Schatzi

Sesim, who had shared her life with dogs since childhood, knew the time had come to adopt a dog from a shelter. She spent her days, weeks, even months scrolling through dog adoption pages. Her only criterion was finding a dog with an energy level that could adapt to the size of her home and the rhythm of her daily life in Istanbul.

She contacted a few people about different posts, but on the first day of 2015—January 1st—she came across a photo on Sarp’s Instagram page that made her say, “This is the one.” It showed Schatzi gazing at a slice of pizza, her eyes full of emotion.

Back in December 2014, during a snowy and freezing winter, Schatzi had been spotted at Hasdal Shelter by a volunteer, dear Irene. A dog was freezing in a cage, so Irene immediately began the process of getting her out. Irene temporarily took her to Sarp’s home. Sarp first warmed her up, then took photos of her and posted on Instagram with the caption: “Bayan Sosis (Miss Sausage) is looking for a home.”

She was nicknamed Bayan Sosis because of her squat body, short legs, and slender, melancholy face that resembled a sausage dog (Dachshund), although she was clearly a mixed-breed.

That was the post Sesim saw. Within 2–3 days, she visited Sarp’s home to meet Bayan Sosis, and that’s where their friendship began. From that moment on, Miss Sausage—renamed Schatzi by the household’s other member, Mehmet—became part of their family.

What struck Sesim most, after all her previous purebred dogs, was how adaptable and intelligent Schatzi was. Despite being around two years old, she learned everything very quickly and showed a kind of grateful gentleness that perhaps came from all the hardship she had endured.

Even though Sesim tried to uncover Şatzi’s past before the shelter, she could never learn the full story. Still, it’s likely that she first lived on the streets, was then taken by the municipality to a forest outside the city, and later brought to Hasdal Shelter temporarily for spaying.