While visiting her mother in Turkey, Dilara İlter witnessed “magic” unfolding outside the window. On the street below, she saw a woman walking with a myriad of animals following her: dogs, cats, and even birds! Dozens of animals joined her during that sunny day as if they were on some magnificent parade.
İlter was stunned by the fairytale-like scene she just witnessed.
“The moment I saw her walking like that, I thought she was a wizard or something,” she told The Dodo.
As unreal as it looks, the spectacle was not a product of magic. It was brought about by an act of love.
“My mom told me that every other day [the woman] gathers stray animals around and feeds them,” İlter said.
Luckily, she captured the incredible moment on camera for the rest of the world to see! You can watch it in the clip below.
Bu hanim her gun mahallede ne kadar hayvan varsa etrafina toplayip onlari doyuruyor. Kedi kopek karga hepsi sisko hahajd @MaltepeBelTr pic.twitter.com/f8r5UnDHUb
— ☽ Dilere (@cocukkilidi) September 23, 2017
Learning the story behind the woman and her group of animal friends made the spectacle even more stunning and meaningful.
“The scene was so poetic,” İlter said. “I was amazed how beautiful what she was doing for these animals.”
İlter came back to visit her mom a year later, and she spotted the same woman again. It was as if nothing had changed – her loyal followers were still in tow.
These processions continue to this day, according to İlter. The woman’s work for the animals isn’t compensated with monetary rewards or anything of that sort, but it seems she isn’t expecting to receive any at all. She just feeds these creatures solely out of her love for them and nothing more.
“My mom found her and talked to her but she was too shy to talk,” İlter said. She added that the woman is not alone in doing this good deed of feeding these homeless creatures. “The streets are full of food left out for animals. It’s pretty common in Turkey actually. Everybody loves stray animals here.”
This story may have happened three years ago, but it’s still as inspiring to this day.
Another similar story is about a man named Paul Santell, also known on Instagram as “Paul the Cat Guy.” He adopted the nickname after he developed a passion for rescuing stray cats in New York City.
Paul started his mission six years ago when he saw a hungry stray cat on his way home one night. He saw a can of cat food beside the feline and began feeding it. The next night, Paul did the same thing.
After about two months of feeding cats, Paul realized he wanted to do more to help them. He attended a free ASPCA class to learn about how to handle community cats. Now, Paul spends 30 hours a week feeding stray felines around New York!
He has been doing it for three years now, even though he has a full-time job. And to help more cats in other areas, Paul set up an Instagram account where he promotes adoptable cats and asks people to contact him if they come across one that needs help.
These people surely are a gift to the lives of these creatures! Share this story to inspire others to be more loving and kind towards animals.
