ATYA

Our pets not only add a beautiful meaning to our lives but they can also pick us up at the time of depression and anxiety. Şimşek (pronounced Shimshek), a lovely dog who lives in Yapracik, a suburb of Ankara-Turkey, symbolizes such significance. Despite the disability, Şimşek not only creates an atmosphere of joy around him but also spreads hope and inspiration all over the neighborhood in which he lives. After the unfortunate accident, Şimşek has been through, no one would have thought that he would be able to perform activities of daily living normally. Thanks to the locally-made cart which was crafted just for him by a workshop owner in Ankara. The cart provides him with a smooth control of his movements and it seems that he adapted quite well to his new moving apparatus. Moreover, Şimşek gets special care from his owner, the woman in the video, and despite her age; he is always immaculate and his diaper is changed regularly. Every day, Şimşek's owner accompanies him on a daily tour around the neighborhood. In this video, I was filming part of Şimşek’s daily tour when Şimşek and his owner were on their way to home after shopping. In the video, Şimşek stopped for his usual stop after shopping where water and a snack, secured by the waiter who appeared in the video, are waiting for him. Şimşek never stops getting the locals’ attention with every action he does; this can obviously be noticed from the grin of one child at the beginning of the video and the other child’s reaction at the end of the video. According to many locals, what is the most attractive thing about Şimşek is how elegant his front legs are moving when he walks. As a resident of this neighborhood, I feel lucky seeing him now and then as he inspires me not to lose hope whatever the difficulties may be that I face. In turn, I would like to share these inspiring moments with you.