NEWSLETTERS  

Please note that as from September 2019 all our news can be seen via this Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/animalsindistress.es

Anne Georgsson has just spent two weeks helping out at the A.I.D Dog Shelter and left today and will be returning to her home in Stockholm. Our thanks go to this kind lady.
These volunteers are of great help to our rescued dogs with socialising, walking, playing etc...
If you wish to stay in our caravan at our shelter and help for one to two weeks maximum, please CLICK HERE

The lovely and kind volunteer Yvonne Russell made some yummy doggy cupcakes for our rescues at the A.I.D. shelter and also banana bread for the humans.

This is Sara and this morning she flew to Belgium along with 2 more doggies. Many thanks to Kate Hayes for fostering Sara and to Christel Arca Noah for all their help with the flight and adoption x

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A BIG THANK YOU
Yvonne Russell comes all the way from Marbella to volunteer at our shelter at Pizarra during the week for as many days as she can and the other day she bought all these very useful items to help clean the pens, not only that but she also has a heart of gold with the doggies in our care.

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THANK YOU
Yet again the kind Birgit Bibi linssen anDMarcus Linssen have sent us a parcel containing Pipettes for our rescued dogs, also dog and cat food, and other things. Many thanks to the them and those that have contributed from the group Bibi & friends for paws

A big smile on my face today
This morning Lenny (with George) from my shelter, finally went to Holland to meet his new family. It's been a long road but worth the work and the tears.

Another stray
This is Pancho about 6 months old and the poor thing has Parvo. We put him in Hospital several days ago and no sign of inprovement apart from yesterday where he had a tiny bit of food, so fingers crossed. He will have to stay at the vets this weekend and we hope we have good news by Monday? Poor things they don't ask for these horrible things like Parvo and Distemper. His bill up to yesterday was probably about 200€
Please help us to help more cases like Pancho

Tomaso & Alicia have been helping out at our shelter all week. They came from the UK, stayed in our caravan and were of great assistance walking the doggies, playing, feeding, cleaning etc... We thank them so much for their kindness.

SAM IS ADOPTED :)
We have been in contact with these lovely couple over several weeks and yesterday they came and fell in love with Sam. They are back Monday to collect him, change of ownership etc...
2nd pic is Sam in Alicante, 3rd pic at our shelter.
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Part of our story about Sam:
We don't normally get involved in rescuing dogs from Dog Pounds and when we have space it is for the ones in our surrounding villages, which are in the streets and to stop them from starving, or getting run over or ending up in the Pound but every now and then we break our policy and this is one of those times where we are going to help 2 dogs. Some women are looking for help with Sam, they took him out of the local Pound in Alicante and had nowhere for him as they have other dogs so he is at present in boarding kennels and they cannot afford this.
We do not know yet what they will need to have done at the vets so any small donation large or small will be gratefully received.

Nana & Lako with their own caravan.
These two oldies could be with us a long time so a special area was built for them. We need your help to maintain a decent life for our oldies at the shelter so please donate what you can towards their upkeep. Any amount wil be gratefully received Thank you

Nana's Story:
This old Mastin female, which we rescued in August 2018 was 9 years old and looks like she had been abandoned in an Olive Grove and in a bad condition. How long has been around, no water or food. What can we do we are full already with others waiting to come in, but could not ignore this poor dog. Luckily a friend of ours has taken her in till things are sorted out. What a state she was in , covered in sores, had tic fever, absolutely covered in fleas, *high level Leishmania* and in a starving condition as well as a very bad rope or collar burn marks on her neck from being tied up a long time and seems to have a hip problem? She is now one of our long term dogs. Please help towards her care

IMPORTANT NEWS FROM A.I.D. & L.C.A.R.
Animals in Distress (A.I.D.) and Last Chance Animal Rescue (LCAR) are working towards merging.
Both rescues have been involved in in-depth discussions for many months now with respect to preventing A.I.D. from closing due to the concerns about Jan and I about our age and welfare, which has to be seriously considered... which leaves only 2 choices, either close the charity or ensure our life's work continues as it is our utmost desire.

With the devastating up and coming closure of some extremely well respected rescues in our area, Malaga can ill afford to lose another through ill health, or retirement or pressure of work load... therefore our 2 rescues will actively stride towards combining our resources this year with a view to Last Chance taking over A.I.D. in January 2020 and continuing all the great established works such as the dog shelter in Pizarra as well as the furniture warehouse and auctions, along with a team of volunteers from both rescues.

A BIG THANK YOU TO ALAN NICHOLS from the group Rambling with Al.
Today he came to see Jan & I at the Animal In Distress Furniture Warehouse and presented us with 770€ which was our part of the funds raised for the 4 chosen charities in this year's walk. I also want to thank all the people that helped on the day as well as the walkers, which include Harley Dave, he rallied up some support from The Usual Suspects - Malaga, which are helping our shelter by raising funds for our new acquired land and building, which has been called The Doghood Annex and these lads (some quite old, lol) are raising funds to make sure the rent at the Annex is covered.
Thank you and well done for the funds raised on this annual walk and all other walks that this wonderful walking group achive.

These are the 5 new pens, which The Usual Suspects helped to raise the funds to pay for the cost . At the moment they are being occupied by 5 new comers and hopefully we might be able to introduce a couple of them in one pen once they know each other better, so they can share company. Please support the fund raiser and help us to help the dogs that come into our care.
Click this link:

https://www.facebook.com/donate/272625433653251/320654948589210

URGENT HELP PLEASE!!!
This Mastin male has been fed by someone we know out in a field for the last two years and at the moment he is having problems eating.
We have been contacted to see if we could help him with the vet bill and we have agreed. He was checked for a chip a while ago but no response from the information in it. He is 12 years old and has to be operated on two hernias to the total of around 450 euros.
We have also been asked if we could take him in at the shelter for two weeks whilst he recovers, so we are making room for him. Then he will be collected and put out on the field again in a box that has been constructed?
Somehow I cannot see that happening!!!
Please if you can help us to help him, any amount donated will be gratefully received.

ANOTHER ARRIVAL AT THE A.I.D. SHELTER

ROY - He is a kind natured dog of about 2 years old and gets along with everyone.
Roy was found by a couple whilst walking their two dogs, there was no one around and Roy simpoly followed the couple.
Will soon be castrated and will have passport, vaccs etc....

We have rented a warehouse and land next to us so that the animals have more space as well as being able to help more dogs that come under our care.
The previous tenants cleared all their items before they left and the warehouse was left I good condition.
We then went in with a power washer and disinfected the walls and floors and gave everything a clean before we started to erect a storage area for our tools, dog blankets and all sorts of things as well as erecting 5 dog kennels of about 4m x 4m.
We have also had several loads of river gravel delivered, which we will spread on the land as it gets very muddy when it rains and I am sure the doggies will soon start digging holes, lol.
We need funds to help pay for the metal pens, which at the moment is 1300.00 euros and more gravel for the land will be required in the next few weeks so we guess the total will be about 1700.00euros to get the job finished.
In the last 3 weeks we have also started to do lots of work at our main shelter and play area to a total of about 4000 euros, which includes roof over a caravan, two very large play pens outside, Large drainage area alongside of the main dog kennels, roof to the entrance to the volunteer cabin for protection against heat and rain, 2 puppy pens with concrete floor, large drainage gutter in front of 4 outside pens and much more….
Please help if you can, I know money is tight but every little bit helps towards this large project.
You can donate via Paypal to animalsindistress2007@yahoo.co.uk and choose Friends & Family so that they do not charge us commission.

Skinny is just over 3 years old and this morning he has gone to Holland this morning to where he will meet his new family. He has waited a long time but finally it has happened. Wishing you a long happy life.
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Until recently, Skinny stayed in a foster family, but due to private circumstances, he went to our shelter. It took some time for him to get used to it but he does it very well. New environment, new dogs, new people, he doesn’t matter. He enjoys the walks and is happy in his night stay with Ariel. Yet this is not the real home for all dogs. Skinny deserves a real home, he is very loyal to the people and super with other dogs. Skinny runs neatly on leash, well with other dogs and well in the car.

Tammy and Timmy went to Malaga airport yesterday and flew to Amsterdam with two other dogs to meet their new family.
Pics of Peter Maters who fostered these two lovely pups and also pic of arrival at Amsterdam. Thank you all that made this possible xx

Do you live in Holland, UK, Germany, Finland or any other country and would like to volunteer at our shelter in Spain for 1-2 weeks in 2019?
Take a look at our video and also go to this link http://www.animals-in-distress.eu/volunteer.html for information, as well as photos of some of the volunteers in 2018.

OUR SHELTER
1st & 2nd pics are of our daytime play areas where our rescued dogs can run around or relax until they are taken for a walk. 3rd pic is our other play are where different groups play together. All dogs from abut 1pm-4pm go back in their kennels for siesta, see 4th pic. They have a great life and are well taken care off by our fantastic volunteers, but you cannot beat having you own forever home so please if you want to adopt, take a look at all the lovely dogs in our website http://www.animals-in-distress.eu/dogs.html
We have a new and low adoption fee of 150 euros, which includes:
EU Passport.
Health check.
Worming.
Vaccinations for Mediterranean diseases.
2 Vaccinations against Rabies.
Micro chip in your name.
Sterilised/Castrated.
Blood test for Leishmania & other diseases
NOTE:
Transport fee to another country is extra
If you wish to donate towards the upkeep of the shelter and all the dog's needs, then please use the donate button where you can make a donation from 1 euro or more... THANK YOU

Huge thank you to Jan and Aid Joe Safont Ruiz of Animals in Distress (AID) for the alfalfa and sugar beet for the horses. With all the rescue dogs to take care of things get a bit tight. This is a a big help and you can see from the photo it was very much appreciated. And thank you to the AID guys for delivering it too

A SAD POST FOR US at Animals In Distress (A.I.D.)
After 8 years our Charity shop opposite Mercadona in Alhaurin el Grande will cease trading as A.I.D. on Thursday 30th August at 2.00pm.

This decision has been in the pipeline for quite a while now and has mainly come about due to our age, our health, the fact we also have the Second Hand Furniture Warehouse, we have the Rescue Shelter as well as 18 dogs at our home and the fact that we are always short of volunteers in most aspects of our work. Just simply too many things at hand.

WOWWWWW!!!
Leanne Posthuma and Chris Zwennis are two lovely girls from The Netherlands that decided that rather than go on a beach holiday, they would volunteer at an animal shelter and after much searching and investigating they chose ours. The dates were agreed with them and they finally arrived at Malaga airport where we collected them last Wednesday.

Yesterday I had a lump on my throat and got a bit emotional when they gave me the most fantastic surprise.
Ever since it was agreed that they could come and volunteer, they had been creating a 29 page album with photos from how the two have been friends for 13 years and showing me the passion for animals and how they raised funds to help our charity by asking their friends to save bottle tops. They also made and sold cupcakes, clothes, made dog toys, etc all to raise funds. They also put a money tin at their local stables and at a grooming salon. Leanne also asked her parents about help if she reached a certain number grade in her studies, which she did and they gave her 3 times that , which was 77€. They also got donations at their school. Their initial goal was to reach 300€ but they actually raised 910€ but last minute donation made it 920€

HELP, HELP!!
A desperate happy ending is needed urgently. For this old boy was left to die twice, 1st in the road then the kill station. He was taken to a pound in the North of Spain and left untreated for 21 days which was the required time to see if his family came looking. No one came. A rescuer in the area saw his leg was broken and he was in agony and believed he deserved life. Many pleas for help failed for many reasons, space, money, time. He's had his leg pinned and is pain free. The rescuers have come to us and he will be taken care of by our volunteers at our shelter. He is taking treatment for Leishmaniosis. The main treatment will be expensive but after that it will be cheap and he may recover entirely. After all he's been through, help us fix his broken heart and put a song back into his soul. HELP US FIND A LOVING HOME.

24.05.2018

PLEASE READ THE MAN'S STORY AT THE END OF MY POST.

Yet another individual going back to UK as things are not working out over here. He approached me for help because a while ago he took in a young Mastin cross (called OSO) and simply cannot leave him behind but he does not know how to get him ready for travel and has no funds.
I told him that it will be one month before he can take the dog with him and he said he was prepared to wait because he was not leaving him behind. Last night I met him at the vet office and I got OSO his passport, cocktail with first rabies and registered the chip in his name. In four weeks time he will bring Oso back for his 2nd rabies, worming and health check and then he will be going to the UK. I wish more people would make the effort to take their animals rather than leave them behind. I know sometimes is impossible but some of the excuses I get are simply ridiculous and some people (not all) take the easy option.
Please note that we help with this sort of thing if and when we can and it can only be possible with your continued support at our shop and or donations. Please go to this link if you wish to donate and any amount large or small will be gratefully received http://www.animals-in-distress.eu/donate.html in the page there are several options as well as our 2 Euro per month club if you wish to join?

He just wrote something he would like me to put on here:

Hi Joe

A little back story

I came here in December to take a break from the UK winter and increase my climbing ability and knowledge. Whilst here i saw an awful lot of dogs in need of some very basic attention and love, alongside some more serious cases of abhorrent neglect. It is clear to me that a lot of Spanish do not concern themselves with the basic heath requirements of their dogs. I feel they are simply there to bark at anyone approaching their properties. After some months i went to stay at a farm which had one stray dog in particular. A spanish mastiff who was abandoned and desperate for some hugs, as the area is quite rural i took to training him, walking him and generally just being there for him, he was incredibly receptive and beautiful in his character. I fell in love with him. I knew that if i left him here i would never forgive myself. One day i discovered the bones of another puppy in the garden and that was the end of the story for me, he was coming home to England...no matter what. By this point i had run out of money, having only some cash for a flight home, i spent this on Oso's food, and arranging transport and travel to see Joe. I knew i was in the stink, but Oso was in the stink too and we were family now, so we we would be in the stink together....i took to the internet (free wifi at local cafe) and that's where i found Joe and his organisation. I explained the situation to him and he was nothing short of heroic in his response. He provided me with the opportunity to provide Oso with the necessary ingredients to get him home to England, his forever home. Where he will be free of ticks, fleas, and never sleep in the dirt outside ever again. There's a whole host of reasons to feel down about humanity when you see the state of some of these animals here in Spain, but individuals like Joe show us that there are real, genuine, honest to god heroes everywhere. I cannot thank him enough for all he's done for us, and countless other people like me who truly know what it means in this life to have a "Man's best friend" at his side. A thousand thanks from Oso and myself.

Jono

FROM LORNA BARFORD

Helping out at Animals in Distress for a couple of hours this morning.
Mr M below walking his namesake Gary (found abandoned by Mr M & my brother on Sierra Gorda last summer) & also Mischa. Gary the black & brown dog is very friendly & playful. Mischa is very sweet & good natured. Both were very well behaved on their leads. They would love a forever home of their own & are just 2 of the many dogs currently being housed & cared for by Animals in Distress.

Met up with Angela Allsop last Saturday.
She has not been well due to her hip problem and difficult to get about. Angie has lots of dogs to feed and once in a while we donate food for them. This time I gave her 160Kg, which wont last long, but every little helps. Get well soon Angie

Two different dogs? NO!!
She was found starving and came to our shelter end of Oct 2017 and after SIX WEEKS of food and love this is the result.
This is her story:
Born 2010
Dear Sita, when you were brought in to us the tears jumped into our eyes. You were more dead than alive by neglect. With a height of 70 cm your weight was only 14 kg, your fur was falling out and your eyes looked dull. You were tested for different diseases but they were negative. We didn’t believe the outcome of the tests and you were tested again, cause where people are there can be made mistakes. The blood tests did not surprise us, you were very ill and it was a miracle that you were still alive. At the same time we started with medication and special feed.

You didn’t have lost the courage yet - you are shining again and your fur was growing again. We took you on a leash for walk and knew some time ago someone must have loved you because you knew the basic commands and there was still trust in people.
Unfortunately you didn’t have a chip and searches made along long-missed dogs didn’t yield anything.
Now we are more than 5 months later and your weight has more than doubled.

This already older lady deserves to finally get a home again where she will be loved and may grow old.

Sita is still waiting for adoption.
Please PM me for adoption inquiry

Location: Malaga, Spain.
If you cannot adopt, perhaps you can sponsor Sita?
http://www.animals-in-distress.eu/sponsor-a-dog.html#sita

A lovely surprise yesterday when a box arrived full of goodies for the animals. It was from Birgit Bibi Linssen Many thanks to all that help to make these donations possible xx

Yesterday morning we said goodbye to three more lucky doggies. They were being collected to go to TRACES kennels for two days before traveling to UK via Joanne Smart of http://www.smartpets.info
Left to right: Dolly the black Labrador found by Karoline Coster Barrett in the middle of the road and we placed her in our shelter. The middle one is Neutron, part of two pups found on the side of a river bed at 5 weeks old, which I fostered. His brother has been homed in Spain. Far right is Nala, she was found with another dog and had a problem with a hip and went through a lot of aftercare.

Dolly & Neutron are both going to a family in Kent and Nala to a family in Southend on Sea.
Thank you all for all the help xx

A BIG THANK YOU to Molino Propertyfor their wonderful donation of 500€. This will go towards our next project at our shelter which is to make escape proof the outside play pens as well as building new play pens. Visit their website: www.molinoproperty.com

I just want to say A BIG THANK YOU and share the pic with you because a few days ago we had a lovely surprise. A parcel arrived (part of two) and full of items for the doggies donated by the people that came to our first dog walk in Belgium. Thank you all, you are so very kind xx