NEWSLETTERS
Click here to see comments from some of the lovely people that have given our rescue dogs a forever home Click the blue links for a short cut to some (not all) o f the articles enclosed |
| June 2011 - Will I ever find a home? - Theo came to A.I.D. at about a year old, starving, dehydrated and ... |
June 2011- AID annual charity fashion show - A big thank you to all the volunteers that took part and put in... |
MAY 2011 - Bettie and another dog appeared on someone's land that was not fenced. Both were.... |
May 2011 - Sasha has passed away R.I.P. - Sad to report that Sasha one of our older rescue dogs... |
April 2011- Rick had been rescued from a rubish dump 14 April . By the marks on his coat around... |
April 2011 - Sponsored Walk With Dogs - We had 46 walkers and 48 dogs, which included 11 from our... |
March 2011 - Injured animals, kennel help - We often get phone calls from brits about injured or dead... |
February 2011 - Lady - My wife Janice noticed for a few days a little dog (we call her Lady) by the bins... |
January 2011 - Spanish Mastin, foster home sad loss - Nice way to start the New Year. We had a call that... |
December 2010 - Mastin pups - Three Mastin puppies abandoned in the Rio Grande. One we homed... |
October 2010 - Water dogs - Six puppy water dogs (5-7 days old) found in the rubbish bins have been... |
September 2010 - What a month!!! In fact WHAT A YEAR!!! Everyday we receive several phone calls and... |
August 2010 - Podenco tragedy -Another tragic waste of life due to ignorance and general attitude... |
August 2010 - Toro - He was born in March 2007 and as with many Spanish dogs after a while the novelty... |
| August 2010 - Cartama hell update - The property was being used for breeding animals and by selling... |
| August 2010 - 3 more catteries at our home - Due to the amount of homeless cats, we are converting... |
July 2010 - Champ's Story - He was found in the middle of the Alora by-pass, traumatised, starving, full of... |
July 2010 - T.O.P.S Rock N' Roll 1960's night - On the 17th July 2010 T.O.P.S. Held a Rock N' roll evening... |
| May 2010 - Chico - On the evening of 26th May 2010 we received a phone call from one of our supporters... |
| May 2010 - Sponsorded Walk with Dogs around Monda village - What a great Saturday with total of 44... |
April 2010 - Our new shop opp Mercadona in Alhaurin el Grande - officially opened on April 26th. The... |
| March 2010 - Leishmania Victim - Bless her heart this sorrowful looking Podenco female dog was found... |
| March 2010 - Cartama hell - On Wednesday evening 17th March Janice from A.I.D. received a phone call... |
| January 2010 - Kennels - Finally the much needed kennels in our small refuge are up and running... |
| November 2009 - Lina has found a home - It was a hot day in mid June of this year when Janice and Joe of... |
JANUARY 2012
URGENT DONATIONS NEEDED!!! - A Galgo (Greyhound) was left tied up
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outside Pepis Refugio The dogs were barking as normal but Alan and Jane new the different barks and this meant a new arrival. Alan walked down to the gate with a small torch only to see two green glows at the gate; yes it was Marko (his new name). When Alan reached the gate he saw Marko lying on the frosty ground a beautiful boy but something told him not to grab him up, which was what he wanted to do. He saw a thin metal wire around his neck tied in a slip knot. If he panicked the wire would have tightened and cut into his neck so he sat on the ground and talked to him until he thought he was happy with him. This was a sight he will never ever forget, Marko looked at Alan his eyes as if to say 'Sorry but it's not my fault that I am here' that hurt him even more. He then felt confident to pick him up; he was ready to be helped. Alan took the wire noose from his neck and cuddled him up telling him nobody will hurt him again, His pelvis looked dislocated and he was unable to walk properly but Alan had no idea what the extend of the problem was as Marco's hip was very bad, the ball joint had risen high up his hip and was wearing out part of the bone as you can see in the x-ray, also the injury was old and tissues and other things had started to develop around the ball joint and the hip cavity. 
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Pilar |
Sonny |
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Podecoworld: The flight to freedom 13 January 2012 |
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| Pilar and Sonny What more could I have wished for on my birthday, two Podencos Pilar from our refuge and Sonny from the foster home finally made their way to the Netherlands to meet their new families. We took them to the airport and they flew with another three dogs from other associations. Our thanks go to Podencoworld.nl | |
12 January
2011 has had its up and downs. We won’t talk about the downs as some of the things that have happened and that we come across would break your heart. The ups are that we have homed approximately 200 dogs in 2011.
As some of you may already know we are only a small charity and we are limited as to how many animals we can take in. We only have a small refuge and we mainly rely on a few foster homes (which are hard to come by now days). We usually only have between 30 – 50 dogs at anyone time but we keep turning them over so to speak and we have a cattery at home with about 20 cats , which at the moment we are desperate to find homes for some of the cats and we are offering these cats FREE to good homes. T
he majority of the cats have been vaccinated and sterilized and are very friendly pets.
A couple of months ago we made contact with a Dutch organization who rescues Spanish Podenco dogs (hunting Dogs). They have put on their website 5 of our dogs and they managed to home two of them in one week with another two reserved a week later, which we will be taking to Malaga Airport and an escort will be flying with the dogs and will meet the new owners at Amsterdam Airport.
Our aim with the charity is to help animals in which ever way we can without necessarily taking them into our care. This is mainly achieved via the funds raised in the A.I.D. Charity shop. Other funds raised are via our events and also funds raised by other sources like the odd donations for an adopted dog, individuals donating to the Charity and people like T.O.P.S the Occasional Production Society who the last two years have held an event to raise funds for us.
With the funds raise, we help the stray/abused dogs that we rescue and also try to help other small organisations as well as individuals that are in a bit of trouble.
We do not usually come across Spanish Galgos (Greyhounds) but the people we help in Seville http://www.pepisdogrefuge.com have 10 Galgos and a mixture of about 40-50 dogs. We have managed to 
make contact with the Belgium Galgo (Greyhound Rescue) and all 10 Galgos were reserved and two of them already in a new home in Belgium. Pepis Refugio is run by a retired couple that simply have no funds and they are in a catch 22 with the dogs as there is no money to get all the dogs fully vaccinated, sterilised etc. so we have been helping them during 2011 by providing them bags of food every month as well as other items and have homed a couple of their dogs via our contacts. I have produced a new website for them, which we fully fund it and run it in the hope that more people will know about them and it is now starting to work.
During the year we also help several individuals in Coin, Alhaurin, Alora, etc that take in stray and abused dogs (some have 50 or more pets in their home) and we supply them with food now and then as well as pay for sterilization of some of the dogs. Some of these people are in real bad financial situations and they have no contacts for homing dogs and most of the dogs are also either old or sick so they would not normally find a home.
Others we help are people that have taken in a stray dog or cat but cannot afford to have them sterilized as they are out of work due to the economic situation so we sterilized the animal and depending on what we see we will ask for a very small donation or we will sterilize the animals for free, which is mainly the case.
Recently we were told by someone we know that a Spanish man had found two Podenco pups on the river bed. We were informed that he likes animals and might want to keep them but was not 100% sure on how to look after them. After a long chat we supplied him with a new kennel and some food and when the pups are of age we will be sterilising them.
Another story is of a Spanish goat man that had a Mastin in a very bad state due to lack of food, care and also having had several litters. The last litter he had killed all the pups except for one, which we have taken from him and now has a home. In this particular case all it needed was to educate the man about the animal, we also supplied him with some food and had the mum sterilized and she now looks 200% better.
Anyways the list goes on and on so your support is needed now more than ever.
Take a look here for just a few other items from our Newsletter page http://www.animals-in-distress.eu/newsletter.html#mollys6pups
NOTE: We have a Charity Auction on Wednesday 18th January. Free to attend so see here for informatioin: http://www.animals-in-distress.eu/events.html#auctionjanuary2012
This year we are holding our yearly Valentines Dinner Dance on Saturday 11th February at the Miralmonte restaurant in Alhaurin. This is a popular spot so please get your tickets as soon as possible (only 13.50euros). See here for information: http://www.animals-in-distress.eu/events.html#valentine2012
| Harvey and Bess Brother and sister appeared outside someone’s door, thin and full of ticks. 3 weeks later the people asked for our help and we took them in but had to be in our refuge. Harvey is larger than Bess and more active. After several months at the refuge Harvey was adopted by a lady in Holland and little Bess was left on her own for the very first time in her life. She slowly started to adjust to the refuge making new friends and then loosing them as they were finding new homes and she was being left behind. However a few weeks ago the lady that had Harvey contacted us and said that her sister was interested in Bess and yes she was adopted. Now Harvey and Bess are together again as they see each other very often. |  |
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Harvey and Bess at the refuge when they first came to us |
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5th January
We moved from Coin to Alhaurin el Grande towards the end of 2010. The “we being my wife (Lorena) and I, my 
father who is now 90 years old and our beloved Red Setter “Freddie” who is nearly 10. One of the many criteria for moving home was to have better road access, as the 3km plus of campo roads at the Coin house had made access difficult when it rained, and more importantly had a somewhat restricting effect on Freddie’s walks.
One of the first things we took advantage of at the new house was the wonderful walks on tarmac, ok, uneven tarmac with more than a few holes, but tarmac nonetheless. It was during one of these daily walks some months later that we noticed a stray dog as she sidled timidly up to Freddie for the usual introductory sniffathon. As soon as Lorena and I came close she immediately looked very scared, turned tail and ran off. Looking around it became obvious that she was living on the area of waste ground next to the road. On further reflection it was also 
just a few metres away from the local rubbish bins, which in her situation seemed quite smart.
We continued to bump into Molly (her subsequent name) on a regular basis, but sadly she seemed scared of just about everybody and everything. It struck me also that she had incredible senses as she would jump at the slightest movement or sound, but she also seemed to possess an innate intelligence, possibly due to survival instinct, and “necessity being the mother of invention”.
Over a period of two to three weeks we seemed to make some progress with Molly, in that she always seemed to be waiting for us and would join us on our walks, usually taking a flying run up to Freddie and seemingly kissing him on the cheek, and she started taking little dog biscuits from us if we left them at the side of the road and put sufficient distance between us.
This continued until Molly gingerly started taking biscuits f
rom our hands, and then she would follow us home, but would never come in through the gates. As we were concerned that she looked quite thin we started putting some food just outside the gates for her, and once again this became a daily routine.
Lorena is a teacher, so once the new term started it was just Freddie and I taking the walks, and every day Molly would be waiting and eventually she braved the big bad gates and came into the grounds surrounding the house.
After many patient attempts we managed to get her to sleep in a new bed we bought for her on our front (covered) terrace. There was of course absolutely no way she would come inside the house, so we put her bed between our two terrace sofas so that it would benefit from maximum protection from the wind and rain, and made it as comfortable for her as possible.
Now at this stage I should say that I have broken every one of my 
book of rules relating to stray dogs in Spain, as I always said that I would not take them in, mainly because I didn’t want to upset the dynamic with Freddie, who was born in the UK, was reared in the UK way, in terms of living in the house, and along with a wonderful temperament and a good level of training, truly believes that he is human. By this I mean that he generally won’t eat any dog food unless it is mixed or enhanced with something we would eat, feels he has a right to sit and watch TV next to us on the sofa, and sleeps on our bed whenever he gets the opportunity, which is generally when I am away or not looking! In short he is a most amazing character so we didn’t want to upset the dynamic in any way, especially now he is getting on a bit. So, along came Molly Skywalker (explanation to follow), and strangely Freddie didn’t seem too bothered.
So to date, 
we have befriended and taken in a stray/wild campo dog, we feed and water her and take her for walks every day but she still won’t come that close very often, and certainly not close enough to put a collar or a Scalibor on her. The only time she will allow me to stroke and make a fuss of her is if I go down the outside steps and round to the back of the house to a bench next to the pool!
After a few more weeks of this I had to go to the UK for a business trip and I had decided to drive there and back, which meant I was going to be away for around 10 days or so. A few days before leaving, my wife said to me “David, have you noticed that Molly has put on weight?” To which I replied “well surely that’s a good thing as she was rather emaciated when we first took her in,” to which Lorena replied “you don’t think she is pregnant do you?” “Noooo” I naively said, “I wouldn’t think so, it’s probably just all the good meals she has been eating!”
Silly me! Two days after leaving home 
Lorena heard a mewling sound underneath a dense bush just in front of the terrace, and upon further investigation discovered Molly had kindly delivered us six puppies as an early Xmas present! Molly didn’t seem keen to let anyone near them including Lorena and Freddie, so Molly was left to care for them until I came home a week or so later.
Unfortunately, Lorena was not the only person to discover the puppies. As we rent our house it is not uncommon for our landlord (now known as Cruella Juan) to be wandering around tending his trees, and he was less than amused at the discovery of the pups, telling Lorena that he would take them away and dispose of them, as he didn’t want lots of dogs on his land. After some heated discussion it was decided that I would deal with the problem when I returned from England.
After talking to our vet we were advised to bring the puppies into the house as the weather had turned decidedly 
colder at night and it was thought that the puppies would not survive outside under the bush. The problem was that we knew that Molly would not come in the house under any circumstances, so we set up a kind of play pen for them which was really half of the dog transporter box that we had flown Freddie over in, and put it on the front terrace next to Molly’s bed. Surprisingly, Molly both watched and happily allowed me to do this, apparently with her consent, as she licked my hand afterwards.
That night and the next day she slept in the pen with them and seemed to be feeding them ok, but the following day she disappeared and we became quite worried, as by early evening she had left them for over 8 hours. By 10pm we decided to take them to our vets and even though it was a Saturday night they very kindly checked the pups over and supplied us with all the items we needed, and 
also showed us how to feed them. To our dismay we learnt that this would have to be carried out 8 times a day, so with some trepidation we embarked on this journey of sleep deprivation, feeding and cleaning up.
The puppies are now 6 weeks old, healthy, adorable and great little characters. We are only feeding 4 times a day now which is a great relief, but it is surprising how you get into a routine.
As I mentioned earlier, Molly is very intelligent. She is, as far as we can tell, mostly a breed known as a Podenco. Having researched this breed it turns out that they are descended from Ancient Egyptian dogs, which also explains the tall and often expressive ears. These dogs are said to be intelligent, loyal, non aggressive and quite active. Unfortunately they are used in Spain by hunters to catch and bring back the wounded or dead prey. Apparently the hunting season is limited to around 3 months a year so these animals are often strung up, burnt, or just left to fend for themselves or die, in keeping with the appalling way that most Spanish people treat their 
animals here in Andalucia.
We call her Molly Skywalker as the whole of our house and grounds is fenced or walled, which was one of our criteria when we moved, so that Freddie would be secure, and to date Freddie has never found a way out. Molly however comes and goes by scaling a 2 metre wall, with the assistance of an olive tree, a pillar and a sloping wall outside the gates! It just seems weird to see this relatively small dog walking along the length of our front wall so she can get in and out as she pleases!
So here we are with 6 beautiful puppies, three of which are light brown and white, one that is almost black, one that is almost pure white, and one that we call the lamb as she is creamy white and curly!
We would love to see these wonderful little characters go to good homes as they deserve it, and so do we, as we really care about them now, and it will difficult to see them go after all the time we have spent with them, watching them grow into healthy little dogs, but at least we know they have been given a kind and loving start to life, and I am sure that they will make their new owners both very happy and proud!
The major problem we have is that our landlord has said that he wants them out once they are eight weeks old, which only gives us a couple of weeks to find good homes for the pups, failing that it may be us that will be looking for a new home, so if anyone can help house these wonderful little characters please let us know! Contact 626942427
DECEMBER 2011
21st December 2011
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This Skinny looking dog is a Podenco and in Spain it is mainly used for hunting. As in most cases when a dog gets to big or no longer hunts well enough it is simply abandoned to make room for a pup. He had been seen hanging around the rubbish containers for a long time and it took him 3 weeks to gain enough trust to be able to let himself be rescued. He is now called Tony and is in our care and has been placed in a foster home and he is a gentle lad that gets on well with the other dogs, cats and the children at the foster home. He will soon start to put on weight and be ready for a forever home |
17th December 2011
| Bettie finally finds a home...Read her story - See her video |
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1st December 2011
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Today Podenco world delivered 5 dogs to Amsterdam, two of those we from our rescue centre in Coin, Malaga. Our Doggies were Polly and Nipper. Polly was met by her new owner and Nipper by his temporary foster home as he already had two enquiries for adoption and it wont be long before he has his own permanent home. As they arrived they were happily greeted and Doggies coats were put on them to keep them warm. This two photos from our album are of Polly and Nipper. Below is the video from Podenco world and A BIG THANK YOU goes to them for the way that they are helping dogs here in Spain.
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Polly |
Nipper |
See the video
NOVEMBER 2011
22nd November 2011
Abandoned Waterdog - Our friend Janet had seen this dog hanging around in an area for over 3 weeks, which 
could be where he had been abandoned. Other people had seen him and fed him but no one did anything about it. Janet tried to catch him before but was not able to until we had the storms, which probably frightened him and made him desperate to come to somebody, so she managed to pick him up.
She phoned us here at A.I.D. and we told her to take it to the vets for a micro chip check but he did not have one. His coat was full of thistles, dirty and very long and needed shaving off, which we told the vet to take care of it, which they did as well as a shampoo wash and a vaccination.
He was very nervous when first found but a couple of hours after the vet’s visit he settled down and is a very friendly dog. We are full so he is now with one of our Network charities until a forever home can be found for him.
20th November 2011
Podencoworld visit - Today I had the pleasure of meeting four lovely ladies that find 
forever homes in the Netherlands for stray and abandoned dogs that are at present located in refuges in the South of Spain.
They have a website which is dedicated to the Spanish Podenco (hunting dog) and after I made contact, they decided to pay a visit to the A.I.D. Refuge in Coin on the way to visiting other associacions. We are hoping for their collaboration in the future in finding forever homes for some of the Podencos in our refuge and in our foster homes so watch this space.
Week 14th November 2011
MICRO CHIPS -Janice from A.I.D. had a phone call from a friend about a black and white 
dog that had been around the urbanistaion Sierra Gorda for a few days. She said it was very poorly and looked ill so she told her to take it to the local vet in Coin Town. On inspection the dog had a micro chip and the Spanish owner was contacted and he said he would collect the dog. He had reported the dog stolen along with his other dog, a Boxer. The next morning Janice was driving along the Coin to Alhaurin road by Barranco Blanco and she spotted a dead dog on the side of the road, which upon checking, it had a micro chip and it turned out to be the Boxer that the owner had reported previously. Yet another reason why dogs should be micro chipped as both dogs had been reunited with their owner be it one alive and one dead :(
OCTOBER 2011
30th October 2011 Article by the lady that originally found this dog family in Seville.
Tillie, Millie and her 6 pups - First saw the adult female dogs in July they were all together. They lived on a council disposal site (Punto Limpio) next to a juvenile prison and a busy zone and behind this place was some campo land (countryside). They would eat the scraps brought in from the street cleaning machines.
I put water and food down everyday but during the hot summer I didn’t see them much as I had to go at the hottest time of the day when I had the car and they were hidden in the shade somewhere?. The rescue shelters here are very few and do not seem to answer calls or emails over the summer and in the 5 years I have been here I have been helped once with a Greyhound to put things in perspective. That’s why I couldn’t find help for them.
During this last month they became more visible and I noticed she was feeding pups, I didn’t even see her pregnant. So I decided to just watch her a bit more to try and locate the pups without disturbing her to much. However on day I had to intervene as one puppy was completely trapped between a pallet of wood and concrete Flag Stones yelping and yelping we had to remove all the surrounding stones to free him he was ok and returned back to his mother, that’s when I discovered the 6 puppies. From there I contacted all animal rescues but no one could help take them.
She moved the pups the next day thankfully to a safer location. Then again leaving one behind and every time I went I saw her with this one pup. I couldn’t locate the others so I assumed they had been taken by people and that’s when I took one pup home – DOMINO.
(photo after he had been cleaned wormed etc)
One week later I saw the others to my relief but also a worry as to what I was going to do with the. That’s when I asked Jan from A.I.D. so I am very grateful to everyone involved who is helping this family they needed removing from this situation it is a dangerous place and it is connected to the council who can have them removed with one phone call so I think they have got help just in time.
Over this past month I have made good friends with the mother dog (Millie) she is a very friendly, sweet gentle dog. The black and white female is a little shy but friendly and really wants contact but often hides behind the black dog. I managed to tickle her belly one day and she loved it. They both just need more contact from kind caring people and they will come round nicely. They have been someone’s pets in the past but over this summer they have had little contact only by me.
Thank you for everything - Pam
Note from A.I.D. This kind lady has a heart of gold. Her car is not really that good on long journeys so she hired a van and drove the pups from Seville to us here in Coin.
16th October - Molly - See the video of Dogs beeing met by their new owners at Amsterdam airport. The dogs are from La Linea (near Gibraltar), Arcah Noah (Alhaurin el Grande and A.I.D. (Coin) Our little Molly is at 3mins. 43 secs onwards with black face and white chest
Video taken by Podencoworld - Netherlands
Molly
14 October- This is Janice from A.I.D (on the left)with Chris one of our contacts from Holland. These 6-week old pups were rescued by Janice. Latest news!!! All 5 pups are now adopted
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adopted Scruffy from us. She also helps charities when she can and this time with help of her parents she set up a stall for the car-boot at the Hippodromo in La Cala. She cleared out all her old toys and books and made 3 dozen cupcakes all on her own. She did all the selling, she had made a couple of handmade posters to say all profits were to go to the AID charity and told anyone willing to listen about the charity and that she had got her dog from them. A few adults congratulated her on her efforts for charity while she was at the car boot sale, (which was nice and encouraging for her). Georgia raised an amazing 80 Euros, which was donated to A.I.D. She also donated 10 Euros pocket money and her parents rounded up the total to 100 Euros. On behalf of the animals we help we really thank Georgia for all the effort she put in. Below is a photo Jan and Joe from A.I.D. presenting a Certificate to Georgia for the funds she raised for the animals 
SEPTEMBER 2011
Mum & 4 pups - We had been told that there were some puppies down a revine and upon arrival we found a small Springer cross mum and 4 pups of about 3-4 weeks old. She had been using a very deep thole on the side of the enbankment that probably some wild animal could have made previously. We called on Bill Hill (he never says no, the big softy) to come and give us a hand and Jan and Bill were there at 8am the following day to rescue them. Mum and pups are now being looked after by one of our contacts and hopefully homes will be found in afew weeks for all of them?
Having said that the cream pup is already reserved for Bill. Must be those baby blue eyes they all have when they are young ha, ha.
See the video of the nest area:
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mum |
a much needed bath |
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We want to thank Hazel and Peter Bateman for their continued support in various ways. Every time they visit Spain for the holidays they allways bring something for the doggies at our Refuge in Coin. Photo from 1st September 2011when they brought a large bag of doggie treats and some brand new adjustable slip collars
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LEXY is about 3 years old and was found in a very bad condition with her coat overgrown and completely matted. Her claws were three times the normal size. We took her to the doggy saloon and now she is being fostered until a permanent home can be found.
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Lexy when she was found |
Coat was matted all over |
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After her visit to the doggy saloon |
Don't she look pretty |
AUGUST 2011
Hola Everyone - Once again this month has been very busy with lots of abandoned puppies and kittens and there's simply nowhere to put them all because all centres/charities are full and have a waiting list of animals waiting to come in. It never ends!!!!l
The economic climate climate has put a lot of pressure on us as well as other charities so if you find an animal be prepared to take reponsibility for it.
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Carettais a female Spanish Galgo (Greyhound). She was left at our friend’s refuge near Seville. When they contacted us she was heavily pregnant and she looked old. We could not take her in but we knew that our local Dutch contact would as they are in touch with a Galgo (Greyhound) rescue in Europe so they decided to look after her until she could go abroad to a new home. As it turned out Caretta was over 11 years old and about to give birth so our contact decided that she would stay with them forever once the babies were born. Well within two days her stomach started to turn red and she was rushed to the vet hospital where she had an emergency operation, which we helped towards some of the cost. The red in her tummy was where her uterus had burst and all her insides were full of blood and as they started to open her tummy 3 babies were all ready out. Caretta had 12 pups inside her. She managed to pull through the operation and now she is looking after her pups with the help of our contact. |
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Video of Caretta's pups |
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Harry a 1 year old male was found in someone’s garden. Apparently he was so thin that he must have squeezed through the gate railings. As the man went towards him he kept backing off and seemed very frightened of men? One of his back legs was hanging and could not put it on the floor. We received the call for help. When Janice arrived she called to him and he simply came towards her. She took him to the vet and we found out that Harry had a fractured shoulder and would need an operation. So Harry was operated the next day and is now recovering in one of our foster homes and is also starting to put on weight.
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So far this month we have had to do several expensive operations on dogs so we need your continued support at our charity shop or our charity events.
Here are some dates for your diary of the A.I.D Charity events for 2011 at the Carolina Restaurant in Alhaurin el Grande. See our events page: http://www.animals-in-distress.eu/events.html
Sat 17th September - End of Summer Fling Dinner dance. (Evening)
Sat 29th October - Ghouls 'N Gosts Dinner dance. (Evening) Details to follow
Wed 16th November - A.I.D. Fashion show and nibbles (Lunchtime) Details to follow
JULY 2011
I enclose just a few notes, which are mainly from the end of July
July has had its usual influx of emails and phone calls from people that have found pups and kitten litters. Please remember that if you find an animal be prepared to have to look after it for good or until a charity can take it in. Most charities are full to capacity be it the large ones or small ones like ours.
July also gave everyone some great news!!!
Pet Passport Rules are going to be relaxed.
No more blood test or 6 months quarantine required
It will become cheaper and easier to travel abroad with pets when new rules are introduced at the start of next year.
The UK will harmonise its pet movement rules with the rest of the European Union from 1 January 2012, bringing the UK’s Pet Travel Scheme into line with the most recent science.... click the blue link for more information: http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/2011/06/30/new-rules-pet-passports
CHICO
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This is Chico, now called Denzil. I just had to show you all how one of our pups adopted 3 years ago had grown up to become a real hansdome boy. We found him in the middle of the road at 5 weeks of age and he was adopt when he was 11 - 12 weeks old. |  |
Notes from Denzil's the new owners - He loves to play ball (too often!) and is often seen carrying a large cuddly toy around (does not do his image much good). He is a larger than life character with a few emotional issues, but you never know what happened to him in those first few weeks. He hates to be left on his own and I would hate to think what would happen to someone who came into our house without invitation! But then saying that he loves nothing better than a cuddle and a hug. He lives with us and our other dog and cat in Mijas Costa and at Christmas just gone we took him back to the UK for Christmas and he had a great time on the farm with the rabbits and foxes. He even had his first encounter with snow.
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20 July 2011
Mum and pup:
This week also saw the arrival of a Dalmatian Mum and her 3-week old pup.
Luna as we have called her is about 2.5 to 3 years old and had been living in the countryside and probably had over 10 pups. When someone first saw her she had about 4 pups and by the time we rescued her she only had one. We have been told that she does not like men because previous owner tried to get her pups away from her with a broom (where is the mentality?) When we took her to our refuge she did not trust us and looks like she has never been on the lead and was also shaking like a leaf. That look in her eyes!!!! Who knows what she has been through in the last 3 years? Now with lots of attention and kindness from us and our volunteers at the refuge she is gaining in confidence. She is a gentle dog and we have high hopes for her. She has been with us just over a week. See the short video made just a couple of days ago:
23 July 2011
T.P.O.S. Charity event:
Mike Bradley President of T.O.P.S presenting Janice and Joe from Animals In Distress (A.I.D.) With 1200,00 euro, which was raised at their charity event |
We want to thank TOPS (The Occasional Productions Society) for holding an event which raised 1200 euro for our charity.
The event Dreamboats & Petticoats was held at Kevin & Lynn's house on Saturday 23rd July and it was a resounding success with 178 people attending. The food was superb and the show was lively, it had great costumes and was very much enjoyed by all.
The funds raised will be put towards a future project and also to help pay off vet bills, which at the moment are averaging 2000 euro per month, this is mainly eaten up by animals rescued or helped on the streets.
Small Yorkie cross:
This poor little soul was found under a car by one of our shop volunteers. He was less than half his body weight and in a terrible mess. One of his eyes was completely closed. We took him to the vet and when he actually got to find his eyeball it was very infected. He was also suffering from Dry eye, which did not help his condition. He is now on lots of eye drops and he also had a good wash groom. He is now starting to feel better and is a lovely affectionate dog, which is being looked after by one of our volunteer foster homes. Photos will be on our website soon.
JUNE 2011
Will I ever find a home?
Theo came to A.I.D. at about a year old, starving, dehydrated and with red-raw paws after walking for a very long time. He was nursed back to health and soon became well adjusted and enjoyed living as part of a family where he loved all people, other dogs and animals including cats. Unfortunately, due to increasing numbers he had to give way to more youngsters coming in and so was sent to the refuge where, because he is such a handsome chap - being a cross Belgium Shepherd, everyone felt sure he would not be there for too long and would soon find a permanent home. Sadly Theo didn't adjust well to kennel life and missed the affection and company of his family. Theo has watched whilst all his friends have been placed in their new homes, but sadly he has not been chosen. Staff at the kennels cannot understand why he has been overlooked, and are now very concerned about him as he seems to be becoming increasingly depressed.
He lies patiently in his kennel, and whilst all his friends are busy making a fuss, barking and commanding attention, he is as good as gold and simply waits his turn, grateful for any attention he may get. He lives for his walks, and his only sin is that when he is let out of the kennel he is a little over-enthusiastic with his affection and thinks he is a little lap-dog, trying to sit on your knee. He soon settles down and walks to heel and enjoys hunting for lizards & catching butterflies. His hearing is superb and he hears things a long time before anyone else and has been known to run off to investigate and so would need a secure garden, but he is very responsive and trainable, and is just waiting for someone to please.
Unfortunately, Theo is now looking sadder and sadder with each passing week, and sometimes does not even bother to come out of his kennel to play with the others. He appears to be giving up all hope. So if anyone thinks they could offer our handsome but very sad Theo a permanent loving home where he could have the space to run and bring some enjoyment back into his life please contact A.I.D. He has been inoculated, castrated & pass ported and so just needs to pack his suitcase, hitch a lift, and he's ready to go!
30 June - THEO UPDATE!!!
Thanks you all for spreading the Word about Theo and to Meg Sulley and Co. for the article. A short while ago we had a lovely family adopt little Bobby from our rescue centre (see photo), which we made ready for travelling to the UK . They also met Theo and liked him a lot but decided on one dog for now. Well today they received my email about Theo and read the article and yes you guessed it THEY ARE ADOPTING HIM. He will be collected tomorrow and go with them to Gibraltar until December and then will be travelling to the UK where he will hopefully see his first Christmas with his own family. They have a walled garden and will be getting loads of walks on the lead. Good job this is not pen and paper as it would be all wet by now as tears of joy are running down my face.
UPDATE - Theo was collected today 1st July 2011by his new family that also brought along Bobby. He was Theo's pal at the refuge and was also adopted by the same family on 2nd June 2011. They will both have a new home together in the UK
UPDATE - 1stJuly - DEVASTATED!!!!! My lovey boy THEO IS DEAD. He went with his new family for a new life, they bathed him, took him for a walk and he slipped his lead, run off and got hit by car and got killed. What a waste of a lovely dog, all the care and time that went into him these last two years and he finally finds the perfect home. Cant say no more as I cant even breathe at the moment. I simply had to let you all now. R.I.P. my lovely boy Theo xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Animals In Distress Annual Charity Fashion Show
Thank you to those that came to support us at the A.I.D. Charity Fashion Show on Wednesday night 1st June. A big thank you to all the volunteers that took part and put in a lot of hard work, also Heartfmspain 96.1 Radio for the wonderful arrangement of music during the show and a thank you to the Marbella Design Academy http://www.designschool.com for their sponsorship on the night.
We had a lovely selection of stalls. Over 100 people showed up to support A.I.D. on this lovely evening, which was held on the Spanish Patio at the Lauro Golf Restaurant Just outside Alhaurin el Grande.
The models (all volunteers) did a fantastic job and really put themselves out to play the part whilst parading amongst all the guests, which were sitting around the Patio.
The evening raised a total of 1065.00 euro with 100% going directly to the animals that we help in all different ways as well as the ones that come under our care.
Click >>here<< to see the photos from the show
MAY 2011
Sunday 22nd May
Bettie and another dog appeared on someone's land that was not fenced. Both were in a poorly condition. 
Bettie was in season. The other dog decided to disappear and was never seen again. Bettie also disappeared at a later date and then came back pregnant. These people already had eight dogs so they could not keep her. They contacted us but we had no foster home at the time. However we decided to take her and worry about it later. We took her to the vets and he said that she might have her puppies in less than a week. The only option was to take her home that evening and then we would take her to the refuge the following day as we are already very full at home... This option we were not keen on as pups are usually about 12 - 16 weeks before we take them to our refuge. Well would you believe it she started to have her babies one hour before she was due to go to the refuge?
She had 3 pups between 9.00am - 9.20am, then 3 more 
came between then and 1pm and then two more during early afternoon. Seven are a cream colour and one is white. When we told our kennel volunteer about the mum and pups she said she would take them home and foster them for a few weeks as she had a spare room in her house. She also has her own 6 dogs, cats and chickens to look after. Bettie is a very caring mum and a gentle small dog. I gave her lots of reassurance and stroked her while she was having the babies and she let me handle her pups when I was laying another set of dry towels and completely trusted me even though she did not really know me.
This is a short video from today
Bettie giving birth May 2011- Bruno one of her pups - Bettie 17 December 2011
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Wednesday 4th May
| SASHA | |
Sad to report that Sasha one of our older rescue dogs has passed away. Sasha was 7 years old when we found her and was looked after by Linda and Ray one of our foster homes. In 2009 she was homed in Holland where she was to spend the rest of her life in comfort with a loving family. Sadly she later developed a tumour in her lung and had cancer spreading in her. Yesterday she passed away. R.I.P. Old friend. |
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Sasha when she was found in very poor condition at 7 years of age |
She had to have a Complete hair cut by Posh Pets |
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Foster home Lynda & Ray looked after Sasha for A.I.D. until a home could be found . |
Finally she was homed in Holland with a nice lady where she spent the last remaining years of her life. R.I.P. 2002 - 2011 . |
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Rick. |
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| Rick was rescued from a rubish dump 14 April 2011 in a very poor condition, starving, very thin, coat dirty and matted. By the marks on his coat around his neck it looks like he had been tied up for a very long time and had been with very little food for a while. His coat was covered in knots and needed a complete hair cut and shampoo. He is a very frienly little dog. Did not get a chance to take a 'before' photo but take a look at him after we took him to the vets, had his haircut and shampoo. We have him in a separate kennel at the refuge to keep him quiet for the night. We are full at home and in our few foster homes. He is a ver friendly little thing and must have been someones pet | |
APRIL 2011
Sunday 3rd April
Sponsored Walk with Dogs
A GREAT BIG THANK YOU to all that came today and contributed in their own way to the Animals In Distress (A.I.D.) 7 Km Sponsored Walk with Dogs around Monda village. We had 46 walkers and 48 dogs, which included 11 from our refuge and also some of the dogs we homed in the past came with their new owners, which was a delight to see them. We raised a fantastic 802 euro (some still to be collected) to help the animals we rescue. And also a big thank you to Roy from The Mortgage Service Group for being our guide on the walk.
See the Video from the walk
MARCH 2011
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14th March - Yet another casualty - We had another phone call today about a small Yorkshire cross terrier that had been thrown over a wall. When the vet shaved the little dog it was found to have bites up both legs and under the armpits and a bite on it's belly. We went back to see him and he is now recovering and we will collect him asap. He will be another little soul up for adoption
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14th March - One of our friends in Cartama phoned us as he had found a female dog full of blood around the throat and body. On inspection at the vets she still had a a stich from a sterlising operation. Apart from other bad wounds in her rear end the dog also had two large throat wounds and her eye also needed to come out. It was the vets advise that she be put to sleep. What a waste of a life R.IP.
MUCH NEEDED HELP - Yet again Bee and her husband come to the rescue. Bee has joined our small team of dog walkers. Our doggies little faces say it all when they see the dog lead coming towards them. The funds we raised are much needed to help the dogs we rescue so it's fantastic news when Bill offered his services to render the kennels walls as we normally have to pay some one because volunteers are hard to find. Bill has now finished one of the the small walls in one of our nine kennels at the sanctuary.
DEAD & INJURED ANIMALS - We often get phone calls from brits about injured or dead animals on the road, this is mainly because they have a language problem and also because many do not know who to contact, which should be the local police and they in turm will get in touch with the townhall and a collection will be made. If the dog is microchipped then the owner will be contacted and if it hasn't then the dog will go to the local pound.
Todays call was about a dead dog that had been shot and killed with an air gun. We called the police but night time arrived and the dog was still there so my wife took it to the vets. The following day had another call from the same area about a dog that had been shot in the leg and we also heard that a lady walking her dog heard a shot and something went whizzing past her. We called the police again and this time they met us where the injured dog was. Luck would have it the dog was chipped and the owner was contacted. The other dead dog at the vets was collected by the local dog pound.
HOMED AT LAST - A good start to March, we managed to find homes in Holland for some of our larger dogs. Some of them have been with us at our sanctuary for over a year.
FEBRUARY 2011
My wife Janice noticed for a few days a little dog (we call her Lady) by the bins with food bowls on the floor. Non of the neighbours knew to whom the dog belong to and by the looks of her she was full of milk and must have been feeding pups but non were around. Have they been killed and had she been dumped? She never left the bins. Janice took her to the vets for a check up and later on during the day she took Lady to see whether Lady would try to find her pups but no luck. We contacted our friend Bill who tomorrow will climb down a ravine to a dry water bed as that was the only place that seemed to interest Lady but it was pitch black today. We then contacted out network friend that happen to have six pups about one week old that she was hand rearing with special puppy milk every 2-3 hours. We took Lady to her and the pups settled in straight away. A good solution for the next few weeks. Now all that has to be done is home her and the pups :(
JANUARY 2011
Sad to report that Pauline Phillips from Coin/Cartama passed away Sunday night 9th January 2011. She was one of our main foster homes and had looked after dozens and dozens of A.I.D. stray/abandoned animals for the last few years.
She had been in and out of hospital this year and was returning to the UK this coming March with her 3 dogs and 3 cats. Her son will now be driving the animals back to the UK . Pauline’s body will be taken to the UK later on along with Mr. Chip's ashes (her favourite dog) that passed away this year. She worked so hard all her life for mentally and physically ill children including her own child and fostered many of them over the years before arriving in Spain where these last three years she dedicated her time fostering dogs for A.I.D. She will be so missed by all that knew this lovely and kind lady. R.I.P. Pauline
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Nice way to start the New Year. We had a call that a Spanish Mastin desperately needed help. We were told that he could have a broken leg and was starving. On arrival at the vets he was x-rayed and tested for leishmania to see the extent of the problem. He was extremely thin and his back leg was wasted and useless and was wrapped around his other rear leg and the rear part of his body was curved around due to all the time compensating for his bad leg. The results were as bad as they could be. The poor thing had a cancerous tumour on his rear hip, which was degenerating the bone and that he was in great pain. Unfortunately the vet and the specialist confirmed that the best ting for the animals was to put it to sleep. This broke our heart because although we love all dogs, we have a soft spot for these gentle giants, which don’t deserve the treatment and abuse they get in the Spanish countryside |
DECEMBER 2010
'Oh I wish it could be Christmas everydaaaayyyyy' Not likely....pups and dogs are being dumped left, right and centre at the moment, Grrrrrrrrrr Two more phone calls this afternoon. Cant keep up with it. Jan out on the road all day so far. Some brits can be so rude and abusive on the phone when I say we cant take any m...ore...just cause we are a charity they think we have endless space or that we are the RSPCA out here.
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What a Christmas holiday. Twisted my bad knee Christmas Eve and we had our charity event Christmas day but I still managed to have a few dances, nothing can stop me from that. Last Friday 3 Mastin puppies abandoned in the Rio Grande (See pic) One we homed straight away the other two are in temporary foster homes. Phone... calls Christmas Eve could we take dogs that had been dumped in someone’s garden. Today a phone call about a puppy that was abandoned. This morning Jan saw a car drive into Lidl's car park and two pups were chucked out from the window into the car park, she could not get the number plate and again we had to make calls to see who could take them. Someone rung me earlier this morning about an injured dog that looked like it been in a fight, we told them to take it to the vets in case it had a micro chip. Where does it end? We simply don’t have anywhere to put them.
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Three Mastin puppies abandoned in the Rio Grande. One we homed straight away the other two are in temporary foster homes.
Today a phone call about a puppy that was abandoned. This morning Jan saw a car drive into Lidl's car park and two pups were chucked out from the window into the car park, she could not get the number plate and again we had to make calls to see who could take them. Someone rung me earlier this morning about an injured dog that looked like it been in a fight, we told them to take it to the vets in case it had a micro chip. Where does it end? We simply don’t have anywhere to put them |
Phone calls Christmas Eve could we take dogs that had been dumped in someone’s garden. .
OCTOBER 2010
Six puppy water dogs (5-7 days old) found in the rubbish bins have been reared successfully by one of our foster homes. We homed one a month ago in Spain (nearly lost her life 3 times) and today the other five were taken to Malaga airport in a HUGE BOX by Janice from A.I.D. where an escort took them to Germany to be met by their new owners. Many thanks to the foster home, Lauro Vet and my wife Jan for a great result xx.
SEPTEMBER 2010
What a month!!! In fact WHAT A YEAR!!! Everyday we receive several phone calls and emails from people that can no longer keep their pet or they have found a dog or they are leaving for the UK and cannot take their pets with them. Also from rescue centres that are closing down as well as emails from individuals and other charities regarding saving dogs from death row.
We are only a small charity consisting of a small refuge, foster homes and a charity shop with kind volunteers as well as myself (Joe) looking after the refuge, keeping the website informative and updated with the animals, I also deal with the Police and the Spanish community etc and my wife Jan, which does all the 'dirty jobs' that most people dont want to get involved in.
WE personally see stray/abandoned/abused animals nearly every single day and it breaks our hearts as we can only help just a few every now and then as we always have a long list of animals waiting to come into our care.
We have found these last two years that the Britts returning home have added to this problem as most can't or want take their 'beloved pets' with them. The main two reasons are that the dogs that they have taken into their care whilst in Spain will now not fit in the owners life stile back in the Uk.
The other reason is that the owner has not had the animal blood tested just incase they have to return to the UK and it will now have to spend 6 months in quarantine, which will be very costly if they have from one to several animals.
We say it yet again; Get your animals blood tested, it's only a once in a lifetime test and as long as you keep your ravies vaccinations up to date the animal can travel with you straight away
Go to the 'Pet Travel Scheme (PETS)' in this link: http://www.animals-in-distress.eu/articles%20&%20news.html#petstoanothercountry
We have had some very happy endings including dogs returned to their owners because the dog was microchipped but maily lots of sad cases due to the owner passing away as well as neglected and or abused dogs.
if you come accross the latter please remember that there's nothing here like the RSPCA so you should report it to the police and not just simply contact a charity or dog centre to resolve the problem in your area. Take a look in here: http://www.animals-in-distress.eu/articles%20&%20news.html#cruelty
If you find a dog do not automatically phone or take it to a dog centre or charity. Most are usually full to capacity and the dog might have an owner? “This is how you can personally help the animal” Go to this link: http://www.animals-in-distress.eu/articles%20&%20news.html#ifyoufindadog
Podenco tragedy.
Another tragic waste of life due to ignorance and general attitude towards animals. When will all this suffering ever end?
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On Thursday 19th August A.I.D. we received a call about a dog that had collapsed in someone’s' property under a bush. The dogs' condition sounded bad so Janice met the people and the dog at the local vets to see what could be done. This poor female Podenco must have been starving for a long time and had a large deep wound on his side, which was septic and under the loose skin were loads of maggots. The dog basically was rotting in that area. Upon further inspection by the vet he described the symptoms as follows: As well as the obvious wound and starvation the dog was suffering from leishmania, Elichia, leptospirosis and as the problems were so multiple and severe, the vet sadly decided that the dog should be humanly put to sleep. This dog was fortunate so to speak. Rest in peace.
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August 2010
Toro
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Toro was born in March 2007 and as with many Spanish dogs after a while the novelty wears off and the dog is a hindrance and simply gets ignored until one day the owner decides to get rid of it by dumping it or put it to sleep. This last option is usually unlikely as some owners won’t even spend the money to put a dog to sleep humanly.
The owner of Toro came with him into our charity shop crying and saying that she could not keep him as she had developed an allergy. It's amazing the amount of people that in the last two years have developed dog allergy don’t you think?. Jan from A.ID happen to be there and after a long sobbing story from the owner it was a case of we either took him into our care or the owner was going to dump Toro in the countryside. She has not once returned to our shop to see how Toro is doing. So much for her beloved pet.
We made space for him at our small refuge and placed him with two other small dogs in a kennel until we could possibly find space in one of our foster homes but all three got on great in their kennel. This is a sweet little dog that just wanted love and kindness and you hardly know he was there.
Toro was lucky as our friend who helps us now and then to send dogs to Germany sent his photo to a family that wanted a small friendly dog and it so happens that the grandmother in the family had previously lost a dog through old age. When Toro arrived he went straight away to the grandmother and followed her all around the house. You could say that Toro had landed on his feet but it's more like he landed in the old girls basket as he goes with her everywhere in her now called 'The Toro-mobile'.
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Update on Cartama Hell
Click here for the March Newsletter on this story
Addition of 3 more catteries at our home.
Many thanks to Joann & Brian Parsons for the donation lots of aviary panels to help the animals.
Due to the amount of homeless cats, we are converting these panels into 3 temporary catteries adjoining our existing one at home, which we hope they will be ready to be used by mid August.
As we have not been able to get volunteers or free materials, we will be using part of the funds raised at the Rock N' Roll evening by T.O.P.S. to pay for the labour and materials needed to finish this new project.
Champ's Story
He was found in the middle of the Alora by-pass, traumatised, starving, full of ticks and one ear had been cut off with scissors or knife and the other ear was full of ticks. Had a pain on his side probably from a kick. He was full of worms and intestinal parasites, which made him very ill. He is now on the road to recovery and is a gentle quiet pup. Gets on well with other dogs and cats
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I was found in the middle of the road traumatised |
one of my ears was cut off and the other full of ticks |
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My body was covered with loads of ticks |
I am recovering after all my treatments |
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I feel much better now and starting to trust |
I might only have one ear but dont you think I am handsome? |
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A BIG THANK YOU TO T.O.P.S.
On the 17th July 2010 T.O.P.S. Held a Rock N' roll evening with a meal as well as entertainment to raise money for our A.I.D. charity. The event, which was organised by Mike & Cath Bradley of T.O.P.S. took place at Lynn and Kevin's home at Finca La Luna and we wish to also thank them for being such great hosts. We also wish to thank eveyone else involved, the singers and the people that cooked all the food. It all came together to make this a great evening, which raised a total of 1300 euros for our charity. This much needed funding has gone directly to our latest project, which is the installation of a biological tank as well as other items connected with it. See photos of the event here
CHICO - Found just in time.
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This is Chico - On the evening of 26th May 2010 we received a phone call from one of our supporters . Chico was found near the timber yard 'Maderas Menur' in Coin. He was in a hedge cuddled up to his dead sibling, starving, dehydrated, suffering from scabies, covered in ticks and flees, his legs were just skin on top of bone and his belly full of worms. After a day at our local vet, we took him to one of our foster homes for personal care as he has to have medicine and special baths. We keep our fingers crossed on his slow road to recovery. The photos were taken 24 later in our foster home. This sort of thing is one of the many sad cases that we have to deal with on a very regular basis. Chico's recovery will be slow and hopefully in the near future he will be a normal and healthy puppy that one day might find a loving home. CHICO a few weeks later |
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8th May 2010
7Km Sponsorded Walk with Dogs around Monda village:
A big thank you to Roy from The Mortgage Service Group for leading the walk and for his support. |
which included rescue dogs from the A.I.D. refuge in Coin. The walkers raised a total of just over 1300 euros, which will go 100% to the stray/abandoned animals that we rescue and help. The walk took 1.5 hours, the weather was lovely, the scenery around Monda was superb, the dogs all behaved and got on with each other very well and at the end of the walk there was bowls of water for the dogs while the owners refreshed themseves with a cold beer.
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walkers from ojen with our rescued dogs . |
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along the lanes . |
refreshing dip . |
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end of the walk . |
back to the refuge . |
Our new shop opp Mercadona in Alhaurin el Grande officially opened on April 26th.
The opening day was a fabulous with lots of new faces and great support form our regulars. The shop is continuing to grow and we have a great selection of very good quality items to help animals
March 2010
Our two shops in Alhaurin el Grande are CLOSING DOWN
27 Blas Infante (opposite Brit Essentials) will close as from 1st of April 2010
76 Gerald Brenan (Camino de Malaga) will close as from 1st May 2010
Visit our new shop
We hope to see you at our new shop, which will be opened by mid April 2010
Located at - Carretera de Cartama No.34
It is in Alhaurin el Grande on the opposite pavement to Mercadona, between what was Mrs Chippy and near Lauro Vet Hospital.
Thank you all for your past support and hope to see you at the new shop.
Bless her heart - This sorrowful looking Podenco female dog was found on the side of the road by one of our foster homes. Many people knew she was there but no one did anything about it. When we arrived she hardly had the strength to move. She had given up! She was a victim to the all too common disease Leishmaniasis, which is rampant in Andalucia. She must have been suffering for a very long time to look like she did. She had open sores all over her body, possibly blind or little vision and her ears were completed eaten away by theLeishmania. Some of her wounds were so bad that they had maggots in them. On the advice from our local vet she was put to sleep. May she rest in peace now. Click here to read about Leishmaniasis.
Our two shops in Alhaurin el Grande are closing for good
27 Blas Infante (opposite Brit Essentials) will close as from 1st of April 2010
76 Gerald Brenan (Camino de Malaga) will close as from 1st May 2010
Visit our new shop
We hope to see you at our new shop, which will be opened by mid April 2010.
34 Carretera de Cartama.
It is located in Alhaurin el Grande on the opposite pavement to Mercadona, between what was Mrs Chippy and near Lauro Vet Hospital.
Thank you all for your past support and hope to see you at the new shop.
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ANIMAL HELL NEAR CARTAMA
On Wednesday evening 17th March Janice from A.I.D. received a phone call from a friend in Sexmo, Cartama, Malaga about her concern for a large number of animals that seem to have been left unattended for 2 - 3 weeks and which she had been feeding the last couple of days (little did they both know what was about to unfold), The following morning Janice arrived with a foster home (Peter & Ann) and they were going take away a few chickens and five rabbits (so they thought).
This is as Janice describes what she found - 
This place could only be described a rag and bones come builders yard. The town hall vet arrived shortly after we got there and apparently he had been there with the police the previous day. The vet said to us 'Have you seen the pigs and the dogs?' I then proceeded to an inner court yard full of rubbish and derelict buildings, where I found two pot bellied pigs (one was a pregnant female), two dogs chained inside a filthy pig pen and three puppies running around loose . The vet said that the owner was a drug addict and had gone to jail for 10 years and that I could take whatever animals I wanted to save and then he left? As we entered it became obvious that there was something else on the right hand side, this turned out to be another made up shack, which contained another load of rabbits. To our left was a load of rubbish, sinks and baths, which we climbed trough and led to a ramshackled area only to find more chickens, a bantem and a duck. We put them into a large dog carrier and into the car.
This hell hole was littered with rubbish and mountains of clothes. We were fighting our way through, we found filthy cages with green moulded bread, which also contained remains of long dead animals, we entered a room full of rubbish of every description and a wall full of small dark enclosures that contained live rabbits. We had to climb up some containers to reach the rabbits on the top enclosures. As we investigated further we came across 4 bird cages with 3 live zebra finches amongst several decomposing bodies. I then pushed my way into another room, which on one side had piles of sheep's wool and old fridges an rabbit hatches with rabbits that had been dead for a long time and then went into another derelict area, which had what looked like sword fish heads hanging from a beam. There were other rabbithatches but there was only one live rabbit as the others were dead so Pete took the rabbit back to where they had boxed up other rabbits.
I went on and came a across a filthy made up glass enclosure 
full of rubbish and on sliding up the front, I found inside a starving Iguana of about 1m long and very weak on it's back legs. I phoned Bill a friend of mine, which I knew would be interested and he came very quickly to collect the Iguana. On his arrival he was so discussed and shocked at what he saw that he stayed to help us. We then went into the area where the pigs wereand there was another dark area full of made up pens containing live rabbits. Next to that was another door and when I opened it I found rows of 25lt plastic containers with the tops cut out and a whole made on the side for a water container to go into. The bottom of the containers was full of shucks and fur, which is all that remained from long dead hamsters, which is where they lived. We pulled out 8-10 hamsters but one died in my hands on the way to the car.
We run out of things to put animals in so we put water down for the animals as well as grass that we cut and a few carrots from a neighbour and we also fed and watered the pigs and dogs. My van was full of animals and could not take anymore so we left everything as we thought with food and water. The following day Friday 19th March we returned to pick up the remaining rabbits and I had another look at the previous areas again and found a door that had been overlooked and had a bar across it, which gave me a terrible feeling. I entered and found the floor littered with rubbish and dead carcasses of guinea pigs. Five guinea pigs were still alive as well as a white rabbit, all very thin. There were other containers in there with dead animals inside.
We returned to where there were some large top 
loading freezers that we had not looked at and when we slid the lid across the smell was overpowering. One of the freezer was not turned on and inside it was nearly full of a black liquid, which was the result of loads of decaying carcasses. We opened another freezer which was working and it was full of dead guinea pigs, which at a later dated could have probably been skinned for the fur trade to make the little kitten and cats in a basket that you find on the coast for the tourist trade and looks like this animals could have been bred to raise money for the drug trade. This was something that I was dreading but expecting to find.
While I was still in the premises I phoned Heart fm radio station and they put out an urgent appeal for homes for the surviving animals and also for rabbit hatches.
The rest of my day was spent looking for homes and between us we managed to home the surviving guinea pigs and some of the rabbits. I took the three puppies to the vets as they were full of ticks and needed to be checked over. The puppies have since gone to my friend's rescue centre in Fuengirola and one has found a home already.
On Monday 22nd of March a kind Spanish gentleman will be arriving with a horse box and we have contacted several volunteers to give us a hand to load up the pigs as they are about 40 - 50 kg each and we don’t know how they will react.
On a last note: Unfortunately and we are very sad to 
say this type of rescue is not uncommon and as you go further Inland all types of animals suffer from this sort of conditions.
This tragedy has had an impact on all that have been involved in the rescue as they did not realise that this sort of thing was happening and also so close to home.
On behalf of all these poor little souls Jan & Joe from Animals In Distress wish to thank all the people involved in this case, which includes Pete & Ann, Linda, Bill & Vee, Amanda, our associate friend Pat from F.A.M.A. dog rescue, Concordia from CYD Santa Maria horse rescue and Heartfm radio. Everyone was wonderful in what they did.
Can you give a rabbit a home? Please contact us: animalsindistress2007@yahoo.co.uk or telephone Janice on 619 377 787
See more photos
Rubbish every where |
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. Some of the dead rabbits and hamsters |
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. Some of the rescued animals |
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February 2010
We are grateful to our three volunteers Chloe (British), Marina and Tamara (Spanish), which are helping at the refuge during their school holidays and at weekends.
We are desperate for more volunteers to help walk, feed and clean the dogs every day.
January 2010
Finally the much needed kennels in our small refuge are up and running. To see lots of photos of the kennels Click here
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A volunteer from France - We want to thank the Association Ribida (Located in France) for kindly sending us one of their students for a few days to help out at our new kennels. Ribida has a base in Southern Spain teaching students from 14 - 21 years old all aspects of Andalucia.
Photo of the student Davy with Ben & Dillon at our kennels
December 2009
LINA - UPDATE!!!
Earlier this month, December ’09, Lina set off on her long, road journey from the south of Spain to the UK. She has now settled in nicely with her new owner and other rescue dogs for company. Lina now lives in a remote area away from traffic and noise which suits her nervous disposition but is regularly walked to the shops in the village where she has become a local celebrity and has won the hearts of everybody.
From the day she was found lying in a ditch so many people have helped this wonderful girl to get her mentally and physically back to some normality before she could be re-homed. Lina has touched many hearts in Spain and I am sure she will be missed by all those involved but now they can smile with maybe a tear in their eye, as indeed I have, in the knowledge that Lina, now called Nina, is “home” I hope to add an updated photo of her very soon.
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November 2009
Kennels - Our much needed dog kennels should be finished early December, click here
Lina (white dog) has found a home! (click to see Lina when found)
It was a hot day in mid June of this year when Janice and Joe of “Animals In Distress” received a desperate call for help. Twenty miles away in Fuengirola, Malaga, an animal volunteer, had been walking her own dogs near one of the many golf courses when she came across a heartbreaking sight. There half laid in a ditch of water was Lina, as she was to be called.
A middle aged girl with a badly sun scorched, dirty, white coat, starving and dehydrated. She was too exhausted to run any more and looked at the volunteer with eyes that broke your heart. Lina was desperately thin, her ribs and spine protruding badly but she was also heavily pregnant. The volunteer stayed with her talking gently to her and comforting her assuring her that help was on its way.
When Janice and Joe arrived they were appalled at what they saw and knew that time was running out for Lina. She was gently lifted into their vehicle and taken straight to their Vet who carried out an ultrasound and various other tests. She was too weak to give birth on her own and so an emergency caesarean operation was carried out including being spayed so that she wouldn’t have to endure another major operation at a later date.
It was hoped that Lina would have enough strength to carry her through this ordeal and not give up on life completely. She had so many people praying for her. To have come this far she didn’t deserve to bow out of life now. It was of no surprise due to the size of Lina that there were 16 puppies but sadly all of them died within a few hours. If Lina couldn’t find food and water for herself then how could she possibly provide for those little ones that she was carrying?
Lina was also causing great concern as she was very poorly and had to stay in “hospital” for several days undergoing more tests as there were further complications for her. Had it all just been too much for her?
Day by day Lina started to regain her strength. She trusted those around her because she knew they were there to help and not to abuse. A foster home was already lined up for her and three weeks after her ordeal she was well enough to be taken to a Dog Parlour. Her coat was in a terrible, neglected state through months of being homeless.
At first she was unsure of her status at her foster home. She wasn’t used to being allowed inside and thought her place was outside only. She didn’t want to presume anything. I can relate to this because this is exactly how Lady reacted when I first found her and brought her home. I don’t think she’d ever seen inside a house!
Lina’s trust in humans has grown and grown which is amazing really when it is apparent that she has known little, if any, love. Every time a visitor arrives her head and tail lifts up ready to give them a warm welcome. She loves interacting with other dogs and cats that share the same foster home.
Slowly Lina’s character is developing much to everybody’s delight, even if it is a little cheeky at times! She loves to eat her food in her own box where she feels secure although she shows no protectiveness towards it. Every day, as her confidence grows, another sweet side of her comes out.
Because Lina is only in a foster home she has appeared on A.I.D. web site hoping for someone to come forward to adopt her and give her a permanent home. A lady in the UK that has always been involved in helping animals saw Lina and her heart went out to her when she saw that she needed a permanent home. So much so, that she decided to adopt Lina in order to give her the quality of life she deserves for her last remaining years.
Lina will be embarking on her long journey to the UK in December to be united with her new owner by private transport from door to door. I’m sure there will be many tears shed when this day arrives, more out of happiness than sadness, because Lina has touched so many hearts and truly deserves to be kept warm, safe and secure with as much love as she can take for the rest of her days.
Had the volunteer not found her in the first place; had Janice and Joe not responded to her call for help then I would not be having this opportunity to write about Lina. Too many dogs are abandoned and left to face the cruel elements and survive on their own. Their chance of survival is so small. Lina is one of many, many dogs that Janice and Joe have helped over the years. You can read more about them in the Category “Animal Organisations” under A.I.D. along with the link to their web site. Maybe you too could step forward to adopt one of their dogs? Or maybe you could see your way to a donation? Every dog that is rescued incurs a Vets fee, either for blood tests, for sterilisation, or because it has been injured. Lina’s Vet bill was €500 which was kept low out of the kindness of the Vet’s heart.
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July 2009
What a month!!!!
More people having to return to the UK and they cant afford to put their animals in kennels for 6 months, if only they could think ahead? You only need to have a blood sample once and “All vaccinations have to be kept in date there after for the blood test to remain valid”. Your animal can then travel back with you at short notice.
At present we are not able to take on any more animals (Dogs or Cats) so if you find an animal we ask to follow the notes in here.
Just last week 8 puppies dumped in a cupboard box (now in our foster home) and two days ago we had to find room for these four pups (now in our own home) 2 mastin cross, one with no tail and one with half a tail. The other two are gundog cross type.
June 2009
Here are two of many stories in June
This is Lina. She is an old girl that was found in a ditch of water by an animal volunteer, heavily pregnant and starving. A.I.D.was called out and took her to the local vet. 12 hours later she had a caesarian operation, which saved her live. She gave birth to 16 pups, which most died within hours due to some of the symptoms that she had and could have passed on? Three of the pups looked like they could have survived but the following morning they disappeared and we think that Lina ate them as they could not be found.
Photos of Lina one week after her operation. Look at those eyes! What stories could she tell! Is there anyone out there with a big heart that can give this old girl a loving home?
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Gomez a noble dog from Toledo
Two ladies contacted us at A.I.D. One of the Ladies is from the UK and one lives locally. They heard about the plight of Gomez and sent us the enclosed letter.
Gomez is a 2 or 3 years old cocker spaniel size doggie used to be so happy. His family, an old man who used to take long walks with him every day ( they especially loved the park, where Gomez used to joyfully play and jump) loved him and Gomez loved him back with the loyalty and blind faith only animals and few people feel. But the man suddenly died and Gomez was thrown out into the streets to fend for himself. Since then he does not stop looking for his old man everywhere, when other dogs attack him he does not resist (see one of his wounds in the picture No 3, he cares about nothing except to find his family, and gets weaker and weaker. Are we going to let him die in the streets? He is in grave danger of being killed by dogs or men!.
We have enough on our hands here in Coin and local villages but as full as we are with lack of space in our foster homes, how could we let Gomez down. He is now under our temporay care at A.I.D. waiting for a good and loving permanent home. Can anyone help?
May 2009
On the 30th April 2009 we closed our shop at 12 Plaza Alta,
Alhaurin el Grande (by the Town Hall).
We relocated and opened on the 4th May at 27 Gerald Brenan (The Parade) by Brit Essentials.
We have video tapes, clothes, shoes, bric-a-brac and all sorts of household items.
Open 10am - 2pm Monday - Saturday
Help us to help the animals
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APRIL 2009
Just had to show this follow up!!!!!
Ref: August newsletter:
Missy was a 10-week old Podenco Andaluz with lovely
green eyes and I had to climb up a mountain and down
to a riverbed to get to her. Lost and frightened now
happy and confident and like so many she was looking
for a kind and loving secure home.
She was homed at the end of January 2009 to a nice
couple that came all the way from Holland to see her
and get to know her and one week later they took her
back with them.
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| 24.04.09
Photos of Missy relaxing
on the owners week-end boat. She is now 10 months old and has turned out to be a beautiful dog with lots of characted. Good luck with her new life! I love a happy ending, don't you? |
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MARCH 2009
NEW DOG KENNELS
Due to the amount of homeless animals that are coming into our care, we now need to expand.
We have the opportunity to build six dog kennels and one for cats on a plot of land in Coin, as temporary homes for the animals.
We urgently need funds for this project so please help us to help the animals.
Donations can be made at the ‘Heart fm radio’ office in Alhaurin el Grande (near Britt Essentials) Also directly to us by credit card via this link:
http://www.animals-in-distress.eu/Projects.html
"ACCOMMODATION"
If anyone has a caravan that they are not using, it would be very gratefully received. We need it as accommodation for someone to live on the plot and keep an eye on the animals.
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| Foxie - A happy ending. Here he is a few weeks later with his new owners. They met him at the airport in Holland. Foxie was rescued during bad rains. (See The article below) |
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FEBRUARY 2009
Mum and 10 pups found in the rain and full of mud.
Wow 10 pups!
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A miserable morning raining as had been all night. We were just about to go out to take two of our stray dogs to the vets for castration, when we received a phone call from Concordia of the CYD Animal Sanctuary for ill treated and/or abandoned horses. Concordia had come across a mum and ten pups living in very bad conditions and telephoned us. Jan (from Animals In Distress) rushed out to find ten pups all cuddled up in a heap sitting in water on the floor of a leaking dog house. Two of the pups had fallen out and were underneath a wooden pallet huddled together shivering in the mud. The mum was on a chain outside soaking wet and full of mud up to her belly and I guess every time she went in two feed the pups, some would have been pulled out of the box by the mum’s chain. We found out from the neighbour that was feeding the dogs that they seldom saw the owner of the plot. The neighbours supplied us with his phone number and after a long discussion with him Jan took the animals away. All of the dogs are now been cared for and are up for homing. |
Cat Enclosure in Coin
This is the new enclosure built for rescued cats that need a 'temporary home'.
It was constructed on the 25th February 2009 by A.I.D. with funds raised from one of the
charity events. Each box sleeps 2 cats
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| 2m x 4m | cat litter & toys |
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| Inspecting our new temporay home | Lid off - showing top sleeping area |
Confessions of a New Foster Mummy!
Having spent the best part of my first year in Spain settling in my children into Spanish school, I decided to do something "worth while" with my time, but what to do? My hubby and I went for a coffee in Alhaurin el Grande and came across the A.I.D shop, so in I went and met Jan and my fate was sealed! I left my details on Wednesday lunch time and "the call" came that evening about "Ben" a small dog who had been attacked by another dog and was in the vets having his wounds dressed and being "castrated". Jan arrived with this scared little dog with stitches and wounds and "tablets!" How do you give a dog tablets? Oh well I was about to learn and quickly. Jan left and it was now up to me and I was determined to do a good job, little did I know just what tricks dogs know, they’re cleverer than children!
First day I leave Ben to do the school run and come home to find Ben sitting on the road outside my house! He had jumped out of my kitchen window! My heart was beating so hard, how on earth could I have phoned Jan and explained I’d lost the first dog on the first day! Next day was Saturday but all the windows were firmly shut. My children took Ben for a walk and a frantic phone call coz Ben had cut his paw so I cleaned him up just like a child! He didn’t like the bandage though! Sunday morning my daughter leaves the door open and Ben does a runner and we end up chasing him up the road, I have certainly got fitter through Ben. Shutting the kitchen window was fine but I forgot about the toilet one and yep you guessed it, there was Ben on Monday morning sitting on the road waiting for me again!, I swear he is laughing at me and challenging me to outwit him. Tuesday, all windows and doors shut and YES I win he is inside the house when I return so I reward him by taking to the school to see the children. He is most intrigued by the guinea pig and sits licking his lips but doesn’t touch her and gets on well with the one eyed cat or else he bats him on the nose! That’s the gossip up to now, So although quite challenging it is very rewarding watching this timid little dog change in front on my eyes into a cheeky chap who now needs a loving home. I am glad that Jan didn’t know my secrets or she'd have never trusted me with anything, so Jan don’t read it.
Love "a little more experienced foster mummy" xxx
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JANUARY 2009
This month has been horrendous.
The majority of phone calls and emails that we have received (from all over Andalucia) are from owners , which are returning to the UK and leaving their beloved pets behind for all sorts of reasons but mainly due to lack of funds.
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Homes in Holland and Belgium
We now have strong contacts for homing animals in Holland and Belgium and have found lovely homes for our dogs and cats. In January we managed to home a total of 40 animals here and abroad.
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DECEMBER 2008
This year we managed to find homes for over 270 animals.
This figure included dogs, cats and others
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Are you abandoning the Spanish Dream - What about your Pet?
All rescues are sinking under the weight of abandoned animals especially from people going back to England, either because they have taken on so many animals out here that it would be impossible to take back with their new home situation or because they simply did not plan on going back and their animals were not ready to go with them.
(photo of Jan from A.I.D. with 'Lady' yet another pet abandoned by English owners returning to UK)
A little forethought can sometimes resolve most cases.
Please remember that before your dog can be taken to England it will need a Rabies jab and a Blood sample taken. One month after the rabies jab the vet has to take a blood sample and then six months after the sample your pet should be able to travel back to England.
We realise that for some people it would simply be impossible to take their animals back but some owners really send a chill down my spine when they phone us and say:
“If you don’t take it I will just leave it behind or put it down”
One owner said; “Well he is not really my dog I found it in the Campo” and when I asked him when did he find it, he replied “three years ago”.
Like most rescues our work is for abandoned, neglected and starving animals, not for peoples unwanted pets. It is also sad to see cats abandoned by these same owners as they seem to think that a pet cat will fend for itself.
The other day we picked up a Boxer, which is only a few years old and it was obvious that he previously had a home but for whatever reason (it’s beyond me) he had been abandoned. He had the look of a dog that had given up, the eyes said it all. One of our helpers gave it food for a couple of days and then when he was approachable we took him in. He is a lovely boy and has now started to play and enjoy the company of other dogs and people and is now looking for a new home
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Max & Tobby - We found two young dogs in a drain pipe, which had come together for warmth and protection from the weather. They are sweet and friendly little dogs and we have hopes that a couple of nice people that came to us looking for a dog the other day will keep them both as they are such lovely mates.
If you feel you could temporarily foster an animal or give it a permanent home?
Please phone Janice on 619 377 787.
Can you help?
We need your old blankets, towels and sheets for our foster homes. Please take them to any of our charity shops in Alhaurin el Grande, 12 Plaza Alta (near the Town Hall) or 76 Gerald Brenan (200mts past Martins newsagents) or if you are local, we can collect them.
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A New Animals In Distress Shop opens in Alhaurin el Grande
A.I.D. opened their second Charity Shop to help Stray/Abandoned animals on Monday 1st December at 76 Gerald Brenan, Alhaurin el Grande.
Nearly 100 supporters as well as passers by visited the shop between 10am & 2pm.
The official opening/cutting of the tape was by Amy Winehouse Experience (Pippa from the T.P.S. Magazine). Hearfm 88.2 the ‘brand new radio station’ (fantastic new supporters of A.I.D.) provided great music during the opening and also live commentary on the latter part of the day.
Jan & Joe cannot thank enough all the supporters and volunteers for all their help.
A.I.D says: Our Charity as well as other organisations needs help and support to protect as many animals as possible especially at this moment in time as the ‘Job Crisis’ worsens and the animals are being abandoned by their owners and left to fend for themselves. The sad thing is that a significant part of this problem is the extra volume created by Britt’s giving up the Spanish Dream and returning home without their “Much loved Pets”.
The Dog Pounds, Rescue Centres/Charities as well as the individual kind persons that do such valuable work to help rescue and home abandoned animals have never had their hands so full.
As we write, we have just been notified of the safe arrival of three abandoned cats, which we sent to new owners in England and are now settling in nicely in their new homes.
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NOVEMBER 2008
Further news on Anita (See September newsletter):
Anita the mum that had been shot & wounded and had her 8 pups under a tree (two of which had died) is doing great. She as well as 3 of her pups are off to Germany soon.
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(Anita now healthy and in Germany
with her three pups) |
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Dog enclousers & Exercise run in Cartama
Renovation work carried out with the funds raised at the
Annual Charity Posh Pets Fun Dog Show & Pet Race
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| The old chicken run | The old pidgeon housing | New portable exercise run |
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OCTOBER 2008
Thank you to Posh Pets Spain
Posh Pets in Alhaurin el Grande held their 3rd Annual fun Dog Show and Pet Race on the 5th October.
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Every year Posh Pets Spain (in Alhaurin el Grande) hold a Fun Dog Show & Pet race to help animals here in Andalucia with all proceeds going to a charity. We at Animals-In-Distress (A.I.D.) are very honoured and very grateful to have been chosen for 2008. We were involved in the event, which was held on the 5th October and we know the great amount of effort that is needed to hold such an event and on behalf of all the stray/abandoned animals that we help we want to thank Rachel and her team. We want to thank all the volunteers, stalls, the businesses that sponsored all the dog classes and the 380 people plus children and pets that turned up to make this a wonderful day and helped to raise nearly 2000 euros for our charity. Dave and the team our sponsors from ACEFM106.8 Radio for inland Andalucia, were live at the event providing great music and chat throughout the whole day for the different classes in the dog show and we thank them for their support yet again. Businesses and individual that sponsored the dog classes: Villapac - Santiago Restaurant - Bedlinen Direct - Spanish Mortgage Brokers – Spiritwood - Duncan and Pete - Scott the Plumber - My Butterfly Bliss – Elegancia - Witham Brothers - Brit Essentials - Lemon Tree - Bars in Spain - Papeleria Cristina - Posh Pets |
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SEPTEMBER 2008
Neglect and abandonment
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We have had very sad cases of neglect and abandonment, English people included. Two pups died but six had survived.The mum and the one week old pups came to us and we are now getting them all on the road to recovery. |
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Five, one week old Yorky cross puppies found in a cupboard box have been successfully hand rear.
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We have had lots of mums and kittens found in boxes and dustbins this Year.
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We have also returned some lost dogs to their owners because they had a micro chip.
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We have homed 30 animals this August.
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Our fund raising has to continue so that we can help more animals.
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HANDBAG THEFT
2pm Tuesday 23rd Sept. Lidl's Car park - Coin
A handbag was taken from a car at Lidl's Car park while shopping was being loaded on. It belonged to Janice from the Charity Animals In distress. Apart from loosing her driving license, mobile phone visa and debit card, which a block was put on straight away.
Janice also lost her agenda in her handbag with lots of contact numbers regarding animal work, but the most important thing she lost was money that she had with her to pay animal bills and to purchase food etc for them.
This is tragic and Janice is devastated. She feels very bad because not only does she work 24/7 to try to raise money but also the hard work that her volunteers always put in.
So people beware as this sort of thing is typical in supermarket car parks and Janice was well aware of this, which goes to show how crafty these thief's can be.
'Never think ‘Oh well, it won't happen to me'
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AUGUST 2008
There are so many little souls discarded like rubbish every year.
We are a small Charity looking after the welfare of Stray/Abandoned animals in this part of Andalucia.
We have some wonderful supporters and volunteers and our small network foster homes are indispensable, as we do not have a dog centre with Kennels. The work they do on the animals is wonderful bringing many back from the edge and giving them the confidence that they are lacking to bring out their characters.
Like e.g. Lexi the boxer from the local wood yard who nobody wanted or cared about, her last puppy dead at her side (poisoned) and no one noticed.
She is now spayed and in one of our foster homes enjoying the care, comfort and security she deserves.
Flanagan a 4 week old Brown and white puppy and the only survivor from a bag being thrown out onto the roads edge. He must have fallen out of the bag and survived as the rest of the puppies were dead. He is now confident and a real rascal and is now looking for a loving home.
Missy was a 10-week old Podenco Andaluz with lovely green eyes and I had to climb up a mountain and down to a riverbed to get to her. Lost and frightened now happy and confident and like so many looking for a kind and loving secure home.
There are so many little souls discarded like rubbish every year and it’s getting worse.
Dogs are being left behind by owners going back to England and even the few that take the dogs with them, some still leave their pet cats behind to fend for themselves and of course they cant because having been a family pet they cannot survive alone.
I know it can be costly to put your dog in kennels for 6 months but if owners think in advance just in case they might have to go back to England then the procedure is simple and no so costly and the animals are always ready to go.
Dogs and horses are locked up or tied up with no food, water or shelter and some never seeing the light of day and living a life of misery.
Things are changing slowly with the new laws that were introduced in 2003 but it’s up to individual that sees any mistreatment or cruelty to first talk to the owner and explain how the animal should be treated or kept.
Don’t forget that if you go to the police and put in a Denuncia they will have to act on it and send out Seprona (Campo Police) especially for horses.
Yes I hear you say ‘Where I live the Police never wants to know and also what about if the animal belongs to my horrible neighbour?’
Well, then I will say to you to search your conscious!
Please remember that out here as in many countries, there are no bodies like the R.S.P.C.A. and the police have no power of entry if there’s no one about, so it’s up to the individual to contact the police when there’s someone in the property so that they can act on the Denuncia or Complaint.
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FEBRUARY 2008
Death in Miralmote.
Some of you might have heard of the English lady that was killed by her partner in Miralmonte, Coin a few weeks ago.
You might think what this has to do with us. Well, we were told that the owners had animals and that the police had called the man that works for the Town Hall and he took away the 2 house-dogs.
This meant certain death after 10 days, as no one knows where this man keeps the dogs that are handed over to the Police?
This is a subject that I hope to inform you about at another time.
There were also 3 house-cats at the lady’s house. We homed the oldest and the neighbours kept the other 2.
After a lot of chasing with the police and also talking to the family of the murdered lady (who arrived from the UK and did not want the dogs), we obtained permission for the dogs to be released to us and we fostered them temporarily with Rachel of Posh Pets
(Photo left - Rachel from Posh Pets Spain with one of the dogs)
The good news is that with help from one of our contacts we managed to find a good home for both dogs in Germany and last weekend I took them to Malaga Airport and saw them off to their new life abroad.
(Here is one of them, now called 'Nino' with new owner Christmas 2008)
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On a last note, the Registry of Associations have acknowledged our application to become a registered charity in Andalucia and they assure us that we will hear within the next 2 - 3 months, so keep fingers crossed for us.
