Two months of volunteering, countless lives touched… and three very special journeys home! ❤️

Our final-year veterinary students from Poland, Justyna Maria Jurczak and Olivia Rajca, have completed their two-month ESC volunteering activity in Sinop.

Throughout their stay, Justyna and Olivia supported the daily care and treatment of cats and dogs, assisted with veterinary procedures, medication and post-operative care, and worked hard to improve the animals’ living conditions. They created comfortable hiding spaces and visual barriers for cats under treatment to reduce stress, improved hygiene and daily care routines, and introduced a Trello-based patient tracking system with photos, medical notes and treatment information—leaving behind a practical system that future volunteers can continue to use.

But their story with our animals does not end here. ❤️ Justyna adopted one of our shelter dogs, while Olivia adopted two cats: a mother who had been abandoned on the street with her babies and a little kitten who had lost one eye and undergone an amputation.

Their three new family members are now waiting for the required 90-day period following their rabies titre tests to be completed. Then Justyna and Olivia will return to Türkiye to take their children home to Poland. ✈️

Thank you, Justyna and Olivia, for your hard work, initiative and compassion, and for giving three of our animals something even greater than care—a family. ❤️

Special thanks to their sending organisation, Stowarzyszenie Aktywności Obywatelskiej Bona Fides, for their cooperation and support.

Some volunteering experiences end with a goodbye. This one ends with “See you soon.” ❤️

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