This “Smart” Dog Took Himself To The Shelter For Help

Animal rescue is a difficult calling — locating and caring for creatures that are injured or afraid of human contact can be a challenge, and that’s before the long-term work of rehabilitation even starts.

Sometimes, though, the pup makes it easy. That’s what happened with a bloodhound and dachshund mix who stumbled upon Takis Shelter in Crete, Greece.

Knowing that help was on the way, he made the smart choice to wait outside the shelter’s fence.

Photo: flickr/Mitch Barrie

Because of how he approached the situation, he earned his name — Smart! It didn’t take long for him to adjust to life at the shelter.

“He is a happy boy now but still shy! I think that they didn’t treat him nice in his life before and now he needs more time to trust people,” Takis wrote on Instagram.

PHOTO: YOUTUBE / TAKIS SHELTER

Smart had fleas when he was first rescued, but his health improved quickly and his relaxed temperament made him fit in well with the dozens of other dogs at the shelter.

The safety and community of Takis Shelter is the perfect place to recover from his hard life on the streets.

Smart is hardly alone — the past decade has seen a sharp rise in the number of abandoned and stray dogs in Greece, thanks to economic instability and a lack of community resources. People like Takis are rare, stepping in to care for animals that have become invisible to the rest of the country.

Photo: Pixabay/Javad Esmaeili

“With very few people willing to help, there are still an overwhelming number of stray cats and dogs in the south that need rescuing. In the past, dogs have been left tied-up, often with their puppies in a box, outside of the shelter,” the shelter’s website explains.

Watch more of Smart’s story below, via The Dodo:

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