Free-ranging dog

The village of Mavropigi in the region of Western Macedonia may have been abandoned by its residents several years ago to make way for a new lignite quarry, but the number of strays roaming its streets keeps growing.

An animal lover in the northwestern province of Kırıkkale has helped a stray dog, whose back legs were paralyzed after being hit by a car, walk with the help of a shopping trolley. 

Mehmet Köksal, 49, said he now expects help from officials to ensure treatment for the dog under better conditions. 

With icy, sub-zero temperatures gripping the Balkans and imperiling many birds and animals, wildlife protection organisations and volunteers are battling to help them survive the savage weather.

The media in both Serbia and Croatia are encouraging ordinary people to make their own dog houses from cardboard, construction foil and Styrofoam.

Stray dogs who were recently filmed destroying a local man's car may have been doing so out of a sense of revenge, according to the Chair of the Chamber of Veterinary in Sakarya, where the incident occurred.

Mustafa Yıldız made the comments after viewing the surveillance camera footage of the incident, saying the purpose of the attack might have been punishment.

Unknown assailants have poisoned 20 dogs in Turkey's touristic Aegean town of Bodrum, the latest in a series of attacks against stray animals and pets in the coastal district. 

Golden Retrievers abandoned on the streets of Istanbul are being sent to the US to find forever homes there.

Among the many problems brought on by the Greek debt crisis is a surging population of stray dogs.

Animal charities say there are now more than a million strays in Greece because people are simply abandoning pets they can no longer afford to keep.

There are fears it could lead to the spread of disease if the problem is not tackled soon, as Emilia Papadopoulos reports.

A group of animal rights activists protested alleged municipal negligence in the case of 300 missing stray dogs in the Aegean province of U?ak, after reports revealed around 50 of the dogs had died in a truck on their way to neighboring Denizli province.

A stray dog bit 30 people in the southeastern province of Van on June 10.

All those who were bitten were taken to hospital in the ?pekyolu district of Van, the Van Governor's Office said in a statement.  

The injured people were all vaccinated against rabies at hospital and an investigation into the incident has been opened. 

An autopsy report on the body of a Turkish woman has confirmed that the cause of her death was an attack by stray dogs in a vacant lot in the Central Anatolian province of Eski?ehir, daily Hürriyet reported on March 16.

The initial autopsy revealed that Erinç Pütün, 34, had died as a result of external bleeding due to dog bites.