Destinations in Crete: Lake Kournas & Georgioupoli

Hi pawfriends! It's me Luna again 🐶 I have a very cool new destination to share wif you: Lake Kournas located in the municipality of Chania. Only a 33 minute drive from Rethymno and 46 minutes from Chania city! 

Lake Kournas is the only natural freshwater lake. All year round the mountain springs keep non stop running and therefore it is a very impawtent part of the Cretan ecosystem, together with the surrounding area it is protected by Natura2000. The depth is 22,5 meters, length 1080meters and width 880meters. It's located on the slopes of the White Mountains so you will have a breathtaking view while exploring the area.

On the side where the restaurants are located (this is also the side where you can park your car) there is a small organised beach with sunbeds for the lazy hoomans, in the morning it's pretty calm but in the afternoon it's less dog friendly because of the crowds.

If you have active hoomans like mine you can go do some watersports! You can rent a SUP, kayak or even a pedal boat where 4 hoomans (including mini hoomans also 👪) + dog can fit on easily! ⛵ We choose the last option and it was soooo much fun! On the back of the boat there is a small staircase attached so your hoomans can climb out of the water easily. Yes you read it correct.. swimming is possible in the lake! You might meet a duck 🦆 or turtle 🐢 on the deeper side of the lake while swimming and while peddling you will be accompanied by fishies that swim along your boat🐟🐠

I would recommend to wear a life jacket for safety so your hoomans can lift you out of the water if needed💦 

Afterwards you can have a nice dinner 🍽️ at Kournas or pay a visit to Georgioupoli a small costal town which is only a 10min drive of Kournas. There is a nice sandy beach 🏖️ which extends (9km) in different parts so you can find a comfy spot to swim, many restaurants and cafe's, hotels and the church of Agios Nikolaos that is build at the end of a pier which you can easily walk. It's the perfect spot for shooting picturesque pictures! Many hoomans get engaged 💍 or married there because of the romantic vibes. ☺️

Sunrise in Georgioupoli, in the background
you can see the Agios Nikolaos church

Luna's final verdict 🐶😜:

Kournas lake is the place to be for doggies and their humans if you like swimming in sweet water lakes, spotting small wild animals such as turtles 🐢 and combining it with a nice dinner or visit to the small town of Georgioupoli. Also it is very suitable for families with kids since both in Kournas & Georgioupoli there are small playgrounds available.

Border Collie Rescue SA

 Hi pawfriends it's me Luna again! 🐾 Today I want your pawttention for a very special dog rescue:

Border Collie Rescue SA! Yes you read it correctly, this rescue is specialized in Border Collies! Border Collies have the best working drive, they look cute and perfect for families and they easily melt peoples hearts with all the cool tricks they can do.. but therefore it goes very often wrong. If they are rehomed by normal shelters quiet often they end up in homes with people that are not educated enough how to handle the specific breed which can end up dramatically with a dog that starts herding kids, cats and everything that moves or even worse serious bite incidents.. 

Border Collie Rescue's target is to find the best new home for their rescues and spread awareness at the same time about the wonderful Border Collie as a breed. 

Border Collie Rescue is a registered non-profit organization since 1999 that:

-Provides rehabilitation for abandoned and abused Border Collies

-Provides foster homes for Border Collies in need and takes care of the full costs such as kenneling   fees, sterilization, food, etc..

-Finds forever adoptive homes when the dogs are physically and mentally ready for a new family 

-Provides counseling/referral services to Border Collie owners

- Help Border Collie owners that through no fault of their own, can no longer care for their beloved friend and need to find a new home.

-Raise awareness and educate the public about the very specific needs of the Border Collie breed

- And so much more..

In the years 2019/2020 they had:

• 532 dogs in kennels rehomed
• 7715 kennel days paid
• 238 dogs microchipped
• 91 dogs sterilized and neutered (some dogs arrive into the rescue already fixed)
• 108 dogs received all the necessary veterinary treatment
• last but not least they travelled 18575km!!! to collect dogs in need

Sounds amazing, isn't it? 

All this hard work is done by staff & volunteers that do not receive any remuneration but purely do it for the love they have for the breed. They spend their time for free to ensure the abandoned and abused Border Collies get the care and love they deserve. In my opinion this are real life heroes! 

But here it the thing.. they need our help! 

"Because together we achieve what no one can achieve alone." 

This is their favorite quote and I love it too!

Here are 11 easy ways how we can help: 

1. Adopt a Border Collie (currently this option is only available for people that live in Africa since the procedure and cost to bring a dog to EU, UK or USA are very difficult. 
2. Help cover kenneling costs, you can do this for one month or more. Border Collie Rescue organization will keep you up to date about the dog that's in "your" kennel. 
3. Become a friend of BCR: You will receive a quarterly newsletter. Membership fees are R1000.00 once off or annual R200
4. Sponsor a spray or neuter: this is super important, all dogs get sprayed or neutered before moving to their forever homes.
5. If you are in the South Africa area you can foster an older dog in need. BCR will cover the costs for food and veterinary care.
6. Send pawsome pictures that can be used for the yearly calendar, the funds raised from the calendar sales will be used to cover the shelters costs.
7. Suggest companies that might be interested in sponsoring BCR
8. Leave a legacy to BCR
9. Download the CollieMoji app, 40% of each download goes to BCR. To participate download the app from this link You can also turn your own dog in an emoji! Available for any dog breed, click here for more info. 
10. Shop online at the Border Collie Rescue website, you can find merch and other cute Collie related items. BCR online shop
11. and last but not least: spread the word, so the world knows their wonderful mission!🐾 If you have any fun ideas to set up your own fundraiser campaign don't hesitate to contact Dina-Vera, she is super friendly and will gladly discuss about the possibilities.

Zapper: Scan to donate easy&fast

 

A little bit more details about the costs of the rescue organization:

On average a dog remains 39 days in a rescue before finding a home during this time several things are done such as:

-Deworming (R50 per dog)

- Microchip (R150) 

- Vaccinations (R400)

- Neutering (R800)

- Cost per kennel day R180 in high season and R99 normal rate + food expenses.

- Average costs per homed dog: R4689,00

Because Border Collie Rescue is located in South Africa the amounts are shown in South African Rand. R100 = 5.75 euro = 4.87 Pound sterling. 

Easiest way to donate from overseas is through this link. Giveandgain makes it easier since you can choose your own currency.

This means that if we even donate a "small" amount in euro or pound this can already help many dogs in SA in need. 🐶

SnapScan: Scan to donate easy&fast

 

Impawtent info/contact details:

Address: Border Collie Rescue Non Profit Organization 

Nr. 006 620 P O Box 21161 Roodepoort Helderkruin 1733

Bank details:  Account Name: Border Collie Rescue 

Standard Bank Cresta Account Nr: 226 387 399 IBT: 051001

General info: DV (Dina-Vera) +27 82 772 8525 / Dinaverasch@gmail.com

Adoptions: Julie:  mwmoz@mweb.co.za / +27 11 3952259 or +27 82 887 9668

Website: https://bordercollierescue.co.za/

Page with all details about adoption or volunteering: 
https://bordercollierescue.co.za/volunteer/#adopt

Social media channels: 

Twitter and Instagram : #collierescuesa 

YouTube Channel: Border Collie Rescue South Africa 

Facebook link: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Border-Collie-Rescue-SA/130068410401353

©️All the pictures in this article belong to the Border Collie Rescue organization, do not use or reproduce this without their permission.