When dog rescuer Valia Orfanidou took her dogs on vacation to her hometown 100 miles outside of Athens, she walked them by the sea every afternoon.
One day, a stray dog approached her wagging its tail. “She had spotted us from a distance and was looking for company, so she joined our group of four,” said Valia.
The YouTube user “The Orphan Pet” described the scene, writing: “I panicked. Stray dogs are ubiquitous in Greece, so as an animal lover, you get used to rescuing the sick, starving, injured ones that can’t fend for themselves on the streets. That includes newborns and pregnant females.”
“There are millions of stray dogs in Greece and, given the current mentality, there will be millions more in the coming years,” Valia said. As a volunteer for various rescue organizations and shelters in Greece, she continued, “[b]eing on vacation in the countryside is not easy – you either have to turn a blind eye or come back home with a dozen of rescue dogs.”
Valia named the dog Blue. Although Blue was only seven months old and appeared to be healthy, Valia could tell that something was off–the dog looked lonely and lost. She realized that what Blue really needed was a family and someone to love her.
Valia explained that “one summer, she spend all her time chasing people and running behind cars of anyone she met on that beach. Wagging her tail and begging for something.”
For two days and nights, Valia couldn’t sleep as she racked her brain for a way to get Blue off that beach. Desperate times called for desperate measures, so she made a decision that would save him.
It turns out, saving Blue was one of the best decisions she’s ever made! He’s now on his way to becoming a therapy dog in Holland.
Valia remembers meeting Blue at the beach and thinking that perhaps “she was not asking for help, maybe she was offering it, to people who had no idea of what a treasure they kept avoiding every day.”
Please watch Blue’s touching story in the video below and share it with your friends.