PROPERTY SEARCH

Date Published: 30/03/2023

ARCHIVED - SOS Los Barrios dog pound in Cadiz buys new land for shelter after repeated flooding

ARCHIVED ARTICLE -

The registered charity will continue to care for animals at their new premises as their current location floods every winter

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - SOS Los Barrios dog pound in Cadiz buys new land for shelter after repeated flooding

SOS Los Barrios, a dog pound in Los Barrios (Cadiz) which takes in and cares for animals in southern Spain’s Campo de Gibraltar, is raising funds to move to a new location after enduring years of flooding every winter.

This flooding endangers both the dogs and the volunteers who work at the pound, and so they have purchased land that will enable the unwanted and abused dogs of Campo Gibraltar to live in a safe environment.

“Around 800 dogs every year pass through our gates,” they say, “two thirds of which find lovely homes in Spain and around Europe.”

The pound is mainly run by a group of unpaid volunteers. They originally came together to help save dogs that had primarily been collected off the streets as strays, by the local authorities.

The volunteers, with help from the community, raise all the funds needed to feed the dogs, provide both general and specific veterinary care, as well as stimulation and walks when they can. They liaise with other charities, other groups and other countries to try and find appropriate homes for the dogs. Their individual dogs for adoption are mainly advertised on their Facebook page.

“No dog is ever turned away and no dog is ever ‘put to sleep’. Apart from the dogs that have been picked up from living on the streets, some are handed in by owners and others left tied to the gates or dumped in boxes outside opening hours.”

They generally have more than 300 dogs at any one time, lots of whom travel to different countries within the EU and to the UK for adoption, which comes with all the usual bureaucracy, and so the team is constantly busy and stressed.

On top of all this, once or twice a year, a deluge of rain literally floods the pound, giving the volunteers the mammoth task of finding every single dog a temporary foster home.

To prevent this problem from recurring every year, they set up a GoFundMe page to raise the not insignificant sum needed to buy their own plot of land in a more appropriate position, higher up where it will not flood.

They have put up secure fencing all around the perimeter and running water has been installed. The next phase will be another huge fundraising endeavour for everything else that constitutes a clean, healthy living environment for many dogs.

“The pound will need electricity, concreted areas, grassed areas, buildings, dog pens etc.,” they say. “The list could be endless and will cost a lot of money. At this stage every little bit helps.

“We are once again asking both businesses and members of the public to assist us in achieving our aims, for the benefit of the dogs. Many may have been abused, neglected or traumatised in some way, no thanks to humans. They have usually been abandoned on the streets and are skin and bone when collected off the streets. A good portion have one of the Mediterranean diseases like Leishmaniasis and all are blood checked and provided with the necessary medication.

“We acknowledge this is not going to be an easy undertaking in light of current recessions etc. but do ask anyone who has a heart to help us in some way.”

Funds, however big or small, can be donated using the bank details on the Perrera de Los Barrios website, and they have options to donate just 1 euro a month by joining the Teaming Group.

“We know this is not going to be easy but what a difference it is going to make to the quality of the lives of the many dogs that will go from living in a pound to living in a real shelter,” they conclude.

Images: SOS Los Barrios

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