TAC Students Visit the Mersin Animal Shelter for Disabled Animals
Buket Gök, Aden Aslan, Müge Nur Hattat, İdil Bayık and Dila Aksoy, some caring, animal loving students of our school, visited the Mersin Shelter for Disabled Animals on Wednesday (13 December) under the guidance of the teachers from our Social Sciences Department. Students, who conducted a needs analysis for the shelter before this visit, bought food, milk and paper towels using the funds they generated from the on-campus sale of delicious treats they had prepared at home. They also collected old blankets and newspapers by organizing a campaign around the campus. When they arrived at the animal shelter, the students ran excitedly towards the animals; this was an emotional moment for everyone who was there.
The shelter in Mersin University's Çiftlikköy campus is like a nursing home for disabled animals, a large majority of which are cats. There are veterinarians on staff giving medical care. The students found out from the staff members that after these animals receive their treatment in this shelter, those who are completely healed are released back into nature for quality of life. The staff also told them that they neuter the cats. It made the students sad to find out that abandoned animals, other than those who are sick or handicapped, also live in the shelter. However, it was reassuring for them to hear that some animal lovers who visit the shelter end up adopting them.
Our students took close care of the residents of the shelter, emphasizing the fact that love for animals may attach people more strongly to life and that this love will open the door to other forms of love. Their conclusion was that the world would be a better place to live if all living creatures were united in an atmosphere of respect and care.
Of our students who saw the living quarters of the animals and how they are treated and regain their health here, Müge Nur Hattat expressed her thoughts about the shelter as follows:
"Before today’s visit, I pitied the animals who lived here. When I took my dog to the veterinarian several times I have personally witnessed stray cats which had traffic accidents being brought there to be sent to the animal shelter after their treatment and I felt very sad. I felt that these animals would not receive good care in these shelters. But when I saw that the staff members were doing their jobs with great affection and care, my thoughts really changed. I also learned that the cats who came here do not stay at the shelter permanently and were taken to the "Miaoww Park" on the seafront strip which made me very happy, because I know that they could at least walk freely instead of staying in cages. I hope that the number of animal lovers in our community increases so that animals are able to roam around freely".