“After searching through shelters, forests, vets, and utilizing the vast network of Turkish animal lovers…we finally found Zeytin,” ‘Stray’ director Elizabeth Lo announced excitedly on her Instagram page late on Wednesday night.
After hearing the news that Turkey was rounding up stray dogs, Lo left for Istanbul to find dog Zeytin, who starred in her documentary ‘Stray’.
Before she left, she told The Animal Reader that since the documentary, someone would always send a picture of Zeytin, but it had been a while since she heard about her whereabouts.
Last weekend she left for Turkey, hoping she would find Zeytin. With the help of Turkish animal lovers who helped translate messages and repost to their social media, Lo was able to find her.
“After long days of thinking Zeytin was no longer around, we finally found Zeytin from Stray asleep in a cafe,” she said.
Lo is now looking for a good home for her: “The streets of Istanbul and its residents have obviously been kind to her for the past 4 years. But we are now trying to find a loving home for Zeytin so we can ensure that she has a secure and happy future even in her old age.”
Turkish president Erdoğan said in December that the streets are no place for animals and ordered cities to remove stray dogs. “A dog massacre” is happening, Turkish animal welfare organizations said.
Lo was shocked by what was happening because when her movie was released, she said how in awe she was by how well stray animals were being treated in Istanbul. ‘Stray‘ was released in January 2021, and by December, everything changed for homeless animals.
The Animal Reader is a small independent news platform with daily posts about issues affecting animals. If you can, we would really appreciate your support.