No name, no shame

Last minute love from a caring vet,
but is still biting his muzzle

We never gave him a name. Probably nobody ever gave him a name. He had been wandering around the outskirts of Jimena, by the entrance through Corral de Concejo. Nobody could get close because he was in such pain that the only thing he knew was to defend himself. Defend himself ... it was probably the only thing he had been able to learn in the only year of his life. Nobody could catch him ... until he was so weak that he couldn't help getting caught, though not without giving out snappy aggression. He was still defending himself at the Campayo López vet clinic. Antonia nearly burst into tears when she saw him. The kindest thing, she agreed, was to give him a quiet, restful death. And so it was.>>>

His Gibraltarian owners threw him out 'a long time ago'

SPAIN / GIBRALTAR This little fellow, Toby, is chipped. His owners are Gibraltarian, but they refuse to keep him. The owners say they gave him to a friend, who doesn't want him either. Aurora López Manzano, a lone star animal rescue centre all by herself with a couple of friends, has been in touch with the people named on the chip, saying that the dog is in a very bad state and they need to pay for vet fees, etc. Another call had the daughter of the 'owners' saying the dog had been given to a Gibraltar rescue centre, so they're not paying for anything. Toby, who was rescued in Manilva, has injuries on his back, his claws are like corkscrews from neglect, and it is obvious he has been in a bad state for a long time. If there is any way you can help with vet fees, etc. Aurora would be very grateful. (Contact her via her Facebook page, linked above - she has some English but can always use Prospero if need be.)

Widespread cultural support for campaign against abandoning pets in summer

MADRID A household pet is abandoned every three minutes in Spain. That adds up to some 300,000 every year, 10,000 of them in Madrid alone (don't know/can't find figures or Andalucía - any help?). So the Federation of Animal Protection Societies of the Community of Madrid, FAMAP, has come up with a campaign this year aimed at, at least, stopping those figures from getting any bigger. The title: 'Would you abandon him just for a holiday?' The campaign is being supported by numerous celebrities, particularly from the theatre, cinema, music, arts and letters. These include such well-known names as>>>

The dark side of El Rocío: horses ridden to death

Pilgrimage leftovers

EL ROCÍO (Huelva) A petition is doing the rounds, which asks the Ministry of Agriculture (and other stuff) to stop ... read what the actual petition says: "Several dozen horses die every year during El Rocío (annual 'religious' pilgrimage), from exhaustion and thirst. The numbers speak for themselves: 25 in 2008, 23 in 2009, 11 in 2012, 23 in 2013. The excuses run from 'if you give them water when you leave, they can sweat and die from a cold', to 'whoever rides them to death from exhaustion has never had anything to do with horses before'. Some of them die from having to walk for miles without a break - but at the end of the day, they all die because there is no law that obliges anyone to treat an animal as the living beings they are, and not as toys to be used until they break." (Strangely, this thing about toys is what last year's and this year's J.A.W.S. Christmas campaign will be about.) Please share this item with everyone you know.

Much ado about a great deal: torture and death in Spain

SPAIN We posted this photo of two dead greyhounds (galgos) on Facebookjust a couple of days ago as an example of what happens to these magnificent creatures when they get too old for hunting in Spain (and no doubt other countries as well): they get hung up alive until they die! Understandably, they caused much controversy, which ranged from 'I don't want/need to see the photos' to 'let's all get behind this anti movement (but don't know how)', from 'here's a petition' to 'you can't do anything about it, it's been going on for years'. Please give us your opinion -which we might or might not share but certainly respect- on comments below, or by answering the poll we will be putting up later today. (Here is but one petition - more to come, with luck: http://guestbooks.pathfinder.gr/sign/dogspetition)

Arrested for setting 96 baits to poison dogs

(Illustration only)

ALGECIRAS A man was arrested recently for wrapping poison in cold meats and setting them out for dogs to eat. The Seprona unit of the Guardia Civil was alerted when the owner of one victim had to take his dog to vet as an emergency, who reported it. The man, who lives in the Pelayo section above Algeciras, is accused of setting 96 baits in the area. Officers of Seprona's Canine Unit carried out an investigation along the Cañada Real in Pelayo, which eventually led to the bait and poison being found inside a car owned by the accused. The bait contained poison certified as extremely and highly toxic by the World Health Organization.

J.A.W.S. information meeting on April 4

JIMENA Jimena Animal Welfare Society (J.A.W.S) will be holding a meeting upstairs at Pastor 2, on Jimena's main square, at 12 noon on Thursday, April 4. The idea is to offer everyone an update on what has been done so far (only 9 months), progress and future plans. Guests will have to get their coffee at the bar on the way up, but if anyone wants to bake a cake to have with it, no objections. Everyone with any interest in animal welfare is very welcome, as are their ideas and suggestions.

Abandoned, starving mare's owner is denounced

(Photo: europasur.es)

She was feeding a foal somewhere · Couldn't walk, hobbled

LA LÍNEA Prodean, the animal rescue centre, last week denounced the owner of a mare that appeared the week before at their gates. She was malnourished and hobbled. As she couldn't stand, the firefighters had to be called in to hoist her into the centre. She was probably also breast feeding a foal, which did not appear at the same time. The centre's vet decided that the animal was in pain, having probably been beaten with a metal object and may have had her hip broken as she had trouble staying upright.. The hobble had bitten into her skin and she had been that way for some time. Ana Borrallo, representing Prodean, said that it was decided to put her down. "It was very sad," she said. "We hope the owner is found (she was chipped) and punished." This is not an uncommon thing: horses are abandoned frequently. It is essential that the matter be reported to the Servicio de Protección de la Naturaleza de la Guardia Civil (Seprona), so they can act.

Three minors arrested for severely injuring a mare and several dogs

Illustration only

LOS BARRIOS The Guardia Civil has arrested three underage boys who allegedly killed several birds and caused severe injuries to a mare and several dogs, all with an air rifle. The arrests came as the result of a complaint by the owner of the property. The GC say that they forced an entry into the property in question. The three are now in the hands of the Youth Court.

Dogs chained up near Jimena, another horrible story

JIMENA We've been following this story on Facebook. It is yet another appalling animal abuse situation, this one (one of many!) near Jimena, though they're not (yet) specifying where exactly.  They need as much help as they can get, just these two women doing things on their own (we must get them to join J.A.W.S.). Their bank account number for donations: Banco Santander 0049 0132 53 2391395464 (Where it says 'Concepto', write: perros encadenados)

Neighbours demand action on dogs on the beach

Illustration only

Number of abandoned dogs increases in the summer

ALGECIRAS (Agencies) There are local laws about dogs on the beach - mostly, it is forbidden all over Spain. However, like so many rules in the country, the laws are flouted. But finances being as they are, it is noticeably how many fines are being issued for doing so. At El Rinconcillo, for instance, it was the neighbours who recently denounced the presence of dogs on the beach there, with the corresponding amount of excrement in the sand. They are also criticising the number of abandoned dogs and cats in the vicinity, something that happens every summer, when their owners want to go away for a month and just dump them.

Local Police rescue puppies from rubbish container

(Photo: TioJimeno)

We missed this last week on TioJimeno

CASTELLAR Local Police officers rescued three puppies on Thursday that had been abandoned in a rubbish container near Calles Chapatal and España. Only a few weeks old, they were taken to the station where they were fed and watered. One of them was almost immediately adopted by a neighbour, and is now called 'Poli' (short for policía, in case you wondered about our spelling!) The other two in the litter were waiting for a home over the weekend - and we will report about that as soon as we find out. This kind of thing is all too common and spekas volumes about the need to neuter our pets to avoid it. (And another thing: we do like to report good things when they happen - please tell us about them because they rarely get into the news.)

The latest on the poor dog

JIMENA Two versions on what´s happened to that poor dog. The Local Police say that the 'owner' says that 'an English' woman took the dog away. We contacted the 'English' women more likely to have done anything like that and they deny any knowledge of it. All we can do is hope the poor thing is in a better place than he was, or maybe even with much better people. But he has not lived or died in vain: A fund raiser luncheon is being organised for Thursday July 12 to start a local charity, or animal protection society. There already a good number of people coming, and plenty of those who can't are sending donations. Watch this space for more info on the luncheon  and how you, too can make a donation - BUT WE NEED A NAME FOR THE CHARITY, SO LET'S NAME IT AFTER THE DOG, WHOSE NAME WE NEVER KNEW AND MUST THEREFORE INVENT. (Send in your suggestion in Comments below or on Facebook) (See related items her, here and here)

Retraction on Local Police action in dog incident

JIMENA Further to our item regarding this dog, we had a visit from the two local police officers involved in the incident reported below. They were keen to point out that the person reported as kicking the dog was not the owner, but his father, and that there was no kicking involved as THEY WOULD NEVER ALLOW ANYONE TO GET AWAY WITH IT. Prospero/Alberto apologised profusely for neglecting to get their version of the incident in the first place and responding emotionally on the subject. EN ESPAÑOL: A continuación del artículo sobre este perro, me han visitado los dos agentes de la Policía Local que intervinieron en el asunto, con los siguientes puntos: primero, que no era el dueño del perro el que se presentó, sino el padre; y que no hubo patadas para con el animal ya que NUNCA PERMITIRÍAN TAL COSA EN SU PRESENCIA. Me he disculpado con ellos por no haber contrastado el tema directamente con ellos y por haber reaccionado emocionalmente sobre este tema.

Dog's owner kicks him home (GET INDIGNANT!)

JIMENA  Just this minute got a call about that poor dog in Jimena. Apparently, the Local Police turned up because it was lying outside the supermarket. The owner turned up, kicked the dog up the hill and the POLICE DID ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!! There are animal cruelty laws in this country, and the police are supposed to carry out the law. PLEASE, get indignant, pass this on to whoever you think might help. EN ESPAÑOL: Hace unos minutos me llamaron para decirme que el pobre perro este en Jimena estaba acostado frente al supermercado. Llegó la Policía Local y el dueño. Este último llevó al perro a su casa a las patadas, literalmente y ¡LA POLICÍA NO HIZO ABSOLUTAMENTE NADA! Hay leyes sobre la crueldad animal en este país y la policía está para que se cumplan. POR FAVOR, indígnate, y envía esto a quien creas pueda o deba hacer algo.

Is it too late for this dog?

JIMENA It may be too late for this dog, despite the efforts of someone who is willing to pay for it him to be cured, if that's possible (See original item here - and read the comments). We're told by a vet that they couldn't touch it without the permission of the owner, who cannot, or will not, be found - yet just about everyone we've spoken to about it knows who that is, as we do. As we were taking this photograph we ran into Councillor Pascual Collado, the former Mayor. He told us that back then he had rescinded the 'dog-catcher' contract with El Refugio (now supported by Spanish Stray Dogs?) because "it simply didn't work" (we would like to hear from a representative of El Refugio on the subject). As a result, he discovered that there is not a single enterprise of any repute in the entire province that will do the job properly, something that impacts every single municipality. Mancomunidad announced recently that it was doing a feasibility study on creating such an enterprise, but, as we said, it will be too late for this dog. There is more on this subject coming up shortly: watch this space.

Reader's comment: that poor dog!

JIMENA Via e-mail: "The poor, poor boxer in the square  -  I have just been down and put some ADVANTIX on him and hope it may give him some relief.  He is red-raw with sores where he has been scratching. What is the position with him?  I will pay for a vet to treat him if there is something that can be done. Can you advise me?" Our answer: he belongs to a nasty man not far away from where I took the photo. There is an excellent vet in Castellar, who happens to be a neighbour of mine and he cares about these things. Not sure that our local Carlos vet would be a good bet as he does things with horses for the people whose dog it is. However, Victor my neighbourly vet (also a neighbour of theirs) might. I will see him this evening and ask what he thinks. Ideally, of course, it would be removed from the area altogether - maybe Spanish Stray Dogs would try to find him a home if he's on the way to be cured (anyone at SSD?)

Poor dog, yet again

JIMENA This boxer type dog is actually very tame and friendly - we have headed him home on occasions, before he became unwell and unfriendly. He is also very faithful, as he stays close to where his owner lives. The problem is not the dog, who is full of mange and obviously not well and is probably fed, but its owner, who is known as a problem person. Once more, there is no-one to take him, the dog, anywhere, no authority to make sure he is ... Jeez! We are SO fed up with this subject here in Jimena - about as fed up as you are anywhere else. Once again, it's the animal that suffers.

Guardia Civil fines owner for abandoning dogs

(Photo: Guardia Civil)

CASTELLAR (Agencies) The SEPRONA (Servicio de Protección de la Naturaleza) unit of the Guardia Civil was alerted that someone had abandoned some puppies close to Arroyo Los Frailes. When they turned up, they found four puppies. The incident, which happened on Friday the 13th (good luck for those pups!), was videoed by a resident, through which the owner was identified, as the puppies had not been chipped. They were taken to the refuge centre in La Línea, and the owner will be fined as well as having to pay vet fees, chips and getting their papers in order. PLEASE BE AWARE THAT ITEMS SUCH AS THIS MAY BE SUBJECT TO SUBSCRIPTION IN THE FUTURE but you can make a donation NOW, too! Please click here for more information on how to help us continue. (This item was translated and edited)

What a little love can do ...

BEFORE

AFTER!!

You may remember Grace (Grace needs a loving home and plenty of food). She featured in one of our many appeals. She was lucky, she was fostered and ended up staying with her foster family. Her progress is almost unbelievable and it makes us extremely happy that she is so very well. Alas, there are still lots of animals all over the place that need help - there was also talk of setting up at least a fund-raising entity in Jimena but that seems to have fizzled out when it was evident that Prospero was not about to run it, though he did offer to help with setting it up, and Spanish appeals, etc. More AFTER photos below>>>