Sabbatical or Safari? Our Animal Welfare Adventure in Crete

When we told people we were taking a 7-month Sabbatical in Crete, they imagined us basking in the Mediterranean sun, sipping frappés under olive trees, building a house at a relaxed pace, and maybe picking up a little Greek along the way.

They got the house part right.
The rest? Slightly more… ruff.

Let’s rewind.

We came here as a family of five:
Michel, Jasmin, our daughter Jane, Missy (our sweet rescue from Elafonissi, 2020), and Canea (adopted from Souda Shelter in 2024). We had dreams of a simpler life, building our home step by step… maybe even relaxing a bit.

Fast-forward to today: we now live with 9 dogs and 2 cats.
No, we’re not opening a petting zoo. (Yet.)

It all began in April, when we got a message from Souda Shelter — overwhelmed and over 100 dogs deep. Four puppies had just been abandoned on a rooftop (yes, literally). They needed a foster. We said yes.

We named them:

• Rooftop (the handsome big boy)
• Nimbus (the goofy low-rider)
• Solar (the tiny one with big energy)
• and Tilea (the girl who jumped over our fence within two days and straight into our hearts)

Tilea stayed. Rooftop is off to his forever home in September. But saying goodbye to Solar and Nimbus when they return to the shelter at the end of July? That one’s going to hurt! See our post: https://30trees.ch/2025/04/20/were-fostering-4-puppies/

Meanwhile, Jane was on her own rescue mission. After saving her Swiss francs and planning for months, she finally got her wish: her very own cat. She adopted Sumi, a little fighter who survived a bad infection. Together, they’ve formed a bond that’s deep and gentle — and became even stronger when we rescued Ilio, a kitten found crying beside his dead sibling on the road.

Sumi adopted him in her own way. Now they rule Jane’s room like it’s their kingdom (and Missy – the other matriarch in the house – is finally starting to approve).

But, as we’ve learned, one rescue always leads to another.

On the highway, we found a wandering hairy vagabond. We named him Scruffy, tried to find his owner, and eventually placed him in a new home. Spoiler: it didn’t go well. He ran away. Luckily, we found him again (thank you, Facebook and every Greek phrase we’ve learned), and this time… he stayed.
Now called Teddy, he’s trimmed, chipped, fully vaccinated, and thriving — possibly with us for good – because he is the best!

Then came Ira. A skinny stray cat we once fed suddenly reappeared — crying outside with only one surviving kitten, Ivi. We took them in, got Ira neutered, and gave them time to heal. Then came a plot twist: two of her kitten’s thought dead were found… alive!

Cue a 2.5-hour tuna-powered rescue mission in the field – Yes, that’s a sentence we never thought we’d write – Success! The family — Ira, Ivi, Ifis, and Ili — reunited. We fostered them until they were ready to return to the wild (but safe!) life they came from.

Just as we thought we might return to “normal,” Tychi arrived — a 5-week-old fluffball with more cuteness than common sense (and more poo than physics can explain), in urgent need of a foster while his rescuers flew to the UK. We couldn’t say no, and so he’s staying with us until mid-July.

And just a few days later came Zaki, a dumped puppy who literally followed Michel home from a walk. His name means “pure” — and he is. Our hearts will break when we give him to the shelter by end of July.

So now our days start at 06:00, often earlier if a puppy decides it’s party time. We check-in on all animals (not all of them are allowed to mingle with each other!), feed 11 furry mouths (twice a day), walk through the hills, clean up after accidents (hygiene is key), enjoy chaotic coffee time in the garden, take siesta naps (very important after short nights), cuddle a lot and, and somehow still manage Pilates (Jasmin), Cross Training (Michel), and K-pop dance (Jane, of course). And at 21:30 it’s bedtime (for everyone – but to be honest, the animals manage this better than we do).

Our living room? A swirling blend of tails, paws, purrs, and the occasional bark-off between enthusiasm and bedtime.

It’s exhausting. It’s loud. It’s messy.
But it’s also one of the most rewarding, joyful, purpose-filled things we’ve ever done.

We came to Crete to build a house.
Somewhere along the way, we built a home — for hearts with paws, stories with scars, and second chances.

The Bühler Family, Sabbatical 2025

We’re not sharing this for applause. We’re sharing it in the hope that someone else out there says yes to a moment of compassion. Maybe that means fostering, adopting, donating, or just caring a little more.

Because animal welfare doesn’t need perfect people.
It just needs people who show up.

Crete is our future.
But these animals?
They’ve already given it a soul.

🐾 With love from our wild, beautiful, fur-covered adventure,
Michel, Jasmin & Jane
(+ Missy, Canea, Tilea, Teddy, Rooftop, Nimbus, Solar, Tichi, Zaki, Sumi & Ilio – and most probably also from Ira, Ivi, Ifis & Ili)

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PS: Solar, Nimbus and Zaki are still waiting for a forever home!!! And if we also find a loving home for Teddy, then we might be willing to give him to them.

Solar

Nimbus