Thessaloniki, Greece
Caring for hundreds of injured and abused dogs & cats, and getting them home
For over 20 years, Vagelio’s shelter has cared for abandoned and injured animals in the Thessaloniki area. With no support from local authorities and facing constant challenges, we continue to feed, heal, and find homes for every animal we can. The shelter survives only through the kindness of people who choose to help.
About Us
My name is Evangelia Vagionaki.
I come from Chania, Crete. I grew up in a house in nature, so, since I was little, I have come to love animals. I remember being 8 and taking care of orphan kittens, freeing lambs and chickens in order to save them. I did whatever I could to help the animals, while nobody around me believed that they had souls, feelings, that they were able to feel pain, just like us. After my father died, when I was just 14, the only thing that could make me happy was nature and animals. I had an internal need I couldn't comprehend - and maybe I still don't fully - to help them, save them, to lead them by any cost to a better future.
I will never forget the first time I saw a chained dog, on my way home from school. She was a very skinny girl with big, sad eyes, that glowed every time I stopped to pet her and give her my lunch. Her chain was half a meter long and she lived surrounded by droppings... A nightmarish image I could not stand to watch. When I grew up, I left Crete. I could not stand watching all those barbaric images that scarred me since I was a child. I went to Athens and ended up living and working in Thessaloniki. This is where I matured and made a life for myself.
I created the shelter, dreaming of helping animals quietly and discreetly. It fills my soul with tons of love and happiness! By coming in touch with the animals, I was taught respect and patience! I came closer to the greatness of existence, even if I never became a mother.
For the last 25 years, I am fighting to take care of these souls, without any support from the government. All of them are my children, we are like a family. I give them love, medicine and a shelter until they find their forever homes (which doesn't happen often enough, sadly) . At the moment, there are around 120 animals in my shelter. As you can imagine, this cannot be maintained by a single person. The cost is huge, there is a constant need for medical care (vaccines, deworming, spaying), food, upkeep etc. I cannot do this without the help of other animal lovers.
Help a stray soul by adopting, volunteering or by making a donation to Vagelio's shelter.