Introducing…Cheeky Tan.
For Patchos.
Paint: Cheeky Tan by The Pickleson Paint Co. | Model: Patchos.
Updated 20th June 2023: This feature has been revised to include new developments in regards to the discovery of Patchos’ siblings.
Chania, Crete…
…Is where we first locked eyes on our good-time boy from Greece.
It was a rainy day in paradise. The mist had descended on The White Mountains, spending the day sunning ourselves was out the window and it was far too early to start day drinking in earnest. So we jumped into the deeply questionable 90’s Jimny we’d hired for the trip, rolled-up the canvas roof and headed to The Souda Shelter; an under-funded but absolutely vital Dog Shelter, run by Elizabeth Iliakis and a team compiling mostly of volunteers, who provide a safe place for abandoned, abused and stray dogs. They provide animals with food, shelter, healthcare and compassion, before helping to find them a forever home. Not an easy place to find though, it turns out! A few wrong turns, a touch of mild panic and the odd near death experience saw us - eventually - creep under a subway, beneath one of Crete’s busiest roads and out the other side, to pull up alongside a wire-fenced fortress, guarded by what sounded like a thousand hounds. The smell of wet dog thick in the air.
Undeterred, we waited at the gates to be let in by one of Souda’s volunteers. She waded through a full squad of mutts to reach the first of two gates, opened it and passed through to get closer to where we were stood. An enthusiastic four-legged lad had wriggled through with her undetected, so she turned around and re-opened the first gate to let him back into the shelter proper. Only this time two escaped. Then three... This went on for some time.
Once inside, we were greeted by a rag-tag bunch of beautiful boys and girls. Instantly affectionate, curious, windswept and interesting types with kind eyes and cheeky grins. We were licked half to death as we roamed around the various enclosures meeting certified good boy after certified good boy. They came in all different shapes and sizes… Some big, some small, some short, some seemingly terrifying; but all of them absolutely charming. We met Shane (short-stuff and leader of the welcome committee), we met Toby (world’s most handsome man), we met Phil (a bonafide old-school eccentric with a heart of gold) and we met Flint - who despite having a badly broken leg and a tough, tough life - was beside himself with excitement at the very idea that someone would want to stroke his little head. We had already fallen in love thirty-seven times at this point. But then, in the very far corner of the shelter, in a pen within a pen, sat Patchos.
Patchos in his pen at The Souda Shelter.
Looking like a Wes Anderson stop-motion character.
I should probably admit at this stage that this wasn’t exactly a chance meeting. A couple of weeks prior to our visit, I had scanned the shelter’s website, seen some pictures of Patchos, cried, then rather dramatically announced to a room filled with only Rachael that “HE IS MY DOG”. As dramatic as I may have been, I wasn’t wrong. Rachael and I let ourselves into his little home and instantly fell in love. He was perfect. And he was going to be our best friend.
Woof!
Rachael and Patchos meet for the first time at The Souda Shelter.
Skip forward a couple of weeks to 3.30am on a rainy night in East London and the arrival of Patchos. His journey had taken him from Crete to Athens by boat, from Athens to Paris by plane and from Paris to London by car. It was a long and no doubt traumatic journey for what was already a very scared little dog. Though expertly arranged and actioned by Elizabeth and her team of volunteers, he was exhausted and silent. He did however recognise our faces. He gave us a lick, had a big drink, pissed on the floor and fell asleep in our arms.
Our little Cretan on his first morning in London.
Six months have now passed and Patchos is happy, healthy and enjoying his new life with us in the UK (with the exception of the weather and the fact he’s struggling for a decent Gyros). He’s affectionate, funny, remarkably clever and an absolute chancer! Coming in at 1ft nothing and just a little bit long, our tiny Greek hound is the direct inspiration for our latest shade, Cheeky Tan. We say direct, because this colour is a literal match of his tiny golden cheeks…
Introducing… Cheeky Tan.
We can vouch for the colour match. When we were painting the samples for this new colour of ours, he wagged his tail all over the wet paint.
We’re yet to figure out whats paint and whats Patchos.
Cheeky Tan has all the warmth of a Cretan sunset, the dustiness of an ancient relic made perfect by time, and immediately makes us crave a slab of Moussaka and an ice-cold Mythos. It’s sometimes a light sandy brown, sometimes yellow and - much like Patchos - always, always handsome… Unless its asleep with its mouth open.
We have fallen in love with Chania, and Crete, and Greece in general. It’s an achingly beautiful part of the world; full of handsome, kind, generous people who appear to have a natural instinct for shaping life’s most natural wonders into things of effortless beauty. It does however, have a heartbreaking and systemic problem with abandoned, abused and stray animals. Elizabeth and her team at Souda Shelter do remarkable work in alleviating the problem in and around Chania, but they receive no official funding and are perpetually over-capacity. Almost daily, animals are dropped at the gates of the shelter after being abandoned, injured or found in rubbish bins. They simply cannot take-on any more dogs, but they always do.
Fundamentally, Souda’s mission is to find permanent homes for the animals they care for, but we have experienced first-hand the dedication and professionalism they show in making sure each and every dog that enters their shelter is given vital healthcare, food, safety and love. In Patchos’ case, they took care of his jabs, medicines, passport application and organised his safe passage to our door in East London. They are brilliant at what they do and need all the support they can get.
With every order of Cheeky Tan, we’ll be donating £10 to the Souda Shelter Project. Here’s hoping we can help more little Greek rascals find safe and loving homes full of colour, and laughter, and hope.
To find out more about The Souda Shelter, Make A Donation or find out more about Adopting a Dog of your own, visit their website.
Here are some of The Souda Shelter’s current guests, all in need of a home…
Update:
Since the original writing of this feature… It seems we have - completely by chance - discovered Patchos’ siblings, from a new litter.
Mira, Jossi, JumJum and Mio (who is currently suffering with an injured leg) were found in a remote village in the mountains outside Kissamos by Julia Karlsson and her family whilst on holiday in the area. They fed and watered the pups and built them a temporary shelter before seeking the help of Animal Friends of Kissamos, who have since provided the dogs with temporary foster and health care.
They are all in desperate need of permanent homes, so if you’re interested in adopting one (or of course all) of Patchos’ siblings, do get in touch via hello@picklesonpaint.com and we’d be delighted to help you with the process. In the meantime, you can donate directly to the shelter looking after them, and many other wonderful dogs, via the link below…
From left to right - Mira, Jossi, Mio and JumJum.