A Little Bit of Greece in East Sussex
read time: 3 mins
video 1.33 mins + audio 13.24 mins
With fur, four paws, and a whole lot of heart
If you happen to wander into the village of Ringmer in East Sussex, you might just stumble upon a small but very special community. They don’t drink tea. They don’t have British passports. They don’t even speak English as their first language.
They are Greek dogs — once abandoned or unwanted here in Mani and now living safe, happy lives in the UK.
And the journey they’ve taken to get here? Well, it’s been a very special one for me.
From the mountains of Mani to a Sussex village green
My own Greek dog adventure began in 2022, when I moved from the UK to Mani and started volunteering with MIAO — Mani International Animal Organisation. Before long, I found myself caring for fifteen unwanted pups in the middle of nowhere, just outside Thalames. They were gorgeous, healthy, full of personality… and desperate for homes.
Finding homes in Greece was – and still is – tough. So I looked to the U.K. — because when a dog’s whole future hangs in the balance, you don’t wait for opportunity, you need to hunt it down.
One casual conversation with my husband led to another and another, then before I knew it, I was speaking to Vanessa Leon. Vanessa runs the much-loved pet shop in Ringmer – with her son Greg. It’s the opposite end of the country to the one I know best, but Vanessa knows her community — and more importantly, her community trusts her. That trust became the bridge between the stray dogs of Mani and the dog lovers of East Sussex.
Vanessa wanted to help us with animal rescues from Greece and I was delighted to find a new way forward.
Three years ago, our first five Thalames pups made the journey to Ringmer. Since then, eighteen Greek dogs have found loving homes in the Ringmer area – all because of a friendship that’s developed, a village shop, and a lot of determination.
The matchmaking process — with a tail wag
It’s not as simple as putting a cute poster on a pet shop wall or a photo online. When someone in Ringmer spots one of our dogs in Vanessa’s shop and shows interest, she carefully chats with them to see if adoption might be right. Then I step in — getting to know their life, their home, their experience with dogs.
Then we set about finding the perfect match. To find the perfect one often involves a series of calls and video calls – we do everything we can to bring our dogs to life for potential adopters.
We’ve even had people fly out to Greece to meet dogs in person. Like Sarah, who came looking for one dog… and went home with two. She adopted Harry and his street-smart mum Kouta, who went from surviving on scraps to curling up on a sofa in the U.K. — and is now even being considered as a therapy dog.
Every match is made with care. Once a dog has been chosen Vanessa always does a home visit. If a home isn’t safe or suitable, we don’t go ahead. We’d rather keep a dog in foster care here than place them somewhere they won’t thrive.
Why not just adopt from the UK?
It’s a fair question. And in theory, yes — rehoming local dogs is ideal. But many UK rescue centres have rules so strict that experienced dog owners are often turned away. “No visiting children,” “must be under a certain age,” “garden fence exactly this height”… the list is long.
The risk is that people who are turned away end up buying from unscrupulous breeders. We offer a responsible alternative. Every dog we send is thoroughly health-checked, both physically and behaviorally, and every adopter is vetted with the same care. But we’re flexible — we look at people as individuals, not as tick-boxes.
More than rescues — a community
What’s grown in Ringmer is more than a set of happy adoption stories. It’s a little Greek dog family. Adopters keep in touch, share updates, and meet up — like the reunion we held on the village green in July, where twelve of “our” dogs played, barked, and sniffed each other in a joyful chaos that only dog people truly understand.
For Vanessa and I it’s just the most rewarding thing, and it’s emotional – but it really does make everything worthwhile. I’ve met some lovely people, many I now consider friends. And it’s almost impossible to believe that 3 years ago I didn’t know Vanessa – we’ve been through a lot since then. As for Ringmer, it’s now a must stop destination on any U.K. trip. If anyone is passing by I’d urge you to pop into The Pet Store – or just take a look around to try to spot a Greek doggie. It won’t be so hard.
Interview with Jo and Vanessa
Could you be our next hero?
We’d love to grow this network. Could you adopt a Greek rescue? Or do you know someone who could be another “Vanessa” — a trusted local who can connect us with responsible dog lovers in another UK community?
It only takes one person to open the door — and for a dog, that means the difference between a life on the streets and a life of love, safety, and belonging.
Because for every wagging tail you see in Ringmer, there’s another one still waiting in Mani, dreaming of its own village green.
0 Comments