ACTIN, making changes for animals in Spain.

 Luca was rescued from dire conditions & was in a bad way at the time of his rescue. He has a number of health problems which are treatable. He is approximately 10 yrs old. He is a long haired collie type dog but had to have his coat shaved off because of skin problems. He is being treated now & is doing well. Luca is a nervous & sad dog but responds well to ove & attention. He walks calmly on the lead & gets on well with other dogs.

We desperately need a special loving foster home for Luca. He is in need of much TLC and he will reward you with his special look and soft face. He is no trouble at all but is just old and has skin leish so he is very uncomfortable. We would dearly like to see this boy in a loving and nurturing environment after all he has been through in his life, we have to help him to get this new home. He is old and very vulnerable now. He is currently in foster care - but this was a temporary and urgent arrangement to be able to get him out of the hell-hole he was in. Luca has come from the same place as Lola - who sadly died just over a month after she was rescued - so please please can you help him to have the same love that Lola was lucky enough to have at the end of her life.... ....please can you help?

The following has been taken from Actin-Spain site.....

Luca is a shepherd dog of that I am sure. He looks just like many of the typical goat herding dogs we see out here in the campo. Well he did until he had his poor tangled, wretched coat shaved off. Luca was one of the Rudy rescued dogs. This is a group of dogs in a pen that were neglected and not fed, or cared for properly; so called the Rudy dogs now – Rudy is a Pointer that had lived like this for 18 months and many people wanted him saved. Their locked pen didn’t even allow someone in, to give them some human kindness or contact and food and water had to be tipped over the fence. Luca was rescued 3 weeks ago along with the others –

The day of the rescue was very stressful and a member of ours came with us and helped and took Luca, (who we had nicknamed Scruffy) to her home and his been his carer since. It was discovered he had skin leishmania and he must have been so uncomfortable in his horribly knotted coat, especially last summer. His ears are thickened with the skin leish and so painful for him.

We went to see him yesterday for the first time and I haven’t said a lot about this boy, as I was not able to be with him through his first few weeks after rescue but he has been looked after and tended to very well. I have been looking forward to seeing him since that day and so was happy when he came out to greet me, albeit slowly and awkwardly, as he is such an uncomfortable boy. When he looked at me with those eyes, it told me so many things, how he had suffered but never complained, how he had probably worked so hard and served his master, just to be kicked out when he was too old. I didn’t realise that he is quite old, possibly 10 years old, although in his state, maybe he is younger and just suffering the consequences of a hard life. My heart aches for every shepherd dog like this, who will spend his life chained up only to be allowed free once a day to run with the flock, which is their saving grace. But the rest of the time, shown no love, no decent food and depending on the owner probably not enough water. These dogs are not treated with respect in spite of the work they do and their intelligence but the dogs don’t know any better. So when Luca looked at me and stood staring in disbelief, as he received another of many cuddles and strokes that he now gets on a daily basis, I could see his gratitude. He didn’t want it to stop, this lovely feeling of being caressed and being taken notice of. He stood there and I could feel his acceptance of me, in spite of his life and his need to be loved. If only we could show these owners what they have done to these poor creatures. If only they knew how much love a dog like this can give, as well as the practical hard work. No chains, good food, a protective scalibor collar, a kennel for shade and a nice stroke and words of kindness; how much would it cost them to do this?

Once again we realise that our efforts need to be invested in educating these people, getting laws in place and protecting this loyal and wonderful creatures from cruelty, neglect and in most cases complete indifference from their owners.

I really hope we can find this deserving old boy a good home, because when you look into his eyes you will see how much he deserves that, after all he has been through. He is having treatment at the moment which should be successful. The treatment of injections is 200 euros, if anyone would like to sponsor him, or ultimately offer him a home for the last few years of his life.

Source: ACTIN-SPAIN

Please email admin@actin-spain.com  to help with a foster home or donation for darling old Luca. Thank you for caring!

I have been blogging for some time, for Actin-Spain, about Freckles & the dogs she was captive with, who were kept in dire conditions. 

If you haven't been following their story so far I have added links so just click each in turn.

1st blog post I did about Rudy & Freckles & Lola etc >>

 Continuing on from this post about Kiko & Tom (now called Boris) ....

Boris and Kiko, just one month ago had almost no hope for a future as their owner had decided to starve them as he no longer wanted them.

Their carers have done wonders with them and they are looking fantastic and full of life.

We are so proud to have saved these dogs and now the next step, to find them loving homes that they deserve.

Kiko is typical, she loves to jump up at the trees chasing birds and she is very alert, is responsive and loving. Boris, amazing, what a character, he looks a character, acts it and is so loveable.

They had their first lead training session this week and were surprisingly good.

Could you consider offering a home to one of these amazing dogs?

Kiko is around 3 yrs old & Boris is 18 mths, we think. Both are free of diseases, are doing well & currently are in care in Cartegena.

Information from Vivienne Worton (Cartegena) admin@actin-spain.com

 Lola's story here

From my friend Angie Mccready, her owner.

R.I.P. Dear sweet Lola.

Lola spent her whole life on a chain (10 years) until Viv Actin Spain rescued her and brought her to me. We fell in love with her at first sight.

Last night Lola was sick, today I took her to the emergency vet as she went downhill really quickly. The vet diagnosed peritonitis, and said she wouldnt survive the operation as her kidneys were failing as well. It all happened so quickly.

We are heartbroken even tho we only had her for about 4 weeks. At least she did'nt die on the end of that chain, and she knew love from us all here.

She will never be forgotten.

Bless you Lola. XXX

 Kiko and Tom are the pointers now saved from certain death. More on their story

It seems the owner; a man, who I would like to name but am waiting on advice from Actin’s lawyers, bought these dogs a few years and would have paid good money for them, the male is a pure Perdiguero de Burgos,!! We don’t know what their care was like but until June 2012, he was a responsible owner as far as vaccinations, micro chip for the boy and veterinary care are concerned. Maybe then he tired of them, so he banished them into horrible conditions and only fed them with stale bread and some water when he remembered.  A young relative had asked him about the dogs and begged to see them.  When she saw them she was shocked and distressed and did not know what to do.  She knew her relative didn’t care for the dogs and he would not listen to reason. He had left them to die.

The young relative continued to try to reason with him but to no avail. She managed to get photos of them and sent them to a member of our team and asked for help and advice.  Actin said they would do whatever they could to help and that the owner must be denounced. However, Actin is not a rescue and therefore it was necessary to find somewhere for them and get support, or sponsorship from a rescue.  Time has not allowed for this, as the dogs were in a very poor condition and so it was necessary to get them to safety before they got any worse.

The girl persuaded her relative to give them up and he agreed under pressure. We found somewhere for them but this has put great pressure on ACTIN, as we already rescued 4 dogs from a similar situation just one week ago.

Yesterday the girl said she would get the dogs out and bring them to us. We waited and when they arrived the owner was with them.  This was a very difficult situation for legal reasons, which cannot be disclosed.

The dogs were in terrible condition and it was heart-breaking to see.  The female Kiko, has clearly had puppies but the owner lied and said she had never been pregnant.  We fear for what has become of these puppies. But maybe there lies the answer; younger better dogs!!

We hear today that the owner had a very bad day yesterday…oh dear!!! -( I guess he didn’t expect that we were an animal welfare Association) and he told the young woman that it would have been easier to have shot the dogs! We know what we must do but we need support, because this attitude must not and cannot continue

The dogs are safe in residency now. They need care, which they are receiving and when they arrived they were very bad with ticks, fleas, parasites and were extremely thirsty and hungry. They drank literally buckets of water and were so sad and scared. Today they are looking better and they are happier.

Thank you to all those that have donated so far and especially to The Harmony fund for their help and support to ACTIN Association and to this rescue and the Rudy rescue.

If you wish to help get these dogs well, healthy and to a point where they may be adopted please help us?  We are doing this for these dogs but with a long term view that in the  future, our actions will send a message out that this is not tolerated and the way we handle these situations, will make the authorities agree there is a problem and help ACTIN and our lawyers to reform the laws against crimes like these.

Kiko is obviously female, Tom (obviously) is male.

 Source: ACTIN-SPAIN

https://www.facebook.com/vivactinspain  

https://www.facebook.com/StopAbandonementInMurciaSpain

Vivienne Worton admin@actin-spain.com  

 Vivienne Warton (Viv Actin Spain ) is the president of ACTIN – SPAIN & I consider Viv a friend. I've met her, she is amazing & works tirelessly for educating those who are ignorant & naive & for better welfare for animals in Spain by whatever means she can think of. She was invited to speak on this radio station about these problems in Spain & was so interesting (though I felt the radio presenter butted in too much). There was a lot discussed & a lot of information supplied.

WELL DONE VIV! 

Please take the time to listen to the interview & support Viv. 
http://www.mixcloud.com/WILDTIMERADIO/the-dark-side-of-spain-animal-suffering-on-a-large-scale/

Join groups by Vivienne, make a DIFFERENCE! 

https://www.facebook.com/vivactinspain?group_id=0

https://www.facebook.com/groups/AWSMassist/?fref=ts

Her website is >> http://www.actin-spain.com/

 Continuing on from my last post on the rescue of Rudy, Freckles & others >>  << Freckles has given birth to eight healthy pups today. 

We are so pleased, as Freckles looked fit to burst. Her pups are definitely fathered by the guys she had been imprisoned with in her horrible hell of a pen. Goldie and Rudy are Dad’s. The pups are gorgeous and looks like we have four mini Rudy’s, one Goldie, two Freckles and a black one!! It doesn’t bear to think of what might have become of these pups today if they had still been there.

Now we need sponsor and adoption for these little guys
April, Petra, Rubi and Zac are Rudy lookalikes
Alvin – Goldie lookalike
Berry- Black one
Willow and Trudi – Black and white

Who would like to sponsor our Rudy rescue pups?

There is a sponsor button on this page 

Email admin@actin-spain.com (Cartegena)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/AWSMassist/

Clik on these previous links if you haven't been following this story

then

Lonely was released to Viv of  Actin-Spain (Cartegena) & renamed Lola.

The moment that Lonely was released from her chain was so emotional. She has been here chained for 10 years!! This little old lady was completely bewildered and had no idea what was happening to her. The farmer took a pair of scissors and cut away the old string tied tightly around her neck and removed her heavy chain.  She has lived like this, through rain, wind, heat and has led this lonely life for 10 years, which is so sad.  She is a hardy little girl to have survived this.

Today ACTIN liberated her

Today Actin’s team went to the site where the dog was – one of many visits we have made, resulting last week in removing 4 other dogs Rudy’s rescue.  We told the owners we would return and we would be inspecting the other dogs and checking if they had improved their conditions.  We were not too impressed on arrival but then we were shown a bag of brand new collars and some huge bags of proper dog food – stale bread is not on the menu for these dogs anymore and they already looked as though they were putting on weight. We showed the owners our contract for keeping the dogs in good conditions – otherwise we denounce and they happily signed giving us legal rights to the animals we have taken and promising to take better care of their shepherd dogs. This was a better way. These owners are ignorant, they don’t know how to look after their animals. We have offered our help and they are collaborating with us. Actin has been successful and this is what we set out to do.

There are many problems in Spain for animals as we all know, and there will be many ways of dealing with things but this is a very good outcome and today we are feeling like Actin has been successful. It isn’t good enough to say that this is their way and we shouldn’t interfere. We must interfere when animals are suffering and we will do it every time. Its a small start in one area…we need others to start doing the same….lets together make changes and show we care and don’t tolerate neglect or cruelty?  This is the 21st century!

Now we must find a lovely home for our little lonely lady called Lola…if you can offer this special little dog foster care, or a forever home and show her some love for the last stage of her life, please contact  us. Or if you would like to sponsor Lonely Lola,  we need help with the many dogs we are rescuing and of course we are not a shelter and this is one way people can help. Thank you…

Below: This was Lonely Lola in captivity.

Below: Lola's rescue!

On Easter Sunday Lola was taken to Angie's to be fostered after spending a few days in care elsewhere. Angie has TEN adopted rescue dogs of her own & recently took in a Pointer called Katie to foster & Katie had ten pups (13th March) whilst at Angie's. Now Lola's arrived. 

Gradually, Lola is coming out of her shell, bless her! As it's Easter the vet isn't open till tomorrow so Angie will take her then to have her checked over.  

ALL DONATIONS ARE WELCOMED TO HELP LOLA & MANY OTHERS LIKE HER & RUDY & HIS FRIENDS.

PAYPAL  ACTIN-SPAIN here for Lola, Rudy & his friends who are all now safe & being cared for by fosterers.