For the past four years or so, Buket Özgünlü has dedicated her life to rescuing and caring for stray dogs through her nonprofit
At her sanctuary in Turkey, Özgünlü cares for 560 dogs — most of whom have disabilities that make life on the streets impossible.
“They were all rescued,” Özgünlü told The Dodo. “The majority of them are paralyzed. Some have been shot, beaten, abandoned. All of them have a past.”
But thanks to Özgünlü, they all now have a future, too.
“Since my father is disabled, I give more priority to disabled dogs,” she said. “They need us more. I try to take care of them as much as possible.”
Life on Paws Holding on to Life Association’s countryside sanctuary is a peaceful and happy place for the pups, with plenty of room to play and explore in their wheelchairs. But recently, Özgünlü conceived of a new way to add even more enrichment to their lives — allowing them access to new sights and sounds.
Fashioning some barrels with wheels and stringing them in a line, Özgünlü built a “dog train.”
And with that, the pups could now ride in style:
“I’d actually been thinking about doing such a project for a long time,” Özgünlü said. “I was very happy that I did.”
Seeing the pups’ joyful faces as they mosey through town in their custom dog train, they’re clearly happy that she did it, too.
As exciting as the dogs find these these little adventures beyond their sanctuary’s borders, they aren’t alone in that feeling. Wherever the dog train travels, Özgünlü and her pups are met with smiles and waves from people seeing them passing by.
“Many people like it, and it makes me even happier,” Özgünlü said.
The shining souls of all those former stray dogs, once forgotten or overlooked, are now impossible to miss.
In some ways, showing such love and dedication to the happiness of needy dogs is a thankless task for Özgünlü and others so committed to that cause — but the sight of their happy faces and wagging tails is a reward all its own.