Our volunteer “construction crew” has been very busy at the refuge, completing the roofing on the two new kennels and other parts of the refuge. Improvements have been made to the some of the other kennels by cementing the floors inside for cleaner, drier sleeping areas for the dogs. Other projects include guttering to deal with the heavy rains and continuing to build cement housing for the dogs. Many thanks to everyone who has made these improvements possible.

We had two successful fundraising events in 2011, raising a total of nearly 1900 euros. Our monthly quiz nights in Torre del Mar, Rincon de la Victoria and Torrox have steadily grown. Our appreciation for all who support these events.

Finally, the number of dogs being finding new homes has also improved. In 2010, fifty-one of the dogs in our care were rehomed, primarily to Germany. This year sixty of our dogs found permanent homes. Although this is very good news, the number of abandoned dogs continues to increase, leaving too many dogs without a safe place to live. Perhaps this year more dogs will find the loving homes they so desperately deserve.

We look forward to 2012 and know that it can be as successful as this past year.

Sometimes, the sheer amount of abandoned dogs can get you down, but luckily there are also some happy endings! Like our lovely little Tizz, who went off with her forever family yesterday, to live happily ever after!

Siempre que recibimos la llamada de una persona para decirnos que quiere adoptar uno de nuestros perros, la mayoría de las veces quieren un cachorro o un perro con menos de un año.Los perros mayores parecen no existir para nadie…… Siempre argumentan que un perro mayor no se adapta al entorno y es difícil tratar con ellos.
Esto me ha llevado a contar la historia de Rubia………

En el año 2000 una compañera encontró una perra en la calle en un estado muy avanzado de preñez, tanto que a la semana dio luz a una camada de cachorros.
Van pasado los meses y los cachorros, poco a poco encuentren un hogar.
Después de tres meses, la madre llamada:”Chica” y dos de los cachorros que quedaban sin adoptar, llegan al refugio. Uno de ellos tubo suerte y encuentra un hogar, pero Rubia ,no. Se quedo en el Refugio y nadie se interesó por ella,… jamas…..

Pasan los años y Rubia , junto a su madre viven en un recinto. Se llevan muy bien y nunca se separaran.
Para mayor desgracia, en el año 2009, Chica enferma de gravedad con cancer y después de mucha medicacion y cuidos, se nos muere…
Rubia queda desconsolada y comienza a a envejecer rápidamente, no quería salir de paseo, demostrando una gran apatia por la vida, estaba sorda y tenia una hernia que no se podía operar por su edad avanzada.
Pasan dos años, más.

Un buen día de Mayo,de este año(2011) se produce un milagro :Llega una familia al Refugio, queriendo adoptar un perro mayor y al que nadie hubiese querido
Y: eligen a Rubia!!!
En el momento que ella comprendio que se iba con ellos, corrío por el pasillo y subió al coche como si lo hubiera hecho toda la vida, ( la única vez que salio era para ir al veterinario.)
Esta maravillosa familia tienen una cuadra en las Alpujarras, www.caballoblancotrekking.com (visitar su pagina web.) Nos cuentan que Rubia parece sentir la vibracion de los caballos al llegar, y se levanta , apantandose de su camino.

Tambien nos contaron que de tanto mover el rabito, se cayó al suelo el otro dia
Sarah, esta fantástica mujer, que ahora es la mama de Rubia, nos decia : “Rubia ya tiene sus patas seguras bajo la mesa.” O sea, que se queda…. Rubia se ha ganado el cariño de los niños a los que ella demuestra costantemente su adoración. Los perros mayores tambien nos dan un amor sin límites,lealtad, amistad, alegria y agradecimiento.
Rubia no era feliz en el Refugio después de la muerte de su madre, pero al vivir en un hogar y recibir el cariño y el calor de un hogar su vida ha cambiado totalmente y es ahora una perra muy feliz.
Nosotros pensábamos que Rubia iba a vivir muy poco tiempo ,debido a su tristeza y apatia, pero ahora, al encontrar un hogar y una familia que la quiere ,pues puede vivir 4 años o más.

Queremos , aunque nunca podremos expresar toda nuestra gratitud a Sarah y a toda su familia por su enorme compasión al elegir una perra mayor que nunca nadie quiso adoptar y que se encontraba predestinada a vivir toda su vida en un Refugio sin llegar a conocer el calor de una familia.
Estos casos son los que nos ayudan y nos “empujan” para seguir con nuestro trabajo, y decir: ” Estos son los momentos que realmente valen, nuestros esfuerzos han merecido la pena.
Es como un final de cuento de hadas

We would like to introduce Rubia, a podenco mix and one of our oldest residents. In 2000, Rubia and her mother, Chica, found shelter at our refuge after being abandoned on the streets. Rubia was one of a litter of five at the time. All her siblings found homes but no one wanted Rubia.

She stayed close to her mother until about 2 years ago when Chica fell ill and had to be put down. As Rubia continued to live quietly at the refuge, no one ever inquired about fostering or adopting her. She spent her days in her kennel showing little interest in going outside or interacting with the other dogs. She developed a hernia which was not operable because of her age. She seemed resigned to the probability that her chances of finding a home were virtually non-existent.

Until recently when Rubia’s life completely changed. Two people, Sarah and Ali, saw Rubia on our website and came to the refuge interested in adopting an older dog that no one else wanted. Sarah and Ali operate CaballoBlanco, an equestrian center in Lanjaron in the Alpujarras. (Please visit their website at www.caballoblancotrekking.com for further information about their center.) Without much hesitation, they decided to take Rubia home despite her advanced age and medical issues. Given that Rubia had lived her entire life in the refuge, we had some reservations about her ability to adapt to new surroundings. But Rubia proved our concerns were unfounded. She simply walked straight out of her kennel, out the front door of the refuge and right into Sarah and Ali’s car. Rubia lost no time fitting right in with her new family and animal friends just as if she had been there her entire life. She is sleeping and eating well, walking around the farm and is even playing at times. The other day, she was wagging her tail so hard she fell over. All this even though Sarah and Ali have also discovered that Rubia is stone deaf!

It appears Rubia’s days at the refuge are behind her. As Sarah recently wrote, Rubia’s “paws are firmly under the table”. We cannot adequately express our gratitude to Sarah and Ali and their family for their compassion about helping older unwanted dogs. They have renewed our hope that any one of our dogs has a chance of finding a good home.

Many people are reluctant to adopt an older dog as they believe the dog will not be able to adapt to new surroundings. We hope that Rubia’s story will give anyone thinking of adopting an older dog pause to reconsider and in the end, change their minds. Our refuge is still home to several older dogs who would love to have a chance just like Rubia.