One of the things both Derek and I find highly distressing here in Spain is the apparent lack of regard for animals. Now before you all get up in arms about that statement let me finish the blog and then if you still have objections feel free to comment.
When I say lack of regard for animals this is perhaps only a "lack of regard" in other European eyes but for the local Spanish there is probably no real intention to be cruel so perhaps its a case of neglect. Its hard though to view it calmly. For instance, take horses which are quite a status symbol here. People who really do not have the knowledge, time, space or finances own horses and some are not exactly neglected but one does tend to wonder why they have them. You drive through the "campo" (countryside) especially during the summer months and see horses tethered on the side of the road or mountain with no water, no shade, obviously no food as such - just dead weeds and very often the horse have docked tails so there is not even any respite from the flies. Now that does make me mad!
Just down the road from us in our last house was one such horse and I wanted to take water to him during the day but Derek quite rightly said I would be upsetting the whole system that the horse has grown to accept and if couldn't get to him in the middle of the day or we moved (which we did) then I would have made the whole thing worse by giving and then taking away.
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| The little Terrier - ready for frankfurters!! |
I can feel my soap box sliding under my feet as I do get really wound up by these things. Another instance where I finally cracked and had to interfere was in the case of a dog. There is a really sweet tempered little terrier which I pass most days when walking our dogs. He loves attention and I take treats for him and every 3 months I stick a worming tablet in a piece of frankfurter so that is one thing taken care of. But I cant actually get to him to do anything else as he is in a fenced and gated property. However, in the middle of July when the ticks were at their worst he was covered and I mean COVERED. There would have been over a hundred on his ears alone and if you think I am exaggerating, then think again. His body was covered too and he was constantly shaking his head as I am sure that the ones inside his ears were driving him mad!
I couldn't stand by and watch this any more so I went to
Posh Pets in Alhaurin el Grande and got a bottle of a solution that they use on dogs that are infested with fleas and ticks. I put this bottle with a note in a bag and left it on the gate. I felt very nervous going back past the house after that as I knew I had completely overstepped the boundaries bt more importantly I couldn't have borne it if I had gone back and found the dog still in a bad way. I am pleased to announce that when I went back after two days the dog was virtually tick free and I almost cried with relief. The thing is - I don't think the owner was being really cruel, it just didn't occur to him to do anything about it.
Another problem here is that the Spanish don't believe in spaying or neutering, but quite clearly they don't want to be overrun with dogs either. So their bitches have a litter of puppies which are very often destroyed at birth apart from one which is left on the mother to take the milk until they are about 6 weeks old. Then the puppy is taken away and left somewhere or given to neighbours.
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| Murphy a couple of days after we got him! |
Our Spanish Water Dog X, Murphy is probably such a case. He was found on the side of the main road by a friend. She saw him in the long grass and stopped to investigate. She looked everywhere for siblings but he was alone and quite rotund!! She picked him up and donated (!) him to us as it was us she was coming to see at the time. Its too awful to contemplate his fate had she not come along at precisely that moment as its a really busy road with lots of lorries.
He fell on his feet but he is only one!
The Charities (
AID,
Chain,
SOS) do fantastic work but even they are up against it with the amount that are born stray and those that are dumped and cats as well. A lot of the time with the strays the best thing that can be done is to spay them and put them back.
I know its not for us to come here and criticise but it will be something that drives Derek and I away from Spain eventually. Just a couple of weeks ago we had a pathetic creature who looked to be German Shepherd crossed with Podenco - possibly. There was no flesh on him, just bones covered in skin. He had open sores down his flanks and the top third of his ears was just black in parts an open sores in other parts. The first thing we needed to do was feed him. He wagged his tail at me when I opened the gate ................. WAGGED HIS TAIL .............. it was heartbreaking. We fed him twice and gave him water. Whilst he was wolfing the food down I had a good look at him. His back legs kept giving out on him and I believe he was probably suffering from fairly advanced Leishmaniasis. After the food he disappeared and only briefly appeared the next morning whilst I was out. By the time I got back there was nothing to be seen of him and I have not seen him since. I could not take him in but I have arranged for the vet to call by when the dog next appears.
There is, only so much we can do. But I do urge people to support the charities and perhaps not only call them when they have a problem but to help out, attend fund raising functions, donate books, clothes etc to the shops. It might not sound much but every bit helps.
If you are a private person then perhaps Facebook is not the way forward. You can "private message" people but then you could probably just as easily email them. But if you have a business of any description, then you would be foolish to dismiss the power of FaceBook. In fact it is probably one of the most powerful marketing tools you can use. It doesnt have to be an online business - I have an online business, a T Shirt Painting business and I am a Holistic Therapist 
