Bowie
Sex: Female / Age: approx. 2 years (as of August 2026) / Size: Small (approx. 9 kg)
🐾 Affectionate, loyal, cheeky
💥 Energy level: Moderate
🐈 Good with cats
🐕 Would prefer to be the only dog in the home
👶 Good with children
👽 Good with most new people
❄ What makes Bowie special: Bowie was left disabled after a severe battle with distemper. She has neurological tics (muscle twitches) and cannot fully use her hind legs.
We rescued Bowie from a government shelter in the summer of 2025. She was extremely ill and close to death. She had distemper and was suffering from severe symptoms, including breathing difficulties and neurological tics. She had been left untreated for so long that her nose was badly damaged from the constant discharge, coughing and sneezing, causing frequent nosebleeds.
The harsh reality in Turkey is that government shelters are there to remove dogs from the streets, rather than to care for their welfare. Government shelters do not have the facilities to treat sick dogs, leaving these poor animals to suffer with little hope of recovery.
We immediately started Bowie's treatment. She fought an incredibly hard battle, with many ups and downs, but in the end she pulled through and slowly regained her strength. Today, she is healthy and ready to leave her difficult past behind and discover what life in a loving home is all about.
Bowie is one of the most remarkable dogs we've ever had in our care. She may be small in size, but she has an enormous amount of fighting spirit.
During her long, gruelling battle against Distemper, she fought her way back from every setback. Time and again, just when she seemed to be at death's door, she somehow found the strength to pull through and keep getting better. Even the vet, along with many of our followers, had lost hope and thought it was time to let her go, but she managed to surprise absolutely everyone. A fighter like that deserves the ultimate prize any shelter dog could hope for: a home with warm, loving people of her own.
Distemper left Bowie paralysed in her hind legs, but she overcame that too. These days, she's perfectly capable of using her back legs, though she hasn't quite gotten used to it yet. More often than not, she takes the easy route (or perhaps it's just habit) and relies mainly on her front legs, dragging her hind legs along behind her. It works just fine for her, and she can get around surprisingly quickly this way. But get her really excited, and she'll suddenly take off running on all four legs like it's nothing, blisteringly fast! So she's perfectly capable, she just needs the right motivation. Distemper also left her with tics, involuntary neurological muscle twitches, which will most likely ease over time.
Her incredible resilience comes down to her strong personality, and even though her fight against distemper is behind her now, that same strong character shows up every single day. Bowie is, without question, the biggest diva at the shelter. She keeps us laughing daily with her silly antics; life is never boring with Bowie around. She's certainly no wallflower, and she knows exactly how to charm everyone with her delightfully quirky behaviour.
Bowie generally adores people. Visitors are always met with an enthusiastic, warm welcome. She comes bounding over happily and immediately flops down in front of them, showing off her belly to ask for attention. She's also incredibly sweet with children.
It's not just visitors either, she's just as enthusiastic with people she already knows. She loves staying close to you, and every time you stop by, she's hoping for a good belly rub. Bowie is fiercely loyal: she'll follow you everywhere, and given the choice, she'll never leave your side.
She can be a little protective of the people she loves. If we're nearby, she might bark at unfamiliar men and try to chase them off, though she does this less when the people she's attached to aren't around.
Bowie lives freely outside the shelter, on a patch of land right by the entrance. She never strays from her favourite spot, and greets us cheerfully there every single morning.
Cats count among her friends, though that friendship does have its limits: if she's got something particularly tasty, she's not sharing it with anyone. Any cat that tries their luck will quickly learn better. Beyond that, though, she happily lives alongside our large group of street cats, and gets along with them wonderfully.
Other dogs are a different story. Bowie isn't especially fond of them. If another dog is taken out for a walk and the spotlight isn't on her, out comes her diva side. She'll bark and grumble indignantly, but she never actually attacks; it's always just a dramatic show of disapproval from a safe distance, never a real confrontation.
Bowie can also be quite the jealous type, and even though she'd rather not interact with other dogs, that doesn't stop her from muscling in the moment another shelter dog gets some attention. She has a serious case of FOMO, and simply has to be involved, just to make sure she's not missing out on any attention herself. Total diva.
This makes her the ultimate photobomber. Whenever we take dogs out for a photoshoot, you can count on spotting Bowie somewhere in the background, keeping a close eye on everything and making sure she's part of the action no matter what.
Bowie has a real soft spot for cosy, soft beds. Given her physical challenges, life outdoors simply isn't right for her. She deserves a comfortable home of her own, somewhere she can curl up on a soft bed without having to worry about the chaos of shelter life around her.
Bowie would thrive with adopters willing to work with her on building up her strength and mobility. She's fully capable of using her hind legs, she just doesn't always choose to out of habit. With a bit of one-on-one guidance, we expect she'll grow stronger and stronger over time, eventually walking and running even more than she does now.
In the long run, we think she'll be able to handle longer walks too, and that she'll absolutely love exploring the world alongside her adopters. In the beginning, though, best to stick to shorter walks.
You won't find a dog anywhere more loyal to you than Bowie. She has a strong personality and equally strong emotions, and she forms deep, powerful bonds with the people she loves and trusts. Whoever adopts Bowie will become her entire world.
She's a truly special, intelligent little dog who, despite her challenges, always finds a way to make things work for her. She's enthusiastic, adventurous, and above all, utterly endearing with her funny diva antics. But more than anything, Bowie is deeply loving and affectionate, and she'll be an incredibly devoted companion for whoever's lucky enough to adopt her.
Bowie is currently in Turkey and is ready to travel to the UK or the EU.
Our dogs arrive in their homes microchipped, up to date on their Rabies and Mixed vaccinations, spayed/neutered, dewormed and deflead and tested for Heartworm, Ehrlichia, Leishmania and Anaplasma. The dogs visit the vets for a final health check before they travel. If needed, their teeth are cleaned and X-Rays are taken of any potential areas of concern. Any concerns or potential health issues we are aware of will be communicated with you beforehand.
