever he was in telling a dog what to do and the dog obeyed the instruction regardless of the language barrier, so ask yourselves, who was the clever one there?

I feel I am digressing here,So I will get to the point Maybe!! eventually, As this is a subject you we can talk about for ever. We as a couple are not anti Turkey and do not subscribe to the Brit bar way of life, having said that I am not a snob was never wealthy and have tattoos, and I like an English breakfast sometimes.

What needs to be said is that I was anti and still am, the neuter and release regulation, however since this has all happened it has been explained to me that this procedure is the law. The government decreed that no healthy animal may be destroyed and therefore the only way to naturally control the dog population was by the reduction of births. Hence as they release, the unwanted innocent animals and loved pets be they cat or dog, become tragic victims of illegal culls. The people who care for these creatures and take them through the programme are distraught that they are being destroyed in this callous manor and are striving to re-educate and enforce the laws of this land.

Progress takes time, but the more people who take a stand against these acts of barbarism regardless of their nationality, race or creed the better. We personally know many of the human carers of the latest victims, and I can assure you the tears shed are not only British.

But "Hey" who I am I? I've just lost my best mate!!!!!and he weren't into politics he didn't know

abla

i am so sorry

Struggs

My heartfelt sympathy to you and your family Phil, I am a devout animal lover and if that had happened to me, I would be totally heartbroken, devastated and very, very bitter. I just hope the scum who done this, get their just desserts.

sherazaat

I'm very sorry to hear about the loss of Diefer.
Unfortunately you are telling a very true story: a couple of years ago the same thing happened in a town near Samsun, Black Sea. It is the town where my husband's family lives. We used to spend half of the year there before we had children, but we did have a dog, which we brought over from Europe. She was never allowed to go out without guidance, but that was because my parents in law live in the main street of the town and it would not have been appopriate to let her out on her own.
Not long after we left there, we heard that many dogs had been poisoned, including the neighbours'. They were angry and sad, but didn't have any one to turn to, as this is Turkey, a country where the right of the strongest still stands...

We now live in an estate in Bodrum, and fortunately our dog is still with us. But during the first months we got complaints from dog-scared people, and one resident who had spent his life in Germany (Turkish though) claimed our dog was dangerous (she's an American Staffordshire) saying she was a pitbull. He didn't get his way with the complex management because our dog is very kind and it shows. So he decided to poison her. Luckily the poison wasn't strong enough but it had her very ill for a couple of days.

About 1 year ago I took the dog and my baby out for a walk. At some point, we came accross a place where 4 dogs were agressively barking at us. I passed quietly but still afraid, but as soon as we had our backs turned to the dogs, one dog attacked and the others followed. Our dog immediately defended us and got hurt on the throat and head. The owner of the dogs heard the noise and separated the fighting dogs. In the process he got a small wound on his hand and claimed our dog had bitten him. To my luck a neighbour of mine who was very familiar with our dog just passed by and he took the dog while I took the baby and so we went home, in shock.
A few days later the 'Zabita' came by because they had received a complaint about a wild dog that had bitten a person. Our dog obviously. Instead of barking or being agressive to the zabita people, she quietly stepped to them and let them pet her.... When our neighbours saw what was going on, they all came out of their homes and told the zabita they couldn't take our dog away saying she was the only dog on the complex they trusted and that she was so kind! I was really moved to get such neighbourly support!!

Today we can let her out from time to time on her own, as she too has her 'stray' dog friends, and all the people on the complex are convinced of her friendliness. She too enjoys the freedom and nature of Turkey, and I hope she will for a long time...

essie

me too...remember all the good things your dog has shared with you and you with him. time heals but you will never forget...chin up xx

matty

Hi Phil,
So sorry to hear of your sad loss, it sickens me and hope and prey that the person or persons responsible for this gets what they deserve.
I am sitting here with my faithfull old mate lying right beside me, who will also be moving to Dalaman in the near future with us to join our extended family of canine rescues there.
You did the right thing in taking Diefer with you, as i know that we could not leave our mate here in the U.K

Best wishes Ann

lintel

we are so sorry for your loss

sharon and eric

My heart goes out to you and your family, it is very upsetting. We will be bringing our dog out to Turkey at the end of this month and reading stuff like this scares me and i wonder if i am doing the right thing. At the end of the day we love her and she is such a huge part of our lives, we have to bring her.

RIP Diefer

teresa

You are living my nightmare. We too brought our dogs with us and they love it here but I am worried about the way people use poison over here. My dogs do not go out without me but they still snuffle around.

I feel so much sadness for you and I cannot offer any comfort.