Spots, itchiness, hair loss: poor Domino is allergic to fleas!
1,440 kg
Dry food offered
1,440 kg
Dry food necessary
Participate in confidence
Animal Webaction visited the site 01 November 2019 and confirms the situation described below.
In Spain, this shelter can no longer feed its 70 dogs!
Following the SOS of the ARPA Nederland association, very close to the shelter, we went on site on November 1st.
Alone to deal with the shelter single-handedly, Irene can no longer afford to buy kibble.
Calls for donations and collections are not working, the remaining food stock will be completly gone by November 15.
Irene can no longer rescue all the abandoned dogs; those at the shelter will not be able to survive without kibble.
We want to help them, by sending 1440 kg of kibble as a matter of urgency.
Many of the dogs cared for at the shelter are particularly vulnerable, due to their age (the shelter houses about 15 puppies and seniors) or their health condition.
As in the whole country, leishmaniasis is a very present parasitic disease, which affects many of the dogs that are cared for. Incurable and sometimes fatal, it requires life-long treatment to be kept under control, but relapses are frequent and particularly increased by malnutrition.
The 70 dogs in the shelter need food, and the emergency is particularly acute for those already weakened by the disease.
We were informed of the situation by a partner association that supports the shelter, and went on site on November 1st. The remaining stock of kibbles was already very low, everything will be gone by November 15.
"I am tired and stressed all the time but I know I have to keep taking care of them" Irene explained to us when we came.
For more than 8 years, Irene has been dealing with the shelter single-handedly, both for the care of the dogs and for the development of the facilities. If the project originally involved several people, Irene is the only one who resisted the difficulties, and she continues to face them today for the good of the dogs.
She now lives at the shelter, with the dogs and in minimal comfort, and also spends most of her days there: "I am here 365 days a year, and I do everything for these dogs," she says.
Without time or resources, it is impossible for her to buy kibbles!
Far from being discouraged, Irene takes many actions to get help and feed the dogs. She goes to supermarkets to collect food, looks for partners to raise funds, and also sends SOS on social networks.
But the pace it demands is exhausting, and does not meet the shelter's needs. Worse still, it affects her health, and Irene has to face important back problems that accentuate the difficulties on a daily basis...
On the spot, Irene receives no help or subsidies whatsoever, and must also pay a substantial rent to the town hall each month for the land occupied by the shelter.
Irene can therefore only count on the support of the Dutch-based ARPA Nederland association, which is fighting to keep the shelter going day after day.
"Irene is deperate for food for her animals" said Claudia, a member of the association, when she contacted us. If they managed to handle the emergency this summer, they cannot cope with this new crisis, and ask us to help out.
We can take action, we have already booked a truck and pallets, but we have to pay it before November 11.
If the collection fails, we will not be able to pay, the departure of the truck will be cancelled and none of the collected kibbles will be delivered...
If the collection fails, we will refund all donors.
If the shelter now hosts 70 dogs, it could shelter more and has already done so in the past. But the lack of resources and the risk it poses to animals is now a barrier for Irene.
"I get calls every day about stray dogs, but I can't always take them in" she explained with regret.
Irene rescued her first stray dog at the age of 10, and has not stopped since then. She now runs the shelter through thick and thin, despite the sacrifices involved: "I do it all myself, I've lost all my friends, family, etc. taking care of the dogs." she explained.
Driven by a very deep love of animals, she does not count her hours or energy to bring them the best, but is under great pressure, both physically and morally.
"I would like to say thanks to those who will be reading this appeal" she told us.
A recent study from the Spanish Nature Protection Service (Seprona) reported 10,920 offences related to injuries caused to domestic animals in 2018 alone.... An alarming figure which, however, is far from representing all animal abuse in the country, which most of the time goes unpunished.
Commonly used for hunting, dogs are at the centre of these abuses: beaten and barely fed, hunting dogs are thrown into the street at the slightest sign of weakness. Exhausted and abused, dogs are often too weak to survive alone in the wild.
Across Spain, several shelters exist and are struggling to offer a second chance to these dogs rejected by others..
If the collection succeeds, the food will leave directly from our logistics centre in Spain! So we can act very quickly, and help the 70 dogs at Irene's shelter to get kibble.
This collection is organised by the ARPA Nederland association, for the benefit of Irene's shelter. The 1440 kg of kibbles collected will be delivered to Irene to feed the 70 dogs in the shelter.
- Animal Webaction has been helping more than 833 animal welfare associations over the past 5 years, with more than 1,967 deliveries in 8 countries (see photos).
- We make sure to contact each partner association, inquire to ensure its reliability and always ask for supporting documents.
- Our partner associations only receive physical products, which means we never send money. When you offer 10kg of food, we deliver 10kg of food to the association.
- We also deal with transportation ourselves, and make sure all the products collected are properly brought where the association needs them to be, so a quick delivery is guaranteed.
- We will notify you by email as soon as the product bought thanks to your donation has been delivered.
- We will ask the association to take pictures of the food received, and will send you these pictures.
- The payment of donations is 100% secured by Paypal (no obligation to have a Paypal account), and by credit card.
- If you change your mind, we will refund your donation upon request, without charge or proof of any kind.
- If unfortunately the collection fails, we will not deliver anything, we will refund you the full amount of your donation.