THANKS TO Lynda Ward for this lovely photograph of Blackie, one of the puppies of Fliss, the bitch rescued from a miserable existence on the island of Crete by Friends of Animals Rethymno.

Didn't he grow up to be a handsome, contented looking boy? A far cry from the horrible fate that awaited him in Crete - chained to a barrel for as long as he could survive, which at one point was looking most unlikely.

Readers planning a trip to Crete are reminded that they too can help make a difference to suffering animals with just a simple phone call to Friends of Animals Rethymno (tel Jayne on 28310 72138) or Noah's Ark ( tel Chania Shelter on 6942036785).