Complaints about the management of the municipal animal shelter in Heraklion.
Another dog dies at Heraklion municipal animal shelter
Volunteers call for urgent investigation into animal welfare standards – New allegations regarding the death of a dog housed at the Heraklion municipal animal shelter.
Volunteers at the Heraklion Municipality kennel have raised a new complaint about the death of a dog named Claudia. She was found in March 2025 with a serious facial tumour and underwent surgery by an external veterinarian employed by the municipality.
Claudia seemed to be recovering at first, but her health suddenly took a turn for the worse. The kennel, at this point, didn’t have an in-house vet since the last contract expired and hasn’t been renewed yet.
Volunteers offered to foster Claudia and take her to a private vet. Their offer was turned down by kennel management, which, honestly, left people baffled.
Last week, when volunteers visited, Claudia’s kennel cage was empty. Staff told them she’d been transferred to the external veterinarian.
The next day, volunteers found out Claudia had died. Now, they’re asking for details—when did she pass, and how?
Key Issues Raised by Volunteers
- Repeated animal deaths at the Heraklion kennel
- The absence of a permanent veterinarian due to contract delays
- Refusal to allow volunteers to assist or take animals for private care
- Lack of clear information on the circumstances of animal deaths
Volunteers’ Demands
Demand |
Explanation |
|---|---|
Immediate renewal of the veterinary contract |
To ensure continuous veterinary care |
Full access for volunteers to the kennel |
To monitor animal welfare and provide support |
Transparent reporting of animal health and deaths |
To clarify incidents like Claudia’s death |
This incident follows another case highlighted by local media Creta24 earlier in June 2025. The municipality responded to that case, but volunteers say the problems haven’t really been sorted out.
Background on the Heraklion Shelter Situation
- The Heraklion kennel is the main municipal animal shelter on Crete.
- It relies on external vets due to the absence of permanent veterinary staff.
- Volunteers play a crucial role but face limitations from shelter management.
What the Municipality of Heraklion Says About the Complaint on the Second Dog Death at the Kennel
The Municipality of Heraklion issued a statement after a complaint by volunteers regarding Claudia’s death at the municipal kennel. Claudia was found in rough shape in March 2025, with a serious tumour on her face, and was operated on by an external veterinarian working with the municipality.
Despite medical efforts, Claudia’s health got worse. According to the municipality, she had several surgeries: two in March and April, and two more in early June.
Claudia passed away at the veterinary clinic on 4 June 2025. The statement says kennel staff and the external vet did everything they could, but the tumour was aggressive and caused a lot of damage—nerves, blood vessels, glands, you name it.
The municipality also clarified a few things:
- No third party was asked to care for Claudia.
- The decision to keep Claudia at the kennel was based on veterinary advice.
- Medical reports describe severe cancerous spread in the tumour.
Key Points from the Veterinary Report
Date |
Event |
Details |
|---|---|---|
18 Mar 2025 |
Claudia found and brought to clinic |
Large tumour on face identified; surgery planned. |
8 Apr 2025 |
Second surgery |
Follow-up operation due to tumour development. |
3 & 4 Jun 2025 |
Two more surgeries |
Tumour had spread extensively, affecting multiple organs. |
4 Jun 2025 |
Claudia passed away |
Death occurred at the vet clinic despite treatment attempts. |
Municipality’s Clarification Highlights
- Claudia was treated as part of the municipal family.
- The cancer was too advanced for cure.
- Staff and vet showed dedication throughout.
- No neglect or refusal of care occurred.
The municipality’s reply tries to clear up concerns and maybe tamp down some of the rumors swirling about how animals, like Claudia, are treated at the Heraklion kennel.
They emphasize how serious Claudia’s illness was. There’s a real focus on their ongoing commitment to animal welfare, and honestly, you can tell they want people to know they care.
News from 8 June:
Dog Dies at Heraklion Municipal Kennels – Municipality’s Statement on the Incident
A dog named Angelos was seriously injured after being hit by a vehicle. He was taken to a veterinary clinic that works with the Heraklion Municipality.
Angelos had a severe pelvic fracture and stayed at the clinic for two days. Once his condition was stable enough, he was moved to the municipal kennels, though he was still paralyzed in his back legs.
At the kennels, he needed constant care—obviously not the easiest situation. Citizens started voicing concerns, saying Angelos wasn’t really getting the treatment he needed.
Reports came out that he developed pressure sores from being stuck in his kennel, and that this contributed to his death. Even with complaints, a vet did visit after someone insisted, and at that point, the vet said Angelos was stable.
The local Veterinary Association also stopped by the kennels recently. They were there to do sterilizations and check on the animals’ health needs.
This was part of an ongoing effort to improve care, especially since a new vet contract was still up in the air. Volunteers at the kennels have kept the municipality and animal welfare groups in the loop about their worries, but apparently, a lot of those messages haven’t gotten much of a reply.
The Municipality of Heraklion said they were sorry about Angelos’ death and laid out a timeline of what happened. They said Angelos was found hurt on 12 May and was taken straight to the vet clinic, where he stayed until 14 May.
After he was transferred to the kennels, staff followed the vet’s instructions for daily care and kept an eye on him. On 24 May, volunteer vets came by for sterilizations, checked on Angelos, and got updates on his health.
Early on 2 June, kennel staff found that Angelos had died. The municipality said they’d tried to care for him, but his injuries were just too severe.
Key Points |
Details |
|---|---|
Date Angelos found injured |
12 May 2025 |
Initial treatment |
Veterinary clinic, two days (12-14 May) |
Condition on transfer |
Paralysed hind legs, severe pelvic fracture |
Care at municipal kennels |
Daily care following vet instructions |
Latest vet check at kennels |
24 May 2025 |
Date of death |
2 June 2025 |
Municipality response |
Regret expressed, detailed case timeline provided |
Volunteer input |
Concerns raised, limited official replies |
Veterinary Association visit |
Sterilisation and assessment, awaiting new vet contract |
Honestly, this case just throws a spotlight on how tough it is to care for injured animals in public kennels. There’s a real need for better communication and more resources—something that’s not exactly news to the locals or volunteers, who keep pushing for more support.
Angelos is released for adoption with all legal documents – Angelos died with all legal documents at the animal shelter in Heraklion, Crete, on 2 June 2025
Below is the story as told to Matina Triantou-Silikou by various people familiar with the case:
Goodbye, Angelos, this world was not for you. I hope your soul forgets the pain of lying in a cage for 20 whole days, waiting silently for death…
Exactly one week earlier, I learned of your existence when I was asked to find you a home so that you would not have to die alone in your cage. On Monday, you passed away, and I was unable to prevent it…
Since November 2023, I have been volunteering at the animal shelter in Heraklion, Crete, because I happened to go there with a friend and volunteer named Popi, who had found an adoptive family for a dog named Delina (now Kismet).
That was my first contact, which shocked me. I lost myself in their sad eyes behind the bars. They too were strays, like all dogs on the street. But the dogs at the shelter touch my soul in a different way.
A deep, inexplicable pain came over me, and so began my commitment to the issue of adoption. At that time, however, I was allowed to visit the shelter and take photos in the corridors, where I photographed the cages from the inside and not as a visitor from the outside.
This allowed me to photograph the dogs and the signs outside their cages. Chrysoula and Sofia also worked there at the time, and thanks to their descriptions and stories, I was able to get to know their characters and write down exactly what had happened to each animal.
But access was blocked, both to the stories and to the paths. So the dogs at the shelter became nothing more than an exhibition. Citizens came to our dog walks and could only see them from outside the cages.
Since the last dog visit on 19 January 2025, when the contractor was still there, that wonderful and unique Manos, whose contract had expired on 28 December 2024 but who was still there, as well as the entire original team of volunteers and the vet, everything changed…
I knew, as we all knew, that this Sunday would be decisive. We did not believe that things would come to such despair, but deep down we all knew that nothing would be the same as before.
So we learned that there would be no contractor until the next tender, there would be no vet visiting the shelter, even taking into account the visits of the previous vet, we would no longer have access on weekends and no access to the inner area of the paths.
With three permanent employees and one employee with a contract that was about to expire, as well as 80 dogs that were constantly changing due to uncontrolled returns, it was impossible to achieve the maximum for proper operation: cleaning – reintegration – considerations.
A building with huge, now problematic facilities, without electricity, with a constantly jammed printing system, a blood testing device that was not used because something was always missing – above all, a place for treatments.
With a contract with an external veterinarian that does not provide for treatment after traffic accidents, etc. Thus, Angelos (that was his name when he came into the cage) was found injured on 12 May 2025… perhaps the name was an omen…
A lady photographed him in front of a well-known supermarket in the area, and Evi, a friend and volunteer, saw the post and called the dog catchers, who took him away.
So the first person responsible was the one who had hit him and left him lying there!
He was taken to the vet and stayed there for two days, from 12 May to 14 May. If the information I have from people who know what they are talking about, and not from the radio, is correct, he had a severe pelvic fracture. It was not ‘injuries’, as I read that someone from the community had given this information to the press:
It was a shattered pelvic fracture.
He was transported and given cortisone, and I don’t know if he was also given painkillers and other medication. The association I belong to was never informed about this animal. So he lay on the floor with the doors closed, without anyone knowing of his existence, waiting for the community to perform a miracle and heal his severe pelvic fracture.
On 24 May, the mayor, the deputy mayor and veterinarians visited to carry out voluntary sterilisations.
The veterinary authority, which carried out an inspection regarding uncontrolled readmissions, also concluded that all requirements were met.
As I am now a simple volunteer, without titles like those people, without an image, as I do not hold an expert opinion in my hands, I ask all of you who exist through our votes and have your salaries and positions and who are called ‘trusted voices’ why you treat them like lifeless beings and, as the volunteer Chrysanthi very wisely wrote, ‘like movable objects’?
We all ask: WHY?
Did we elect you so that you could live like this? Did we put you in these positions so that we would have to beg for your attention?
Every citizen is afraid to pick up the phone and ask for help, because you either always reply that you are busy, that there is no money and you can’t do anything, or that it is too late when you finally take on the case!
We are all afraid to turn to the local authorities because they will refuse to help us. The worst thing now is that citizens hear about the deaths there and don’t even bother to try anymore.
If Angelos couldn’t stay at the veterinary clinic, the five-member commission or the animal welfare associations should have been informed so that decisions could be made.
It is a crime that the municipality waits for an animal to crawl into the corner of a cage and, without a caretaker or a vet, waits for it to die! That is a crime and must be punished!
– Angelos died.
– Gambi died, and again everyone is silent.
– Keik, who was disabled, died of ulcers.
– Puppies have died.
– Adults have died, like Perseas, who got typhoid, even though you should have had a separate area for those with typhoid so they wouldn’t infect the others.
– Others will die too…
The day before Angelos died, he asked me to find a compassionate person who works there to take him in. I was waiting for a photo to post, and the next day he died. When I took Karen to Takis last Sunday, 1 June, I was asked to do so; I didn’t even have time to post a request for help!
They have brought us to a point where we can no longer find peace. The responsibility and blame clearly lie with the municipality!
It is neither the fault of the volunteers nor the humanity of a few people who may see or hear something!!!
Goodbye, Angelos, maybe that’s what they should have called you, at least that was done right! They gave you the name you deserved.
Angelos died freezing in the arms of Rena, who works there. At least he died in the midst of the pain and drama he had been through for 20 days, in the arms of the woman who cleans the cages.
Shame on you!
I’m sorry, Angelos, that I found out about you so late! I hope that your soul and the soul of Gabby, a healthy dog who was unjustly killed, her belly cut open, and so many others find peace in another world, where animals are not simply left to die in a corner… A crime!
Translated text excerpt by Matina Triantou-Silikou.
Visit by the mayor to the municipal animal shelter in Heraklion, while Angelos was slowly dying
On Saturday, 24 May, the Mayor of Heraklion, Alexis Kalokairinos (4th from left), dropped by the municipal animal shelter. He was joined by Rena Papadaki, the Deputy Mayor who oversees the shelter’s operation.
The visit lined up with a voluntary sterilisation event put together by vets from the Crete branch of the Panhellenic Veterinary Association. They spent the day sterilising animals currently staying at the shelter.
While there, the Mayor chatted with shelter staff about how things are running. He made sure to thank them for all the work they do for the animals.
He also gave a special shoutout to Dr George Piperakis, who heads up the Crete Veterinary Association branch, as well as veterinarians Artemis Papadaki, Filothei Dokianaki, George Charalambakis, and Sofia Melidoni. Their help with the sterilisation programme fits right in with the municipality’s push to sterilise every unsprayed animal at the shelter.
Volunteers got some well-deserved recognition too. Their ongoing efforts really matter when it comes to handling the stray animal situation in Heraklion.
Facilities and Capacity
The shelter’s built to hold up to 80 animals at a time. Even with the usual struggles, the municipal government keeps trying to make the place better.
Here’s what the shelter mainly does:
- Temporary housing for stray animals
- Providing medical care
- Sterilisation procedures
- Vaccination programmes
- Microchipping
All of this is supposed to get the animals ready for adoption or, if that’s not possible, a safe return to where they came from.
Community Engagement
Alongside medical and shelter activities, the city promotes awareness about responsible pet ownership and adoption.
Organised campaigns encourage residents to care responsibly for dogs and support the control of stray populations.
