Happy 3 years Boncuk!

Posted on November 4, 2015 by livingtheturkishdream

Exactly 3 years ago today Berkay and I were sat on our little balcony in Calis, eating dinner when we heard a high pitched crying puppy… it sounded very close so we popped our heads over the balcony but couldn’t see anything. We finished eating our dinner, and still hearing the noise, we went down the stairs to see where it was coming from. What we found was a teeny, tiny cream coloured puppy who was tied to a post outside our landlord’s apartment below ours.

The puppy was obviously very scared and had been left there, with no food or water, and just a piece of rope tied tightly around its foot, so tightly that it couldn’t put it’s foot down or walk. We had milk in the fridge so Berkay went upstairs to get some and made a make-shift dog bowl out of the end of a plastic coke bottle… Our landlord came back from wherever he’d been and Berkay said ‘what’s this?’, the landlord looked and didn’t even notice the dog, then did a double-take and realised what we were talking about… “allah allah, bu ne lan?!”. He insisted he didn’t know where the dog had come from or why it was there but that we could keep it if we wanted, so long as it was kept in the garden and not in the house (I think he was hoping she’d act as a guard dog for his farm animals too). Him and Berkay then proceeded to make a temporary dog house out of an upside down crate, a plastic sheet, hay and some bricks. Luckily we had a small harness and lead in our apartment that was used for our rabbit (yes, a harness and lead for our rabbit… don’t ask..) and even though it was intended for smaller animals, it fit the puppy perfectly.

An urgent trip to the pet shop for food, collar and other supplies and a phonecall to Berkay’s vet friend and we were all set up. The vet came out and checked the puppy over and gave it some injections and estimated it was around 5-6 weeks old. None of us had any idea where the puppy had come from, or why it was left there, but we all fell in love with it instantly and Berkay decided to name it Boncuk…

Why do I keep referring to her as ‘it’ you ask? Well… that’s because for the first 3 months we had her we thought she was a boy. The landlord told us that it was a boy when he first spotted her, and for some insane reason we never thought to check… So our little girl dog Boncuk was known as our little boy dog Boncuk for 3 months. Hilarious, embarrassing, and it also led to a fairly mad rush to the vet in February 2013 once we realised that he was actually a she, so that we could get her spayed before she ended up having puppies herself.

Now, 3 years on, our cute, tiny Boncuk is more than 10 times the size, weight and height of that little puppy we found (not that she realises this, she still insists on trying to fit on your lap), but still just as cute. She was the cutest puppy ever, I don’t know how anyone could ever have just left her. She had the exact definition of ‘puppy dog eyes’ and the most adorable, innocent, scared little face. One of my favourite things about her is her funny little nose, it was always black with half the colour missing and pinky… it’s still like that now.

Such a special little doggy. Berkay’s brother sends me photo updates every few weeks but I miss her a lot. I can’t wait til we’re reunited again! I’m so glad she was left near our apartment and that we found her.

Happy 3 years Boncuk! ❤

Happy 2 years Boncuk!

Posted on November 6, 2014 by livingtheturkishdream

The 3rd of November marked 2 years since we found and adopted our little Boncuk.

We were sat on our balcony when we heard a puppy crying, we couldn’t see where it was coming from so went downstairs to investigate, and that’s where we found Boncuk!

She was tied to a post outside our apartment block, tied up with a piece of rope around one of her legs so tightly she couldn’t move it… she had no food or water and had just been left. We called our landlord down from his apartment asked why there was a dog outside, he had no idea either, but said we could keep it as long as it stayed outside. He later remembered that a friend of a friend had asked him if he wanted a puppy and he said he’d consider it… so we assume they took that as a yes and just dumped her there a few weeks later, but we don’t know for sure.

Luckily we had a tiny lead and harness that we used for my rabbit (don’t ask…!) and it was the perfect size for the tiny puppy, so we used that to keep her tied somewhere safe. Our landlord and Berkay made a shelter for her from an old vegetable crate, bricks, plastic and some hay, and then we headed off to the pet shop to buy some dog food and a proper lead.

We decided to name the puppy Boncuk, Berkay chose it, it means ‘bead’ but apparently is a very common and unoriginal name for pets in Turkey, I’m not entirely sure of the relevance! Funny story – for 3 months we thought Boncuk was a boy… don’t even ask how that happened…

Looking back on photos I can’t believe how tiny she was. The vet estimated that she was around 5-6 weeks old. I remember her running around with Berkay’s shoe which was bigger than her! She looked so sad and had the biggest, cutest eyes. I love her ‘broken’ nose – it’s always been like that, half black and half patchy pink…unique!

Two years on, she still looks exactly the same, only much bigger, with longer legs and an extra 11kgs in weight! She still has the same facial expressions, this is her sulky face, she still does this when we give her a wash or take her to the vet!

She was the cutest little puppy ever, and is now the most beautiful grown up doggy… but still very naughty! We love you Boncuk (:

Worry, worry, worry…

Posted on March 9, 2014 by livingtheturkishdream

It’s Sunday evening, and I’m sat in my bedroom utterly depressed. Monday tomorrow, which I’m sure everyone else who works 9-5 Monday to Friday shall agree, sucks. Monday should be a swear word. In fact, from now on I shall star out the letters. Screw you, M****y.

I’ve been at this job a month, and still hate it as much as my first day.
Despite hating every second of it, I was relieved when I was told by my manager that as far as he was concerned, they would keep me on for longer than 3 months, which they have now said isn’t true as there isn’t enough funding for the new role. So it’s back to square one. Spending my days doing a job I hate, and evenings and weekends back looking for a permanent job earning £18k in London. I applied for 200+ between October – January, and only ever got a reply from one, which was a no. I’m hoping this 3 months experience I will now have will help, but in reality, I’m not so sure it will. I’m sick of it all. I’m not passionate about any career in particular, I never have been. When I was 18 I had an unconditional offer for a university place,achieved 2 A’s and a B at A Levels, and was a fully pledged geek. Instead of taking the opportunity to go to university to study psychology, what did I do? Give it all up and worked 20 hours a week at Sainsbury’s. Clearly I don’t have my head screwed on correctly, because who in their right mind would make that choice? It’s a no-brainer isn’t it? The truth is, I only even applied for university to keep other people happy, because that’s what I was supposed to be doing. I never really wanted to. I should have stuck to my guns this time, and never took an office job. The only job I’m passionate about doing, is working with young children, or animals, neither of which pays much money, and neither of which will get me earning enough to get Berkay to the UK, not in the foreseeable future anyway.

People have commented before about doing a TEFL course and being able to teach English in Turkey, possibly allowing me to get a work permit, it’s not as easy as that though, and from people who already have these jobs, most places require CELTA qualifications, which are much much more expensive, and I’m not even remotely confident enough in myself to teach at a foreign school. I do intend to do a TEFL course soon though.

I’ve had conversations with my family this week about the immigration rules requiring me to be earning £18,600. All they kept saying before I moved back here was ‘you’ll walk straight into a job earning that money’, 6 months and 3 jobs later, here I am, unsurprisingly not earning that.Through these conversations, what I have gathered is that they see nothing wrong with these rules at all. It frustrates me. I’m not saying the world and it’s mother should have free rights to jump on a plane to the UK and enter freely, not at all. I’m just saying that it should be assessed in a fairer way, back to the old rules of the spouse having to show an extra £100 a week after outgoings to show they can afford another person living with them. Someone earning £18,600 could have outgoings of £18,600 a year, or be seriously in debt, whilst someone earning £16,000 may have outgoings of £12,000 a year. Who is in the better position then? Who has the right to decide which people deserve to live with their partners and children, based on income alone? Hell, reports have shown 48% of the UK’s population don’t earn £18,600, are you really telling me those 48% don’t have the right to live with who they want?

Away from the job and visa side of things, I have a new worry constantly on my mind. Boncuk. She’s staying with Berkay in the hotel at the moment, as it’s closed for winter and she is able to roam freely around the grounds. In summer, the hotel owner wants her gone as she’ll disturb guests by barking when seeing the lights, people and hearing the noise, which I can’t really argue with because I know she would do exactly that. This leaves us not knowing where she can go. Berkay has always taken care of her and took her with him to the hotel when he had nothing, he fed her before himself, sharing the only fish he’d caught with her so she’d eat well. We love her to pieces, and the thought of having to give her to someone else breaks my heart. Berkay was considering putting her in the kennels at the local vet, until they said they wanted 600tl a month for the privilege. 600tl a month out of his wages would leave him just 150tl a month to live on. Our own rent was only 350tl! I have gone to bed in tears twice this week after looking at the photos of the three of us, me, Berkay and Boncuk, and wishing with all my heart I could go back to those days. Giving Boncuk to a stranger, if we could even find someone to have her, would mean I never saw her again. I just can’t deal with that. We do have a kind of last resort, our friends said she can stay in their garden, but they only rent their apartment, and I’m worried Boncuk will get settled and used to them and then the landlord kick her out. I wish she could come here, I wish I could just fly out and get her and bring her back, but realistically that’s not possible either. £750 to fly or drive her back, and then still the issue of finding her a home here. My parents won’t let her stay here, not a chance in hell, I’ve asked and begged several times. She’s an outside dog, hates being indoors and isn’t even toilet trained, so I’d need to be able to find, afford and rent a ground floor flat or house with a garden to keep her in. What are the chances of that? I need to put her first, but I’ve always been adamant we’ll do everything we can to keep her with us. She’s our dog, we found her, took her in and she trusts us. Never in a million years would I dump her on the street, and finding a new home would be heartbreaking for both her, and us. What do to?

Honestly, life at the moment is just one big mess. I don’t even have anything positive to say. I don’t know what to do, say, feel.

It’s 2.5 weeks until Berkay is here, but that too, is bittersweet. When I’ve published this post I’m off to book his flight back to Turkey for 19th April. He’s not even here yet and I’m already thinking about and dreading him going back.

For now, I’m taking it one day at a time. Making the most of this Sunday evening before the hell of M****y hits.
Have a good week everybody.

Calis changes, dog walks & the canal..

Posted on March 2, 2014 by livingtheturkishdream

On his day off Berkay likes to go walking through Calis.

He took Boncuk with him and went for a long walk up a hill with a beautiful view from the top (click here to see my old post with photos of the view!) We used to take her for a walk everyday and more often than not ended up walking to the top of this hill, we always had it to ourselves which meant Boncuk could run free off the lead safely, with no cars, people or other animals nearby. She loves to sit up there and have cuddles, look down over Calis or just play fetch. It’s so peaceful there.

On the way back to the hotel they stay in, they took the road that goes past our old apartment (the top floor)… This apartment is nothing special, in fact it was pretty poor, and only 350tl a month, the equivalent of around £100 (which was still half of Berkay’s entire income!) .. but it was ours. It still makes me sad imagining other people in our house, cooking in our kitchen, sleeping in our room, sitting on our balcony… I try not to think about it too much, because when I do it just upsets me.
Click here for an old post with more photos of inside the apartment.

Anyway, after they got back to the hotel, Berkay left Boncuk and carried on walking to the investigate the new-look canal. I’ve mentioned in a previous post about the changes they are doing, but I really can’t believe how different it looks.
Here’s a photo of the canal (left) taken a year ago, and the new, wider, cleaner canal with no plants (right) taken last week, both photos taken in the exact same place.

The changes they’re making are all for the better, it’s going to look like a different place when I go back!

Jobs are like buses..

Posted on February 7, 2014 by livingtheturkishdream

You wait around ages for one then 3 come along at once … quite literally!!

Berkay quit his job mid January, and was struggling to find work with hotels not wanting anyone outside of the tourist season.. His luck changed last week when a hotel in Fethiye called him asking him to start the next day, he said yes, but just before he was due to start, the restuarant he was at before Christmas called him wanting him back, pay was less but they provided his transport so it worked out around the same.. he took that job and was there for 3 days when his summer boss called and asked him to start working in their sister hotel, which is open all year around. Berkay couldn’t believe his luck! He knows this boss well and works with him every summer so he knows he is guaranteed to be paid unlike last winter when he worked for 2 months without a penny being handed over..

So now Berkay is working in Vizon hotel in Fethiye’s main town centre. It’s a very Turkish hotel, it’s rare any other nationalities visit, it’s not touristy at all. He’s happy there and gets along well with the other staff who he’s known for over 7 years. I’m so pleased he finally has a job so he can start earning and saving, the best part is they’re letting him have 3 weeks holiday to come back to the UK in March/April so he has a guaranteed job when he returns too. Phew.

It’s not just Berkay that’s been having luck on the job front, I finally have a start date for the job I’ve been promised since the beginning of January, I’m starting on Monday and pleased that this is the first step of a very, very long journey towards getting Berkay here for good ~~hopefully.~~

In other news… My little doggy Boncuk has a boyfriend! His name is Maxi and he lives near where Berkay stays. Maxi and Boncuk used to ‘talk’ to each other through the gate, and when Berkay opened it to let him in the other day, they shared a little kiss 😉

Look how happy my fur baby looks ❤

I’m missing Turkey a lot lately, but Berkay is keeping me updated with photos.
7 weeks time and he will be back here! Can’t wait.

Berkay & Boncuk settling in..

Posted on November 19, 2013 by livingtheturkishdream

I can safely say Boncuk is LOVING being at the hotel 24/7 and being able to walk around the grounds with no danger of her getting out. The hotel is closed and Berkay is the only one there, apart from the security man, who happens to be Berkays best friend! (: Boncuk is being a good little guard dog, barking and waking them up to investigate when someone/something is there who shoudn’t be!

Berkay’s not having the best of times, he still hasn’t found a job for winter, although he has one promised starting in January. He has no money and if it wasn’t for his friend always inviting him to his house for dinner, he’d be starving. The hotel has no running hot water either, so everytime he wants a shower he has to boil water on the gas, oh i do not miss those days.

At least they have each other, Boncuk adores Berkay. Everytime he goes in his room, she sits outside the window looking in at him, bless her. They really are best buddies.

It just goes to show that dogs really do stick with you, no matter if they’re in a lovely, cosy house or a small, cold room underneath a hotel with bare minimum. Animals are so much nicer than most humans ❤

Dogsitting mum’s shih tzu..

Posted on October 11, 2013 by livingtheturkishdream

I’m currently sitting at mums house alone dog-sitting all night, and although it’s no substitute for my beautiful Boncuk, I love her dog and he’s cute, so thought I’d do a little post about him.What is your pet?
He’s my mum’s dog, but he’s a dog. A pedigree shih tzu.
What is their name?
Brad. It’s my mum’s favourite boys name, in fact, if i were a boy she was going to call me Bradley.
How old are they?
Two & a half. His birthday is 28th April 2010.
Where did you get them?
She got him from a breeder she found on the internet. They had a litter of puppies and mum went to see them and chose this one. He was so tiny and looked totally different than he does now!
Do they know any tricks?
In a word, no. He sits when he wants to, and gives you his paw sometimes, but he’s a stubborn little thing and won’t do anything unless he wants it. If you say ‘come here’ he usually runs off in the other direction, little monkey!
Do they snuggle, give kisses, follow you around?
He likes to follow mum around, he gets quite upset when she closes the baby gate to lock him downstairs! He also really loves to sit, lay down or sleep on your feet, I think it must be a comfort thing, if there’s a foot or a pair of slippers on the floor, you can bet your life he’ll lay on them. He likes to chew his ball on your feet as well, and lick them. Gross! Mum recently moved into a new house and got a lovely new sofa, he was banned from getting on it… that lasted a few weeks and now every time you sit down he sits staring and crying at you til you pick him up and let him snuggle on your legs. He’s a spoilt little brat really!

What are some of the funny things they do to make you laugh?
Oh too many to mention! Every time we have something to eat he sits staring as us til we give him some, naughty! He loves to play with his favourite ball, but its so small it fits under the sofa. Usually when it’s Eastenders time, he gets his ball out, kicks it under the sofa and then everyone has to get off and rearrange furniture so he can be reunited with it. It’s funny but irritating! Another funny thing he’s doing now is because I’m here and have started to go on walks with him and mum, he gets jealous that someone else is on ‘their’ walk. Every time we go out together he turns around and constantly tries to bite my shoes. Jealous pants!
He’s pretty unique, he’s got one wonky eye and constantly has his tongue hanging out/teeth on show. Stinky little fluff ball. (:

Puppy love..

Posted on September 6, 2013 by livingtheturkishdream

She’s nearly one so I’m not sure if she still counts as a pup, but I couldn’t resist sharing these adorable photos of Boncuk, Berkay & I (:

We had a lazy day, ate lunch then sat in bed watching a Turkish film while eating popcorn, then walked the dog (: perfect!

Meet Boncuk..

Posted on August 23, 2013 by livingtheturkishdream

What is your pet?
A dog. Don’t know the breed, a mix i guess.

What is their name?
Boncuk (pronounced ‘bon-jook’) It means ‘bead’ in Turkish. I’m not entirely sure why, but apparently it’s a very common name for dogs, cats, budgies.. etc here in Turkey, I assume because of the ‘beady’ eyes? Who knows (:

How old are they?
Not sure when her actual birthday is, but we think she was born sometime at the end of September 2012. We’ve had her since 4th November 2012 and the vet estimated she was 6 weeks old then.

Where did you get them?
Long story. We came home from the market one day and heard a yelping crying downstairs. We looked over the edge of the balcony and saw a tiny pup tied up. We went down to investigate and assumed our landlord had gotten a dog, although she had been left with no food, water and was tied to the balcony railing by a piece of rope around her leg which was cutting off the circulation. It turned out she wasn’t the landlords, he had no idea where she’d come from. He later remembered he had said in a random conversation with a passer by that he wanted a dog to guard his sheep, but nothing more was ever said. We assume the passer by came back with this puppy a few weeks later, but why they didn’t tell anyone and left her with no food or water I have no idea, or perhaps she was just dumped there by someone else. We untied the rope and gave her some water and cuddles, she was shaky and terrified, poor thing. The landlord didn’t want her, but since we fell in love with her, he said we could keep her, as long as she was kept outside. So that’s what we did-built her a home out of old slates, bricks and plastic, and tied her up using a lead I had for my rabbit (don’t ask haha).

She still lives outside now, but she doesn’t mind at all. Berkay has built her a nicer home and we play with and walk her everyday. Having dogs living outside is a bit of a controversial thing I think, but she’s a happy woofer and doesn’t mind at all. (: She always greets us with a waggy tail and only barks if she hears or see’s someone/something unusual.

Here’s some photos from the first few weeks we had her, I can’t believe she was so small.

Do they know any tricks?
Not really tricks, but she knows the standard ‘sit’, ‘lay’ and ‘give paw’. She also knows ‘get your ball’. We’re trying to teach her to ‘wait’ but she’s not quite mastered that yet, too excitable! She only knows English too, despite being Turkish!

Do they snuggle, give kisses, follow you around?
Since she’s not allowed indoors, no she doesn’t follow us around, but she does walk well off the lead. She does love to give kisses yes, it’s made for some quite funny photo attempts.

What are some of the funny things they do to make you laugh?
We walk her at the top of a hill with some old ruins, we often sit on the fallen bricks while she’s running around and she’s started to do a new, funny thing where she’ll get her ball, come running up behind us sitting on the brick wall and jump on our laps for snuggles, ball still in mouth! She makes me smile all the time. It’s also hilarious when she’s just so eager to get the treats that as soon as she sees our hand in the treat bag, instead of waiting for us to say ‘sit’,’lay’ or ‘give paw’, she does all three before the treat has even left the bag, in the hope she’s done something right and won’t have to wait!

She loves eating ice lollies too, not the healthiest thing, but they do a good job of cooling her down.