We care for Athens’ four-legged residents
We take care of them, feed them, provide them with water, arrange for the placement of microchips, keep them healthy, promote their adoption, defend their rights and keep them in our hearts.
For the Municipality of Athens, the health, welfare and humane treatment of animals is an important priority. And all this is ensured in practice through the multifaceted work implemented by the Municipal Authority in the neighborhoods and in the city center. Specifically:
In the past year, more than 1,000 dogs and cats have received veterinary care, while more than 400 adoptions and fosterings of dogs and cats have been completed.
We have implemented, and will soon repeat, a new program of free microchip placement for owned dogs and cats whose “guardians” are residents of the Municipality and belong to vulnerable groups.
We install shelters, feeding stations and water dispensers at various points of the city, offering our four-legged friends relief and safety. We cooperate with local organizations and volunteers.
We have already created the first two dog parks in Neos Kosmos and Prombonas, while two more will be ready shortly, aiming to create at least two sites in each municipal district. Since early 2021, the temporary shelter for dogs has been operating in Votanikos, while soon the city’s first Municipal Veterinary Clinic will also be delivered.
On the website of the Department of Urban Fauna of the Municipality of Athens, we can meet our new four-legged friend who will keep us company, register our pet, be informed of our obligations as guardians, report animal abuse and much more.
The “Socrates” Shelter
A welcoming home and a true “family” that cares with all its love for the strays of Athens has been created since early 2021 by the Municipality of Athens in Votanikos.
It did not take its name from the well-known ancient philosopher, but from perhaps the most famous stray dog of Athens.
The temporary shelter for stray animals of the Municipality of Athens is the most modern, functional and hospitable. It has a spacious exercise yard and is fully equipped so that the strays are safe and live in dignified conditions. It is guarded around the clock, while five people are employed daily both for cleanliness and for the socialization of the dogs, an effort carried out in cooperation with volunteer trainers and ordinary citizens who love animals. A swimming pool has been installed exclusively for the dogs, where they swim, play and cool off during the summer months.
Inside the shelter, a beautiful graffiti of Socrates has been created by the Urban Act team and the artist “Life in Colour”, as a tribute to all stray animals that live on the streets.
In addition, the Municipality of Athens has created the website https://adespota.cityofathens.gr/ through which citizens are informed about the animals available for adoption. The goal is for the strays hosted at the Socrates Shelter to be adopted and acquire their own safe home.