Stray Beagle Living in Cat Colony Totally Thinks He's a Kitty
Feral cat colonies left unchecked can become a major concern for public health. Not only are these animals not a natural part of the environment, and thus can put a major strain on local wildlife and other natural resources, but they can also become a breeding ground for diseases that harm not only the cat population, but also everyone else. That is why there are often concerted efforts to neuter and spay feral cats, trying to put a dent in the ever-growing populations.
And trust me, cat rescues everywhere are completely overwhelmed. Take this cat rescue in Chania, Crete, which cares for over one hundred and fifty rescue cats with special needs—and one Beagle dog, who seems to think that he, too, is feline.
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“Lucas was shot in the middle of the night near the shelter,” reads the caption on this video of an adorable Beagle running around the cat rescue on this Greek island. The woman who runs the rescue, Maria, “heard the gunshots and a dog squealing, and as soon as she could went looking for the poor victim.”
Related: Beagle Can't Contain His Happiness in New Home After 7 Years in a Laboratory
A “Failed Hunting Dog”
Sadly, this kind of treatment is not unusual on the island. There are not enough shelter facilities for all the stray animals, and many people think the best solution for dealing with sick or unwanted animals is just to put them down. This is especially common with so-called “failed hunting dogs” like this Beagle. He didn’t have what it took to be a hunting dog, so his fate was to meet a bullet.
It’s a sad state of affairs, but one that is all too common in rural areas where resources are scarce and many people believe that it’s far kinder to put an animal down than to let it starve to death. Even at a shelter like this, you can see they are often in very dire straits when it comes to having the resources to even feed their enormous population of rescues, let alone give them any of the medical services they might need.
Luckily, the rescue in this case was able to treat him for his injuries and he is now living happily among the hundreds of cat who also call the shelter home.
But it isn’t easy. A quick scroll through the sanctuary’s social media feed shows they are often low on resources to feed their many inhabitants, as they rely solely on donations from kind people and volunteer services.
“Lucas was very lucky to be found and is a very happy boy at Maria’s,” the rescue writes. “Lucas loves cats, in fact sometimes it seems he is a cat!”
A Dog Amongst Cats
In the video, you can see Lucas trotting along flowered pathways with his feline buddies and submitting to grooming from the cats which surround him every day.
As the resident dog at the facility, he takes his guard duties very seriously. “He is very protective of them,” they write in the caption, “warning off any passing dogs or people near the shelter.”
Perhaps it makes sense that Lucas is a bit nervous when it comes to people outside this rescue—after all, he was shot. “Very understandably, he is scared of people and mostly keeps his distance. Maybe one day he will learn that not all humans are bad.”
And maybe one day, they won’t be.
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