FAROS is a new initiative by the Friends of the Animals of Symi and SymiGreece.com to bring Greek vets to the island to look after, care for and protect Symi’s animals (pets, strays and also work and farm animals).

Symi, like many small Greek islands, has been unable to provide a full-time veterinary surgery with the income it needs to survive. Residents of Symi have to take animals they care for to Rhodes by boat, which can be an arduous ordeal for most animals and a difficult expense for many residents. For the stray animals of Symi the situation is even more difficult.

Realising that regular visits by Greek vets to Symi would be of great help to the island, FAROS has begun looking for volunteer vets who would be willing to take time out from their practises to come to Symi and offer their services to the island free of charge. We are very proud to announce that we have had great success in this initiative, and at the time of writing we have found 11 vets who have said they wish to come to Symi.

The initiative has the formal support of the Municipality of Symi.

The first two vets came at the end of April and the surgery operated from Tuesday 29 April until Saturday 3 May 2008. The accommodation for both the surgery and the vets was donated by Kalodoukas Holidays. Tickets and transportation were donated by Symi Tours.

We hope to bring voluntary vets to Symi as often as every couple of months throughout the year and are already working towards securing the next three visits at the following provisional times:
Visit #1: Tuesday 29 April – Saturday 3 May 2008
Visit #2: End of June
Visit #3: Beginning of August
Visit #4: End of September

Anyone on Symi may bring their own animals or animals they care for to be seen by the vets free of charge. This can include:
Check-ups
Vaccinations
Neuterings
General advice
Minor operations

The vets will operate the surgery free of charge. If people bringing animals to the surgery wish to contribute towards the cost of the vet visits, they can leave a donation at the surgery.

We will be keeping everyone up to date with what is happening via the SymiGreece.com website. We will also publish regular printed newsletters, posters, and other printed materials that will be reproduced online.

Symi businesses have already stepped forward with help in funding these vet visits. People who wish this not-for-profit initiative well can now donate to the FAROS Symi Animal Fund by clicking the "DONATE" button.


You can also donate by contacting us directly using the contact information at the top of this page. In the very near future we hope to offer a range of additional ways for donating to the FAROS Symi Animal Fund.

We will also be holding a number of fund-raising events; announcements will be made online at www.SymiGreece.com as well as via leaflets, published articles, Municipal announcements, etc.