A few hours later armed with copious directions I drove down the beautiful coastal road towards the village of Kaplica. This area is very rural and sparsely populated and the wide new road seemed to go on for ever taking me past several hamlets and old farmhouses as well as the occasional modern villa development. It was a strange and pleasant experience to drive along such a good wide road and find it practically traffic free as if I were the only person left in the world. At last I came upon Kaplica gleaming in the sun and nestling in the hills overlooking the Mediterranean. I parked my car outside the Kaplica Beach Hotel where I had arranged to meet Suzan and waited. Not long after an old gold coloured Nissan pulled up and a smiling blond lady waved and gesticulated for me to follow her. We drove on up the coastal road for a few hundred meters and then turned off abruptly up a steep stony dirt track which wound on up through the foot hills below the dramatic ruins of Kantara castle. As we edged along so as not to damage our cars a small flock of partridges consisting of a mother and her chicks ran ahead of Suzan’s car and she patiently waited for them to work out that they needed to run off into the surrounding fields. We carried on past a couple of cross roads leading off into the lovely countryside and the horse rider in me wondered where these deserted dirt tracks went and longed to explore them with an equine partner.
At last we climbed over the brow of a hill and reached a small plateau. I could see a log cabin to the left surrounded by a fence and behind it to the right a row of wooden kennels with runs. We pulled up by the log cabin and Suzan got out. I introduced myself and we went up to look at the kennels where Suzan’s business partner was busily looking after the dogs. The animals looked well cared for and the pens though basic were perfectly adequate. Suzan showed me round, then we returned to the log cabin which served as her office and home when she was on duty. A pack of dogs of all shapes and sizes spilled out of the cabin and ran barking up to the fence which surrounded the chalet. Suzan told me they were all hers and each one had its own story of how it had come to her. A couple had been dumped on her doorstep another one was going to be put down because it only had 3 legs another had turned up at the kennels looking for a home… Suzan made me a cup of coffee and we sat on the veranda of the chalet overlooking the beautiful clear turquoise Mediterranean discussing what would be involved in getting Genghis back to the UK. Suzan was very knowledgeable and had lots of experience having done it many times before. She was able to answer all my questions and allay any fears I had. By the end of our meeting I had booked Genghis a place at the kennels and had a timetable for him to have all his vaccinations and health checks as well as all the necessary paperwork completed. Suzan had also worked out that he could fly back to us in roughly 4 months. I felt a wave of relief wash over me and I drove back down the coast towards home with a smile on my face.