Dog rescue appeal
These Photos & Video : Thanks to Doris …
"Dear Der, Would it be at all possible to include this on Madeira4u, please? I attach some pics., albeit unfortunately not very good ones:"
"The rescued dogs and puppies from Paúl da Serra and Choupana are now at the premises of "Vetmedis", desperately looking for a good home. Is there anyone out there who could help? Please get in touch with "Vetmedis", Tel. 291 744552 or "PATA" (e-mail pata@pata.pt). If anyone has any doubts as to why help animals, which certainly does not preclude supporting other good causes, please watch this little clip": Doris
Nice one Doris, I watched the video, and it did and didn’t have a happy ending, not that I needed convincing. Der
This video is sooo sad!
Yes, there is cruelty to animals here but probably no more than in Britain or anywhere else for that matter. People everywhere need to remember that having animals is a lifetime commitment they are real living beings and not just a toy to play with whilst it is cute but unfortunately there will always be strays, some that have been in loving homes but then their owner dies and they are just left to fend for themselves whilst others are born to the strays so unless someone finds and takes them on they in turn add to the population.
1Just to remind: The UK has a population of 61,393,000, and 107,228 dogs were abandoned in 2008, a shocking 11% increase according to the Dogs Trust.
2Madeira has a population of 246,000, and SPAD received more than 3000. That is not counting all the animals around the island, that never make it to SPAD.
This means an abandoned dog for every 573 persons in the UK and one for every 82 in Madeira, counting only the ones that get to SPAD.
In Germany it is illegal to euthanize a healthy dog or cat.
What inspiring work is being done by Doris and all connected with Vetmedis and PATA.
3More power to them. I don’t fully understand the U.K. figures quoted by Doris, though. Do they relate only to animals taken in by the Dogs Trust? If so, what about the intake by the RSPCA and the hundreds of other animal charities in the U.K.? In Madeira, there is just one major charity working for animals – SPAD, so are we comparing like with like here? Surely the relevant figure is the number of dogs per head of population not the number of people in largely rural Madeira or the U.K. It is no secret that SPAD are inundated with stray dogs and cats. Their euthanasia figures are horrendous but, realistically, what other course can they take? For cultural and financial reasons, Madeiran people seem to resist spaying their animals. Household incomes in Madeira are much lower than those in Britain so the result is unrestrained breeding and a multitude of unwanted animals. What is to be done with them? If only we could follow Germany’s lead in never putting down a healthy dog or cat. How do they achieve that?
Sorry, I didn’t mean my comment above to be anonymous!
Sheila
4Sheila, the figure for abandoned dogs in the UK for 2008 is given by the Dogs Trust, Britain’s largest dog welfare organisation. It is for the whole of the UK and not for dogs taken in by them only. It is just to show that per head of population many more dogs are abandoned here than in Britain, the problem here is much worse. SPAD are doing what they can. What is lacking is education on the subject, setting priorities and law enforcement. A bit of money that is going to yet another football stadium would come in handy for subsidised spaying programmes.
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