Visa refusal prevents dog from competing in Denmark

Beyazıt Şenbük - ISTANBUL

A Turkish man and his dog, who got qualified to represent Türkiye in a contest hosted by the World Union of German Shepherd Associations (WUSV), will not be able to participate in the talent show as Denmark has refused his visa application.

“I wanted to live and keep this pride on my behalf, on behalf of my country,” said Cihat Akın, whose application got refused by the Danish Consulate on the grounds that the documents were suspicious.

Having been a dog trainer for 10 years, Akın prepared with his dog Opal, who has been with him for three years, for the talent contest to be organized by WUSV, one of the most prestigious associations in the world, between Sept. 28 and Oct. 2 in Denmark’s Randers.

After defeating their competitors in Türkiye, Akın and Opal became qualified to participate in the contest, where 122 trainers and dogs from 31 countries would compete.

Stating that he talked with officials from the Youth and Sports Ministry, Akın said, “Denmark is definitely not taking a step back.”

“It’s a great injustice,” he said. “They had doubts about the reliability of the documents though they received an invitation from the Danish association saying ‘Cihan Akın from Türkiye will come for the contest.’”

Noting that he spent 250,000-300,000 Turkish liras in total, Akın said, “I deposited the contest fee of 2,000 liras, and I rented a house in Denmark for 30,000 liras, while the expenses for the plane tickets and the transportation of Opal were around 80,000 liras.”

“I don’t understand why they are doing this though I got three Schengen visas and visited four countries in a year,” he said.

“I bought a plane ticket to Sept. 25 as Opal needs to adapt to the cold climate there. Opal is 8 years old and may not be able to handle this kind of activity when he turns 9,” said Akın, who has lost hope for the contest.