Charity Donations in Memory of Christine LaPlanche

Our Mom Chris moved to Cyprus about 22 years ago with Dad. They had a really good retirement till Mom’s health declined about 3 or 4 years ago but they still managed to get out & about a bit, enjoying their chips on the beach or sitting in their lovely garden.

For anyone who doesn’t know, Cyprus has millions of cats – our mom adored all cats - all animals in fact.

Cats are mainly looked upon as vermin in Cyprus and many are beaten or kicked to death or intentionally poisoned.

Cats were introduced into Cyprus 100’s of years ago to reduce the out-of-control snake population. When they’d done their job, they were no longer of use so were just left to roam and breed uncontrolled. They are homeless and left out in the searing heat with no food or water except from kind tourists, ex-pats or some locals.

If it wasn’t for the animal charities in Cyprus many cats & dogs and other pet type animals would have little to no chance of surviving.

The charity I have chosen for donations in our mom’s memory is officially registered in Cyprus under the name of Island of Hope. They are running programs providing healthcare, rehoming, trap-neuter-release as well as educational programs in schools and general population raising awareness of animal welfare.

Our mom and myself had first hand experience of this charity 2 years ago when I was visiting mom & dad.

We saw a very tiny ginger & white kitten maybe 8 weeks old trying to get across a busy road – cars miraculously just missing her! We picked her up out of the road and couldn’t leave her there so took her back to my holiday apartment near mom’s house. (Mom already had enough cats and knew Dad would not want more!)

It was too easy to get attached to the kitten (called her Molly), but I tried to find charities that could help find her a home, with no luck. Until I found Island of Hope.

 They took Molly in, fed her, had her checked by a vet, vaccinated her and arranged for her to fly to the UK along with other lucky pets destined for a better life, so she could come and live with me. All that for 180 Euros – about £150.

It was Mom who paid for Molly to come back with me. She would have loved to have her but her health conditions meant it wasn’t practical and they had already got 2 cats and were also looking after a mother & her kittens at the time.

I know mom would be so happy if she managed to raise money for this wonderful charity in her memory.