Meet 155

On my daily runs, I make my way three blocks south to Macka Park, which slopes down to the Bosphorus just sort of Dolmabahce Palace, where the Ottoman sultans lived in the 1800s. There is some green space and trees, with pleasant walking paths and cafes advertising tea and the smoking pipes called nargiles. At the base of the park is a tangle of red stone paths were the morning exercisers gather. Most are "of a certain age" -- I think the younger set prefers the Techno-Gym with its blaring disco music and 24 hour CNN. There are many stray dogs and cats who live permanently in the park. Very soon after running in the park, I met 155, one of the stray dogs who is sweet-tempered and friendly. Several days later, I noticed that he was limping, having been bitten or hit in some way.

Here is his picture -- he was posing very nicely! I call him 155 because that it the number on the plastic tag in his ear. Most municipalities in Turkey have a "catch and release" program. They take in stray animals, spay and vaccinate them, then release them back into the city. I'm not sure how well this works -- we see many, many kittens and puppies, some not in great shape. But we also see pretty healthy (and not starving) animals like 155. Despite being a stray, he is very socialized and goes to humans easily. Unlike in Latin America, where one often sees people kicking at or throwing stones at strays, I have yet to see that here. Instead, people leave food out for them and make sure they have clean water. In some apartment buildings, they even have bowls attached to strings, to lower food during the day.

I think 155 is pretty happy, so there's no risk that we will adopt him. But I do hope he makes it through the winter (perhaps by sticking close to the pipe-smoking cafes and their ambient warmth!).