The Association was founded in 1998 by a group of volunteers who are determined to protect and care for dogs and cats that live on the streets in the Gocek area. In addition to nurturing animals the Association is passionate about wider environmental issues which should concern us all. This is our dream.

  • To eliminate pain, suffering and abuse caused to animals
  • To minimise the number of homeless animals on the streets
  • To monitor, feed, sterilise and care for all the animals under our supervision
  • To stop uncontrolled breeding
  • To stop dumping of unwanted animals
  • To treat animals with tender affection as we would wish to be treated ourselves
  • To educate the community in ways of living in the utmost harmony with animals
  • To bring neglect and abuse of animals to the notice of the appropriate authorities
  • To do whatever we can to ensure that appropriate punishment is served on those who neglect or abuse animals

   ‘Every Animal Deserves A Chance’

Our Dog Shelter

We are very proud of our dog shelter in the mountains near Gocek. Built entirely from the kind donations of our major sponsors the shelter replaced our old shelter in 2016. It is home to around 230 dogs at any one time and we employ 3 staff to look after the animals in our care together with help and management from volunteers of the Association.

We have special quarantine areas to care for any animals that are sick. The shelter is spacious with kennel space for all the dogs and plenty of room for them to play and exercise each day.

We do need to have a continuous programme of maintenance to keep the shelter to the standards we set ourselves and this needs money, this is where a great deal of your generous donations are spent.

Visitors are welcome, particularly on a Saturday morning when we invite anyone to come and join us walking the dogs along some beautiful mountain trails. Please contact us if you would like to visit.

Re-Homing Dogs

  • We re-home over 100 dogs each year
  • There is a big shortage of re-homable dogs in shelters in Germany and Holland
  • We have many many suitable re-homable dogs in our shelter here in Turkey
  • The new owners cover the costs of moving the dogs from Turkey to Germany and Holland
  • All dogs are carefully assessed for their suitability to be re-homed.
    • empathy with other dogs
    • empathy with humans and children
    • attitude to cats
    • ability to travel in a car
    • ability to walk on a lead
  • Dogs are health checked, vaccinated, neutered and chipped before travelling
  • Dogs are escorted by a flight volunteer when flying
  • Future homes and owners are vetted for suitability

All packed and ready to go!

Gocek’s Street Animals

Our volunteers feed and care for many cats living on the streets of Gocek every day. We regularly trap cats and get them spayed or neutered to try and control the numbers of unwanted animals in the community. 

We keep an eye out for sick and injured street animals and do our best to ensure they receive veterinary treatment.

There are relatively few street dogs in Gocek but the ones we have are monitored for good health and the need for sterilising and vaccinating

Street dogs that are perceived to be a nuisance are often taken to our dog shelter for re-homing.

Many animals are dumped on the streets of Gocek by neighbouring organisations to pass on the responsibility of those animals to us.

We try to assist and educate those who need help with their animals in the local community with the aim of improving harmony between humans and animals in Gocek.

Our Team

We have 3 staff each working several days a week at the dog shelter, cleaning the site, feeding and watering the dogs and looking out for their welfare.  These are Oguzhan, Imdat and Selman.

The association consists of Presidents; Gulden Ersaka and Yonca Arsal, Board Members; Aylin Robertson, Canan Oge, and Christine Van Elsen, and Volunteer Members; Fergus Prescott, Grace Davis, Peter Davis, Sina Karadag, and Ulrike Ulff (Uli) who share a wide variety of tasks between them to keep everything running smoothly.

We also have a number of invaluable partners to whom we are greatly indebted.

  • Aynur Ocak our vet from Kent Vet in Fethiye
  • Our Food Supplier AquaKent Pet Market from Calis and Fethiye
  • Sponsors and Donors from near and far

Our companion associations and shelters in Germany and Holland

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