This is tragic. Please send an email even if you aren't an animal person. Read to the end for the email addresses.
I've asked for a Spanish translation and as soon as it is available I will publish here. Maybe best to write in Spanish.
From Los Infiernos Protectora Supporters
·
Dear Lorca Town Hall ( Ayuntamiento de Lorca )
I am one of the volunteers at Los Infiernos Protectora and have been volunteering with the dogs there for eight years now, not as long as some people, but it’s been a while. I’ve seen volunteers come and go. It happens, it’s not for everyone. I can honestly say, the volunteer group we have now is the very best team we have ever had. We have people working so hard in the background, it’s not all about showing up and walking the dogs and feeding the cats, although we are very good and dedicated in doing that.
These volunteers have held down pretty prestigious and stressful jobs in the UK and throughout Europe and they are retired now. Many are working harder now than they ever did. Do you want to know why? It’s a passion for the safety and wellbeing of these poor souls in the shelter. It’s not so hard when you’re doing something you love.
We have a great Facebook presence, with over 11,000 followers. We now have a fantastic website, which is updated daily, with new admittances and new adoptions secured. That in itself was an immense task to set up.
The dogs are walked four times a week, for around 20 minutes each, if we can get them all out. We beat ourselves up that it’s not enough, we ask ourselves, what more can we do?
During this time, we can see which dogs are maybe not getting enough food, because the kennel mates are guarding it. We can correct that. We can check up on wounds and injuries, to make sure everything is healing as it should and we work with the team of vets.
We can cuddle, play and have kisses, let these dogs and cats know there is love out there. We have a team of dedicated volunteers who answer the queries on Facebook and Instagram to secure adoptions and we have a great transportation network to make these adoptions a reality.
We now have the services of a local professional photographer, he comes in his own time to photograph the dogs for us. We have had a massive uptake on adoptions, because great photographs really make the dogs come alive and show their personality.
On site at the shelter, it has improved so much in the years I’ve been going there. We have on site veterinary care, with vets who really care as much as we do. I’m sorry to say, many of the animals that come in from Lorca arrive in terrible condition, which brings us to tears, but we go on, helping them to get better, arranging foster homes for the ones in most need.
So now, we find yet again, The Town Hall is looking to move the contract to Esprineco. A pest control company.
There’s very little I’ve seen that makes me think that would be good for these poor souls. They have suffered enough trauma in their lives. They know the workers and volunteers where they are. They are getting the best care we can give them with the resources we have. They have the best chance of getting a home, right where they are.
It breaks my heart in two, to think these dogs and cats will be left to languish in overcrowded cages with very little human contact and very little chance of adoption. In the long run, the costs will surely be more than you are saving, as you’ll be paying for their upkeep longer. You’ll be keeping them alive, but they won’t be ‘living’. Just writing this now, I feel physically sick. They will become unadoptable.
Do the folks who make these decisions own pets? Have they visited a shelter, Los Infiernos or the facilities offered by the new company.
Please don’t do this, it’s very wrong on all levels.
I implore you to think again.
Regards
Leigh, one of the many volunteers supporting the animals at the Anguimar Protectora facility at Los Infiernos.
Please send emails to support Leigh and the animals to…
Comments