Rescuing
an
animal that has been abused,
abandoned, or is just unwanted, is one of the most noble things a
human being can do. In most cases, we think of pet adoption as a
good thing to do because it saves an innocent animal from being put
down unnecessarily. Rarely do we ever stop to consider the
many ways that an
adopted animal can make our lives better. There
is evidence that proves adopting a pet can save human
lives as well. Read
more here
Pets In
Spain is a registered animal rescue
and rehoming charity, finding homes for animals all
over the world.
See their new web site here
Tel: (0034) 645 469 253 or email: info@petsinspain.info
Adopt
a Dog
Dino was found by a German man and the local
police were informed. Thankfully we were also informed and
before he was collected by the Cereco van we collected him and
found him a foster home. He is a quiet, loving little dog,
weighing only 7 kilos, he looks like a Daschund cross
without the long body.
Approx 2 years old at first he is a little
timid around men, however, he looks at you with those
adoring eyes and loves cuddles. Please help this lovely
little boy find a home.
Call (0034) 645 469 253 or email: info@petsinspain.info
UPDATE: Dino has been adopted but there are
many others like him needing homes or temporary fosterers . Please
visit www.petsinspain.info or
call (0034) 645 469 253.
Click
here - Please make a donation to help animals in
need
Why you should never buy
an animal from a pet shop in
Spain....
CERECO - HELL FOR
ANIMALS click here
CHICO THE LA MARINA
MASCOT FOSTERING
Importing A Pet To
Spain DEFRA Info On
Pets
Dog Transport to the
UK
DOGS FOR
ADOPTION CATS AND
KITTENS
TOXIC
PLANTS ON THE COSTA BLANCA THAT CAN KILL
PETS
DOGS AND CATS IN THE
EUROPEAN UNION - THEIR FUTURE...
Eurogroup for
Animals is the leading European non-governmental
organisation committed to improving the way animals are treated and
kept throughout the European Union. A study is being done now. It is
hoped that the EU will approve a new framework animal welfare law to
cover household pets. The results of the study will be published in
2014.
More here: http://eurogroupforanimals.org/files/policies/downloads/107/dogs_and_cats_public.pdf
CERECO ANIMAL POUND IN
CREVILLENTE....
Councillor Wiszniewski has
stated in a newspaper article that it is OK for Cereco to kill the
animals. However, his fellow councillor, Susana Ortuño, who is the
Councillor for Animals in San Fulgencio, has stated that this is
wrong, that it is not right to kill the animals. In a meeting
on 25th October with former Councillor for Animals Mark Lewis, and
local animal welfare protagonist Marian Antuñano, councillor
for animals Susana Ortuño agreed to their request to try to
persuade the owner of Cereco to stop killing the animals and to
allow full disclosure of all the animals taken there
so that animal welfare groups and volunteers can help to find
homes for them. The council should also keep accurate
records of each animal collected and make them public as some pets
collected by the Cereco vans have owners and have gone
astray!
Cereco in Crevillente has possibly the worst reputation
for animal care and welfare, it is a business, not an animal
shelter. They have a policy of killing most of
the dogs and cats that they collect, they even have their
own incinerator on the premises. No records of animals
collected by Cereco are made public and nobody can trace an animal
from its arrival there to its eventual outcome. The Mayor and his
councillors are the only people that can, if they feel inclined to
do so, put pressure on the Cereco owner to maintain accurate records
of the animals during their stay in the the pound and prove
that they are doing everything possible to find new homes for the
dogs and cats that they collect. The public should be
able to follow the progress of each animal from the day it
arrives in the Cereco warehouse in Crevillente. The Cereco owner is
Francisco Anton Bottella and he is being asked to agree to make
these records available, it remains to be seen if he agrees to
this.
Cereco has contracts with 40 different town Halls
and they take in between 50 to 80 dogs every week from many
different municipalities throughout the Costa Blanca. Despite being
in existence for more than 10 years Cereco’s web site has just 34 dogs and 3 cats listed
for adoption at their re-homing centre. Where are all
the others, more than 1000 dogs and cats that have been
collected in recent months?
It is hoped that local people will remain diligent
and if necessary organise a mass demonstration to demand that
the council instigate a new policy of full disclosure of all
the animals taken to Cereco, and, that the council and
Cereco organise a web site to advertise all the animals
that they collect, some of them undoubtedly someone’s
lost pet!
If you wish to support this campaign please either
call (0034) 654 027 748 or email petsinspain@lamarina.info
WHO IS TAKING AWAY THE
LOST AND STRAY
ANIMALS!
JULY 2011... In decrees signed by
the San Fulgencio Mayor in July 2011 is the official confirmation
that the new council has taken out a contract with the
Cereco animal collection company in Crevillente. The
newly elected council removed the animal recovery vehicle,
supplied by previous adminstration, that was used by local animal
welfare volunteers to safely collect the strays. Also stated in
the decrees is the fee that Cereco is charging the Town Hall for
collecting and taking away the animals, 130 Euros for each animal
collected. This is not what local animal welfare people and groups
were expecting. In meetings with the new Spanish Mayor and his
deputy Jeff Wiszniewski in June and July 2011 they were
told that the collected strays were not going to Cereco, that
they were being collected and sent to SAT animal sanctuary in
Dolores and to another animal sanctuary in
Alicante!
-------------------------------------
FROM
AUGUST 2011... After taking
over the reins in San Fulgencio Town Hall Mayor of San Fulgencio
Carlos Ramirez and councillor for the urbanisations Jeff Wiszniewski
gave assurances to animal welfare volunteers and other local
residents that stray dogs and cats were not being sent to the
Cereco pound in Crevillente. However, it is now clear that
the Town Hall has been using Cereco to collect them and
take them away. To read what Jeff Wiszniewski said to one
local resident that visited him in his office to ask him about the
councils procedure for dealing with stray animals, visit our Council News page. Another local resident
has written to the Spanish and English newspapers about this
and you can read the story on-line here
Previous
San Fulgencio councillor for animal welfare Mark Lewis campaigned
for years to cancel the contract that this Town Hall had with
the Cereco pound in Crevillente. After being elected in 2007 he
was able to stop the animals from being taken to the Cereco
pound. He introduced a protocol that saw the introduction
of a dedicated Animal Rescue Vehicle, and, working with animal
welfare volunteers, more than 1000 animals have been
rescued and re-homed during his tenure as councillor. The new
council, headed by Mayor Carlos Ramirez, overturned everything that
the previous council did to ensure proper care and welfare of
the animals. After being collected and taken away by the
Cereco vans stray dogs and cats now have very bleek
prospects.
Cereco
is a pound in Crevillente that has a contract with 40 different
Town Halls to collect stray and abandoned animals. WHEN ANIMALS
ARRIVE AT THIS POUND THEY ARE BUNDLED INTO CAGES WITH MANY OTHERS.
If you would like to know what people are saying about
Cereco do a Google search for: Cereco Crevillente.
Lost Dogs
and Cats here
JUNE
2011: THE NEW COUNCIL HAS CANCELLED THE
CONTRACT THE PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATION HAD FOR RESCUING AND
REHOMING ANIMALS. NOW ALL STRAY ANIMALS ARE COLLECTED
AND TAKEN AWAY FROM THE AREA TO THE CERECO
POUND IN CREVILLENTE.
THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS VERY IMPORTANT
FOR LOCAL PET OWNERS....
PET REGISTRATION PROCEDURES TO PROTECT PETS IN SAN
FULGENCIO...
Introduce by councillor Mark Lewis in February
2011...
The law states that all pets must be
micro-chipped and most people believe that a micro-chip in their
family pet provides them with peace of mind and if their pet is lost
they will be able to have it returned quickly once it is found.
However, I have discovered many flaws in the pet micro-chip system.
The problems are multiplied if a pet has a
micro-chip initiated in another country.
On many occasions a pet owner is not traced at the
critical time when their pet needs to be reclaimed. In my
experience less than 50% of enquiries made via the microchip
registration system result in a successful contact with a pet owner.
What happens to a pet when an owner cannot be contacted; rarely will
vet clinics retain a stray dog or cat overnight and so, as in most
municipalities, their family pet is taken away from the area to some
unknown location or to a municipal pound.
Since 2002 there has been a system of pet
registration in San Fulgencio municipality. During my tenure as
councillor for animal welfare, from 2007 to 2011, I experienced
many problems due to the inadequacies of the microchip system in
Spain when trying to reunite lost dogs with their owners. After much research I decided
to enhance the registration system to include a metal tag being
issued to a pet owner that registers their pet on the Town Hall Pet
Register (REMACAP). On one side the metal tag has stamped on it the
individual registration number in the Town Hall, on the other
side is the telephone number of the local police. The REMACAP
register has on it all the contact information about the owner of
the pet. When a registered stray pet is found with the tag the
police or the councillor for animals will be able to trace the owner
through the Town Hall REMACAP registration number 24 hours a day,
this should result in the pet being quickly returned to
the owner and not taken away from the area to the Cereco pound in
Crevillente.
I strongly recommend that all pet owners that have
a pet located within San Fulgencio municipality register their
pet on the pet register by taking to the Ayuntamiento the
original and a copy of the pet passport, the owner’s passport and
the micro-chip registration document or plastic card (from any
originating country), and then request an animal REMACAP
registration application form. The fee for registering a pet is
a total of 15 Euros. This includes the issue of a metal
tag for your pet with the registration number and the local police
telephone number on it. If your dog is on the list as
a 'Potentially Dangerous Breed' then you will be informed
by the Town Hall staff of the extra procedures necessary to
register your dog.
PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR PET HAS THE TOWN HALL REGISTRATION
TAG ON THEIR COLLAR AT ALL TIMES....
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
ABOUT DISEASES IF YOU KEEP A DOG IN
SPAIN
Leishmania: The
chance of a dog catching Leishmania in Spain is extremely high, many
veterinary surgeons put it as high as 30 to 35 percent. In reality,
the figure is much higher because there are many stray dogs with the
disease and the figure given applies only to dogs registered with a
veterinary surgeon. It is an incurable disease and one that has been
widely publicised here in Spain yet many people hear of it for the
first time when they arrive in Spain from other parts of Europe.
However, there are still many dog owners who are not aware of this
disease. Dr. David Hart, Lecturer in Parasitology at King’s College
London calls it- "One of the most underrated diseases in the
world".
Leishmania was discovered in 1900 by Scottish
bacteriologist, Sir William Boog Leishman, while serving as a
colonel with the British Army in India. This disease is classed
as a tropical disease. Cats cannot contract
it.
Over the years the disease has spread to
other countries, sometimes under other names, the Sandfly disease
being the most common. This name is misleading because the
disease has nothing to do with
sand or flies. I never let my dog go on the beach because of
the sandflies is an often heard remark. The beach has nothing to do
with it. Your dog is equally at risk in town, country, woodland or
wherever. Mediterranean disease is another name, even though it is
found as far north as Lyon in France.
Leishmania is an immuno suppressive disease,
which means that it breaks down the natural ability of the body to
fight off diseases. In this way it is vaguely similar to AIDS
in humans. There are two types of Leishmania: Cutaneous and
Visceral. Cutaneous affects the skin and Visceral attacks the
internal organs. The best person to advise you about which kind your
dog has is your vet. Each case is different, and so is the form the
treatment will take.
Newcomers to Spain are surprised when they learn about
Leishmania. They have rarely heard about it (if at all) in
their own country. Visitors from Northern Europe who bring their dog
with them for a holiday often comment that they wish they had not -
and rightly so if, in their ignorance of the disease, they subjected
their dogs to the possibility of contracting
it.
Any dog can catch Leishmania but there is
evidence to indicate that shorthaired dogs are more susceptible as
obviously the offending mosquito can more easily penetrate the skin.
Bear in mind two very important facts: there is no cure and there is
no vaccination against the disease. However there are treatments
which can afford an affected dog long periods of remission, often
reminiscent of a cure. A dog with Leishmania in a mild degree can
live to a very ripe old age.
What are the symptoms?
Watch out for prolonged nail growth, ulceration of the ear tips,
thick dandruff, bald patches on the skin, sunglasses effect around
the eyes, getting thin although eating well (in this latter case,
check firstly for worms), whiteness of the cornea of the eyes. These
are all warning signs that your dog could have Leishmania. The
only way to make absolutely sure is to visit your vet who will
analyse a blood sample and you will have the results within a day or
so. It is indeed a relief when the results prove negative. We all
want to care for our dogs to the best of our ability and care means
preventing your dog from getting this ultimately fatal disease and
it can certainly be prevented.
You can do a lot to ensure
that your dog does not get Leishmania.The disease is carried by a
certain type of mosquito, so small that it is virtually invisible to
the human eye. The creature flies at dusk and at night
whenever the temperature is over 20 degrees Celsius. In the south of
Spain, especially, this can occur in the middle of winter. There is
a belief that the mosquitoes are very low flying and therefore dogs
in a high building are safer. This is true only to a very limited
degree. A strong wind can carry mosquitoes to great heights.
To maximise protection for your dog you
should never let him sleep out at night. Of course, it would like to
sleep out on your terrace or balcony on those hot summer nights, but
you are its guardian and you make any decisions in its best
interests. Your dog should be indoors as soon as darkness falls and
temperatures are 20 degrees Celsius or higher. The room in which it
sleeps should also be protected. Open windows, if a necessity during
summer nights should be covered with mosquito netting, which you can
buy cheaply at any hardware store. If stretched on a wooden
frame it does not obscure your views and has the added bonus that it
also keeps wasps and other nasty insects out.
There is a very special insect repellent
collar called Scalibor that is highly recommended
by all vets, which will protect your dog from bites from this
mosquito and also from fleas and ticks and, unlike the tick and flea
collar, lasts for 6 months as opposed to 3 months. There is
also a lotion called X Spot which comes in ampulets and as an
alternative to the Scalibur collar should be
applied to the back of the neck and rump of your dog. This will take
either one or two ampulets, depending on the size of your
dog. An extra protection is to use those small mosquito gadgets
sold in many shops that use tables or liquid and plug into
electricity points. This all sounds very extreme but, with
something as serious as this, it is necessary to take extreme
measures.
There are also those of us who have so many
dogs that it would be impossible for them all to be indoors after
dusk but X Spot and Scalibor collars will protect your dogs from
bites if they live outside in the open.
For other important
information about dogs diseases in Spain visit these
web sites:
Dogs:
www.leishmaniasis.info
Which are classified as potentially
dangerous dogs in Spain:
http://www.mapausa.org/eng/nc_3.htm
Cats:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feline_leukemia_virus
ANIMAL Transport - to AND FROM the UK...
email: info@petsinspain.info or
call (0034) 645 469
253
Why you should never buy an animal from a pet
shop in Spain....
I would like to inform
everybody of the experience I received from buying 2 kittens and 1
puppy from the pet shop (Hobby Zoo) at the Carrefour Shopping Centre
in Finestrat (Benidorm).
I purchased 2 kittens
one boy and one girl, they there both 8 weeks old and cost 500€
each, there breed was English Blue, about 6 weeks later the girl
became quite ill, I took her to our family vet in Alfaz Del Pi, and
she had various tests and I was told to bring the other kitten in
for tests as she had a condition called PIF which was contagious
only with cats.
Fortunately the boy cat got the all clear. The little girl was weak and
did not respond to any treatment, a week before Christmas I was told
she had about 48 hours to live and she passed away peacefully on the
Monday before Christmas.
The vet did say it was not the PIF that she died from but she
was a weak and poorly kitten. Followed by a 650€ vets bill. I did not go back to the pet
shop as at the time I thought it was one of those things, they
happen.
I then purchased a
puppy, she was also 8 weeks old and was a King Charles Spaniel, then
in the January she developed a cough, one of those irritating ones,
it did not bother her but after a week I took her to the family vet
and he did an x ray and said she had a little fluid on one side of
her lung and she had some antibiotics and had to keep going back
every 5 days for a check up.
She was not responding to any treatment so I felt she needed
to go to the Vet Hospital in Alfaz for a second opinion, after many
tests and tablets and going back and forth she slowly deteriorated,
she stayed in the hospital for over a week and was allowed to come
home but the vet said it was a very “grave” situation, she had 2
days with me and then totally unexpected she died in my arms. This absolutely destroyed me
with grief, this time I had 2 vets bills that came to over a
1000€!
After I had the ashes
back and sat down to try to understand why this had happened twice
in just over a year I decided to visit the pet shop, as always when
you buy something they can speak English but when you have a problem
they don’t understand so I took a translator as although I can speak
Spanish to a moderate level I wanted to be sure on exactly what was
being said.
In a nut shell I was
told pets only get a 15 day guarantee! You get more on a washing
machine!! And I should have had an autopsy on both animals, little
late after they had been cremated. So I decided to obtain as
much information that I could from both the family vet and the pet
hospital and complete a “Hoja de Reclamación” as
during this information collecting it was highlighted to me that all
3 animals had been born in Slovakia and imported into
Spain.
Two weeks later I
received a letter from the pet shop stating that this had never
happened before and they are not at fault, and it could possibly be
my fault with about 5 reasons, for example; maybe bathing the
animals and taking them out in the cold and such like. I WOULD LIKE TO ADD THAT
THIS WAS NOT THE CASE.
What I am trying to
get across is; if you totally forget the total expense I have paid,
the more important issue is the importing of puppies and kittens
from countries like Slovakia etc. They are transported in bad
conditions and some are even dead when they arrive I have been
informed. So as English animal lovers we need to stop buying animals
from these types of pet shops and try to put a stop on these poor
animals being brought into Spain!
There are so many
Animal Rescue Centers here in Spain who are full to capacity and all
these animals need loving homes. I have discovered that they provide
all the treatment necessary to ensure that the dogs and
cats are in good health before they are adopted. So
think twice before buying a family pet from a pet shop. I have
recently adopted a small dog from an Animal Rescue Charity
group and she is perfect.
Paul Christopher
Ashwell
Benidorm
Please Donate.
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IBAN: ES45 0081 0687
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..........................................
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ACCOUNT:
0081 0687 72 0001207029
PLEASE
STATE: Help the animals
THANK
YOU | 
FAITH APPEAL