A message to the public
I took a call recently from a member of the public to tell me they had two puppies near their home that had been dumped and could I help. My first response as always, is that Actin is not a rescue, we don’t have a shop, funds, resources or shelter; our aims are to change things in Spain for animals. Sometimes though, we have to take animals out of appalling situations and then try to care for them. If as ACTIN Association has taken responsibility to look into a cruelty case then ultimately that seems an inevitable part of it. As a consequence we have more than enough animals in our care to try to raise funds for, keep safe and make sure they are healthy, therefore it’s impossible for us to rescue abandoned dogs as well.
However, on this occasion and because it was close to my village, I, personally could not accept that these two pups would be left in the open on these cold wet nights, particularly as one was ill. And the one resource Actin does have is a fantastic network of people on Facebook, and so the plea went out. Thankfully there was a positive response and the pups were saved. It was a good job, as one of the pups, who we have called Stanley, had a serious skin infection, which if left would have resulted in septicaemia.
Stanley has been offered a home already. Wonderful news!
With the pups safe I made the phone call to the people who let us know about them and the resulting conversation prompted me that it was necessary to make this message to the public, an important message on behalf of Actin and in fact on behalf all of the animal welfare charities and associations, especially locally..
So here it is, to all those that do not walk in the shoes of the volunteers;
• We live in one of the worst areas of Spain for animal cruelty and abandonment.
• Charities are full because there are so many animals needing rescuing and there are not enough supporters, fosterers, sponsorers, donations or forever homes for the ones that are rescued.
• A few VOLUNTEERS give up their time to face this terrible situation and try to do something. They are volunteers, unpaid, stressed and heartbroken, but feel strongly that they HAVE to do something.
• There is no RSPCA in Spain. You can’t call a charity and expect them to come to the rescue of every animal in danger.
It would really help us so much more if some people who denigrate the charities had more respect for the work we do; understanding the fact that we give up our time for this and we then have to try desperately to raise funds for the animals in our care. It is a never ending and exhausting task. Those that do malign charities and need help themselves with an animal abandoned at their gate, might do well to remember this, especially if they do not receive the asked for help because we simply cannot do it.
To the many general public who do support animal welfare charities, thank you, you we value you very much and cannot do it without you.
All the funds we have and I speak on behalf of many charities, are never enough, there is never enough foster homes, space in kennels or shelters, manpower, or individuals time and energy, for this overwhelming work.
To give an example of how terrible it is here in these outlying villages in the campo of Murcia, take a look at the photos above, that I took in a twenty minute journey from one village to another – animals that are beyond anyone’s help. A dog with a broken leg, too scared to let me help, other dogs just standing cold and tired in the road and unbelievably, a pack of around twelve puppies running alongside the motorway, I could not think how to stop them and next thing they were running on the motorway, all I could do was stand helplessly by. That is why we do what we can, when we can and for every dog we rescue there are a hundred more needing it.
So please support wherever you can in our endeavours to tackle the problem as a whole.
Yes it’s our choice to make the sacrifice but it’s your choice whether you give a little support, a lot, or none, but please those that give none and don’t understand, do not judge wrongly because it hurts!!
Donations, blankets, dog walking, fostering, moral support, volunteering…all the animal welfare charities need help – please consider…thank you…
To the guy who called into Happy Pets in Camposol on 7th December and left a Yorkshire Terrier there and who then disappeared when the vet took him to be examined....
the dog was rescued by Actin, you mentioned a donation to help a charity who would take the dog but you disappeared without leaving your details. The poor neglected little fella has severe dermatitis but he is safe and grateful to be rescued….perhaps if you have the inclination you could pop in and put a small donation in our box towards his care, food, vaccinations, castration and treatment…thank you.
Source: http://www.actin-spain.com/mission-impossible-a-message-to-the-public/
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