My acquaintance with Phaedon took place in 2010 in the area of Archarnes, where I was working at the time. I had already been taking care of three stray dogs: Rhea, Lucy and Hermes. One morning, Phaedon appeared, accompanied by Elizabeth, a 6-year old female. Phaedon was about 3-4 years old. From that morning on, at eight o’clock sharp, the couple would always show up and by two o’clock in the afternoon, they would depart for an unknown destination. The accuracy of their visits had impressed my colleagues and I and we often discussed the quirky newcomers amongst us.

Unfortunately, after several months of the couple’s visits, Elizabeth was hit by a car and Phaedon was left alone without a partner. Although he was inconsolable, he kept returning to the neighborhood. However, without the protection of his late companion his relationship with the other dogs became troublesome and one morning he stopped visiting. I searched for him for several days, but Phaedon was nowhere to be found.

About three months later, I was driving by his old house when I spotted a shriveled bag of bones with Phaedon’s fur colour in the middle of the street. I was shocked; my blood froze in my veins. I approached and saw Phaedon, mere skin and bones, in miserable condition and almost dead. I rushed him to the nearest vet, who gave me little hope for his survival. The dog urgently needed treatment with IV fluids and medication. After a week of hospitalization, he began to show signs of improvement, but in order to fully recover, long-term medication would be required, in combination with healthy fresh food. This was not feasible while the dog was living on the street so I took him home and that is how we started our life together.

These people, driven by cowardice, used stones, wood sticks and air guns to defend their precious civilization. They wanted the dogs to just leave and become somebody else’s problem. If you think that those people are the minority, think again. A large segment of dog owners who boast about their well-nourished dogs, are the same people who constantly throw rocks at stray dogs. They are the ones who proudly stroll with their big well-fed dogs and instead of feeding the strays which they could easily do, they swing a stick in their hand, with intent to use it on a stray dog! They think that there is a ‘social class difference’ between their ‘pure blooded’ dogs and the strays. They are referring to their dogs with phrases like ‘I don’t have a dog, I have a child’. But for them, the dogs who live in the streets are different; they are dogs of a ‘Lesser God.’

Therefore, in these adverse conditions, some people (hopefully with the best of intentions) found and gathered these dogs and in order to protect them, they locked them up in a kennel, Phaedon was amongst them. I searched for him for two days, and finally found him and took him back. Needless to say, all his friends remained locked in cages “for their own safety”, waiting for salvation from us and from our lost humanity. They all lost their freedom, for the sake of their safety. A “freedom” that has no place in our society; we are all deluding ourselves if we think that even our own species lives freely.

To me, Phaedon is the reference point that I am a human being. It is a life that I saved, that I will care for until his very last breath. He gives value and meaning to my actions. So my suggestion to you is to follow a similar journey and adopt a stray dog from the street or from a shelter, save it, take care of it, love it …… it will make you feel human.