The more I fight the more disillusioned I get.

[scottishlass]

This morning we got the info that 15 dogs in the perrera of Gesser/Spain will be gassed on Thursday. 15 beautiful, able and healthy dogs - small, cuddly, big, strong, cute, old, young ...
So what to do? I don't have a house to take them all in, heck I can't even take one in ... but I can phone, ask, beg ... so after almost 12 hours of non-stop being on the phone and talking, begging and asking we have managed to get host places for 10 of the 15 dogs ... still need to find places for 5 dogs.
Good thing is ... the perrera workers promised us to change the extermination day ... so these five dogs are due to be put down on Friday morning instead of today.


Schnautzer-Mix


tiger-marked Galgo


young German Shepherd/Podenco Mix


Podenco/Husky Mix


Pointer/Setter Mix



Go give your pet a hug, no matter if dog, cat or pet bunny.

ETA: as of Thursday evening we have found temporary hosts for all dogs. Now they are reserved and are off the death list. As soon as we have tourists flying back from Gesser, the first dogs will come to Germany for their new life.

Comments

[scottishlass.livejournal.com]

It is customary in Spain that if dogs and cats don't find a new home within 14 to 21 days (depending on the district you live in) they are put down. No matter if they are old, young, pups or whatever. It is their way of controlling the strong street dog population, so they say.
However, most of those dogs in perreras are not street dogs, but dogs that were either put there by their owners or just thrown over the fence of the perrera (to avoid the fee). A lot of animal rights' activists did neutering campaigns and there are almost no wild living dog populations anymore due to this fact. If a dog is picked up on the street, it was most likely thrown out of its home and abandoned.
In a lot of Mediteranean countries it is still not accepted to get a pet from the animal shelter. Second hand dogs are not wanted, so finding new homes in Spain is totally impossible for those dogs.

The eerie fact is here in Germany our shelters are full with so-called dangerous breeds (Rottweiler, American Staff, American Bullterrier etc.) which can only be kept if the prospective owner meets a certain set of standards (clean record of conduct, exam of keeping dangerous dogs, psychological exam etc.) as well as paying a high dog keeping fee and having to pass certain tests with the dog to get freed of the gag they usually have to wear to avoid biting. Ppl don't want and most of the times (as in our case) are not allowed by their landlords to keep those dogs, so dogs not on the dangerous breed list are highly sought after in my home country. Hence we try to save as many dogs as we can, so that ppl can find these kind of dogs in animal shelters and not only dangerous breeds.

[plazmah.livejournal.com]

Thanks for explaining. It sure sounds like a complex situation.

[scottishlass.livejournal.com]

It would be not so complex if ppl would at least treat the animals with a bit of respect. All European countries have animal welfare programs and laws but ppl don't abide to them. For them animals, esp. dogs, are just objects - tools that are used for hunting, for herding or for their kids to be entertained with. Once the animal is not wanted anymore, it gets trashed like an inanimate object. Half of the unwanted animals end up directly in perreras, the other half end up hanged to death in woods, shot or clubbered to death or drowned. In the countryside after hunting season it is customary to hang old or ill fitted hunting dogs.
My own dog Cenour almost got hanged. But his former owner threw him over the fence of the perrera, not minding if he broke his legs or his neck, with a note around the neck that his name is Cenour and he was a bad hunter. The owner thought he was gased after the waiting time, but luckily for Cenour and me he got rescued.

[plazmah.livejournal.com]

Ugh, that's a horrible mentality to have. I'm fortunate that it's not like that here in Canada, especially not in urban areas. But I have a friend who moved down to rural Alabama for work and from the sounds of it, they view animals the same way that you described. It's so sad.

[scottishlass.livejournal.com]

The more North you go in Europe animals are held more highly, but in the Southern regions, SPain, Italy, Greece, Turkey ... you shouldn't take a walk in the countryside after hunting season because you encounter death incarnate. Good thing it is not like this in Germany ... ppl think differently even in the countryside because most animals are either the basis of living for the farmers or they are work partners or are pets. But in the Mediteranean ... they are just things.