Paphos People

I have gotten an email today , telling me that Paphiakos animal "charity"
has lost its status as an approved charity ?
Can anyone shed any light on this ??

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REACH 1000`s of PAPHOS CUSTOMERS EVERY DAY FOR A FRACTION OF WHAT THE OTHERS CHARGE
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Whilst the optimist and the pessimist argued that the whisky glass was either half full
or half empty ? .
I drank it .....
The opportunist..

Not something I've seen or have been made aware of but there have been a few negative reports published during the last week although some of these do relate to articles published in 2010 so a bit difficult to work out what is current and what isn't...

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Regards
Shell

Taken from Todays cyprus mail ...

If they were stripped of there charity status in march
how come they can still advertise as a charity on the adverts and radio ads ??
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By Bejay Browne
AN animal welfare charity in Paphos is fighting a decision by the income tax office to strip it of its charitable status.
Paphiakos and CCP animal welfare were sent a letter by the tax office in March stating they were no longer recognised as a charity. But a meeting is scheduled next week between the charity and the relevant ministry to resolve the issue, which the former believes is merely a misunderstanding.
“We have already lodged an objection to the decision of the tax office which said that we are not a charity. This is a big mistake; it’s very embarrassing and very disappointing,” the charity’s accountant Marios Taliotis said.
Founded in 1982, the organisation was initially known as Cyprus Cat Protection (CCP) and Animal Welfare. It provided shelter for stray cats and dogs. In 1994 it became a registered charity (No.1529) known as Paphiakos and CCP Animal Welfare, with the vision of promoting the aims of the government for improving animal welfare all over the island.
Since then, Paphiakos operates an information and complaints centre, a veterinary clinic, a free rescue and 24 hours emergency service, a shelter, boarding, re-homing and pet travel services. The charity also has a coffee shop and six charity shops as well as a book exchange.
“We have tangible evidence to support everything which we do, we don’t make a profit, we don’t own anything, such as buildings – we pay rent for our charity shops and clinic – and we have close to 400 volunteers helping us,” Taliotis said.
“We are fighting for survival during these tough economic times and now someone has added this problem. We are determined to carry on all of the good work which we have been undertaking for many years now.”
He said if closing the charity had to be considered, it would spell disaster for Cyprus. “We have no intention of closing. We are the only animal welfare charity which represents Cyprus internationally. We attend EU exhibitions, congresses and seminars and we also help to train staff from abroad.”
Last year 82 university students from abroad were trained in animal welfare by Paphiakos and gained certificates to say they had attended their courses. “Nobody pays us for this,” Taliotis said.
He also said Paphiakos removes thousands of dead and injured animals from the roads and highways. “We are the people the police and authorities call to do this and we don’t get paid for this either.”
He said that he is optimistic that once the ministry understands exactly what it is that the charity does and how much unpaid work they undertake, they will “step in and stop the course of action which has been taken against them”.
But he remained defiant, if the outcome of the meeting is not in favour of the animal welfare organisation.
“If our objections are not accepted, we will have to go to court to fight for our right to remain as a charity. We don’t want to have to take this course of action, but as a last resort, this is what we will have to do. We owe it to the animals and our supporters.”

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REACH 1000`s of PAPHOS CUSTOMERS EVERY DAY FOR A FRACTION OF WHAT THE OTHERS CHARGE
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Whilst the optimist and the pessimist argued that the whisky glass was either half full
or half empty ? .
I drank it .....
The opportunist..

I also found this on facebook today ..
And everyone was screaming at me to leave them, as they were so great ..
I hope those who did will now eat there words ..


FROM FACEBOOK
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I have just been informed by vet services that Pafiakos is no longer a charity and is not allowed to accept any dogs from any municipalities or government funding. They are also under investigation from various groups overseas, because it was discovered that they were actually making a profit for many years instead of using all the money donated towards animal wellfare. A number of dogs had been put down even though they had a chip, a fact that is also under investigation. They are not allowed to put any of the dogs left on their premises down, and will be running as a private shelter from now on. I thank vet services, especially a person that has worked on this case for a while for doing what they did (finally!!). I also thank the individuals that came forward so that more data was collected and finally the truth came out!! If everyone works together things may actually start working properly

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REACH 1000`s of PAPHOS CUSTOMERS EVERY DAY FOR A FRACTION OF WHAT THE OTHERS CHARGE
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Whilst the optimist and the pessimist argued that the whisky glass was either half full
or half empty ? .
I drank it .....
The opportunist..

The silence is actually deafening, a couple if months ago someone would have been on here shouting at us to leave them alone and how amazing they were. I have always been very wary of this organisation!

Funny how the reply I posted on Cyprus Living was deleted!

The hand of the dictator strikes again!

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Dave
Moira And Dave

“I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.”

scatty annie there is a post on there from you under the animal welfare section

There's actually 2 posts on the same day (8 September 2013) - one with no comments and the other with 3 comments.

ScattyAnnie
It's easy to find posts you have made on CL if you click at the top right of the page (above the banner ads), the text link which reads: "View your posts"

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Regards
Shell

Apologies!! Having a blond moment!

I would have thought that Jacs would have been on here with a logical explanation for all of this ??
I was told today that the sanctuary has been closed , and no one is answering any of the telephones.
I cant even get hold of Suzanne Ashmore (head of marketing for paphiakos for the last 4 years) to give me a statement ??
I do believe she is a member of P.P ??

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REACH 1000`s of PAPHOS CUSTOMERS EVERY DAY FOR A FRACTION OF WHAT THE OTHERS CHARGE
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Whilst the optimist and the pessimist argued that the whisky glass was either half full
or half empty ? .
I drank it .....
The opportunist..

i was told by a friend of mine today that after his dog was taken to Paphiakos after escaping from his garden they phoned him in the morning to tell him it had been handed in to them. (It was chipped so they knew who to phone) When he went in the afternoon to collect it .it had been put down. What kind of place is that?

Paphiakos has closed their shops in Larnaca and Limassol. Anyone know what the current situation is
re the "charitable status"? As Neil said a couple of months ago, it is surprising "Jacs" has not been on here to
remonstrate.

a little harsh old chap. Maybe a simple explanation is available without remonstrations or recriminations.

Clearly they are an organisation under pressure in one way or another and can offer a fabulous service to the public. So now would be the time to sweep the floor so as to speak and refresh their thinking.

Many good people trying hard and offering support.

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Straight talking, no Gimmicks.

Live your dreams.

Tanny, I have to take issue with you on this one. Why is what I said about Jacs not posting a "little harsh", when
you didn't make the same comment when Neil posted and posed the same question in September?
Also, I would say that many people in the past(including myself and my wife) have offered support - in our
case over 18 months and many hundreds of hours - only to be treated like dirt, even as unpaid volunteers,
until we resigned. Would also let you know that having worked for them when the Inland Revenue decided that
charities would pay VAT on their sales, we were TOLD and INSTRUCTED how to "get round" them paying vat,
that none of the volunteers were happy with, especially when we were told that if a vat inspector walked in,
we shouldn't give our names or addresses. Make of that what you will.

Wavy Dave, I dont doubt for one second what you say and may agree with a lot of the sentiment also, however until there is a reasoned informed response (if one were ever to come) then maybe we shouldnt judge too harshly. There may be a plausable explanation for the issues raised.

However there is also a massive need for an organisation (of whatever colour) to look after animals that are cast astray and without Paphiakos who else can and will fill the void. Maybe they need a little time and support to do so.

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Straight talking, no Gimmicks.

Live your dreams.