Man Turns His Farm Into A Shelter For All Kinds Of Animals And It’s Wonderfully Chaotic

“These animals are like my children now."

Damjan

• Published in Animal Stories
• December 20, 2021

There are so many animals out there that need our help. So Mert Akkök from Turkey decided to do something about it.

He has created a private animal shelter on his farm near Istanbul. He doesn’t take in just dogs and cats – his shelter is open for all kinds of animals, and that’s what makes it so special and wonderfully chaotic.

He has about 20 dogs, several cats, goats, donkeys, birds, and other animals that are not so usual in shelters. Akkök makes it his daily routine to take care of all of them, whether they are sick, disabled, or just homeless.

He makes sure to give each of his animals the extra love they need as they all live together like one big family, saying:

“I have between 10 to 20 dogs on my farm. I rescue them from junkyards, forests, rural areas outside the city. I try to find homes for them. Some of them stay with me forever. Especially very old and sick ones."

Akkök added:

"Nobody wants to adopt them. Plus, I have 46 disabled seagulls, 1 blind horse, 3 geese (they have a long story), 3 cats, and just today, I adopted a baby donkey. For the time being, I have 23 dogs. Most of them are old or disabled.”

Mert Akkök has a private animal shelter on his farm near Istanbul, Turkey

“I was born with this. It is not something I have decided or thought of. It is more like an instinct mounted in me. I can’t stop helping homeless animals.”

“I run into these animals by myself. Because in Turkey the government is not allowed to kill homeless animals or to put them in shelters for life. This is banned by law (which is very good)."

"Our government has to neuter and vaccinate them and then put them back on the streets. So they are everywhere. "

"Anybody in Istanbul can see many homeless cats and dogs wandering around in the city"

" But some of them are dumped outside of the city because there are so many. And these ones have big difficulties in surviving. "

"People like me (I am not the only one) try to take them food regularly."

“I have between 10 to 20 dogs on my farm. I rescue them from junkyards, forests, rural areas, etc. I try to find homes for them. Some of them stay with me forever.”

“This is not my job or the main thing in life. I am a small business owner. "

"I own and manage my company which is a consultancy company for international marketing of healthcare services."

"But the times that I am not working, I devote my time to help these homeless animals"

"I have 46 disabled seagulls, 1 blind horse, 3 geese (they have a long story), 3 cats, and just today I adopted a baby donkey"

Hey, donkey

Even lambs found their way to this farm

Welcome

Hey, doggo

Selfie time

It is obvious that the animals are happy

Hey, big boy

Taking a walk

Just taking a rest

Best friends

Derpy horse

Take a break from work! Play with us

“My daily life on the farm: I wake up early. I walk my dogs to the forest. I have a truck and I drive them to some quiet areas in the forest near my village where they run and play in the forest and then we come back home. I feed and cater my horse and play music to her. She loves it when I play to her with my saxophone. Then I feed my seagull friends and the cats. I finish with the geese, they get to eat the last."

Rooster is there to protect the farm

Baby goat is there to be adorable

Say cheese

I love you, man

Looks like a fluffy toy

Akkök clearly can’t take care of so many animals alone. He has full-time workers on the farm and pays for them by himself.

He doesn’t get any donations or help from volunteers. But he is not complaining.

“These animals are like my children now. I can give them only to decent and good people who will take very good care of them, but before that, they will always have me.”

Damjan