By kyrahaltman
The last few weeks have been personally and professionally challenging. At the beginning of March, I made the decision to completely change internship sites and my research focus. Due to a variety of reasons, I decided to leave my current unpaid internship placement and begin pursuing a longstanding but unexplored passion: stray animal adoption in Athens, Greece.
I am now incredibly happy, volunteering each week with "animal-friendly" organizations who provide services to stray dogs at no cost. Many of these organizations, like grooming parlors and animal clinics, act as "secret weapons" to promote stray dog adoption in Greece. However, they receive no credit from the public and residents are not incentivized by the government to adopt stray dogs. Seeing these organizations interact with the stray population has been more rewarding, thought-provoking, and fascinating than ever imaginable!
I also have pivoted my research to focus on the vulnerable and growing population of stray dogs in Athens, Greece. By the time the semester ends, I will have conducted research, written a report, and sent my findings to the Greek government regarding the relationship between Athenian grooming parlors and the stray dog population in Athens, Greece. Within this topic, the aim of my research is to answer the question, “How are Greek grooming parlors’ practices supporting adoption of stray dogs in Athens, Greece?” More specifically, how is the denial or acceptance of stray dogs for grooming services affecting the adoption of stray dogs by residents in this municipality? By speaking to a dog groomer, veterinarian, and two individuals who have adopted stray dogs, this complex relationship will be explored and deconstructed. Findings regarding the motivation of grooming parlor owners for servicing stray dogs in their parlors will also be analyzed.
I am SO excited to analyze the findings of this research and continue this volunteer work! I feel very grateful for this opportunity.
