2012 Newsletter here - Paws

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Newsletter of the People’s Animal Welfare Society
Apartado 627, 04638 Mojácar, Almería, Spain. Tel +34 678 490 217.
www.paws-patas.org
pawsenquiries@gmail.com
December 2012
A year of solid, steady progress. After all the drama of last year’s financial crisis, temporary clo‐
sure and the need to rebuild our homing operation in Holland, it is pleasing to reflect that 2012 has been a year of solid, steady progress. Treasurer Gerard Donck reports that we may still face a small year‐end deficit, but the trend throughout the year has been reducing. Income from the two shops has stayed healthy, de‐
spite having to bed in and estab‐
lish themselves in a new location ‐ a tribute to the dedicated shop volunteers taking on an in‐
creased challenge. And the ef‐
forts of our fundraising team have been “stellar” (see page 4). We managed to home more dogs than in any year since 2005 ‐ de‐
spite problems with an ageing and unreliable transport van. That was solved by buying a newer replacement, courtesy of the Special Projects team headed by Janet Franklin, who had been preparing for such an event (see page 2). Inside this issue:
Shelter Life
2
Homing news
Volunteers
2
3
The Cattery
3
Fundraising
4
Shop News
People & PAWS
5
6
If the general tone throught this news‐
letter is upbeat, it is not because it has become easier to keep PAWS afloat. It hasn’t, and nobody expects it ever to become so. It is simply because the necessary structural changes which we‐
PAWS dog Molino, one of many re made last year have worked out stunning photos by caravan volun‐
well. We have a really good shelter teer Lina Forslund. It made the co‐
management team in place (both dogs ver of Levante Lifestyle magazine. and cats) and that is the heart of all PAWS efforts, ably and enthusiastically The presence of an active and experi‐ supported by every other part of the enced committee member resident in charity. the Netherlands has made a big differ‐
We are short of money and at times ence. Renée Fortuin, who pioneered seriously short of volunteers in the face our original Dutch connection twelve of a problem which only gets bigger. years ago, moved back there in May. But we are never short of enthusiasm She has been hard at work ever since, or commitment. What has been achie‐
acting as liaison with Dutch shelters, ved this year is simply good work ‐ and expanding PAWS profile and contacts has been seen to be good work in the and developing new fundraising initia‐
feedback we have received from those tives. There are plans in the pipeline who help us, who write about us from for a dedicated PAWS website in outside, and who want our efforts to Dutch next year. continue. 1
Page 2
The Local Bark
Shelter News - fire, floods and
breakdowns ... but the shelter carried on!
After all the ups and down of 2011 the Shelter management team were hoping for a year of quiet stability. But life in a Spanish animal rescue charity isn’t like that! The Bedar fire in July, the Mojácar flood in Au‐
gust, and the devastating Vera Playa floods in September made life very difficult indeed for many of our volunteers. But miraculously the shelter itself did not suffer in any of these, and was able to carry on its service uninterrupted. Instead, we had to cope with ’self‐
inflicted’ injury! Our ageing transport van ‐ about which there had been con‐
cern for some time ‐ broke down three times in quick succession ‐ the final occasion in August with 29 dogs on board in 40 C heat. It was the last straw! The Special Projects team had already been furiously raising money and spon‐
sorship for a replacement van. Al‐
though the fund was not complete a good new(ish) van was bought, spe‐
cially adapted to make a more com‐
fortable ride for the animals, and trans‐
ports since then have been smooth and uneventful. The other main challenge this year was the unprecedented rash of dumpings ‐ many of them puppies too young to be away from their mothers. Nobody can remember a year as bad. Thanks on occasions to young caravan volunteers The ‘crate pups’ ‐ four very young dogs wired into a crate, abando‐
ned by the roadside in the full gla‐
re of the sun without food and wáter, and nearly run over. They all survived, recovered, and went to very good homes in Germany. getting up to nurse them during the night, nearly all survived. Our relationship with our Homing Partners abroad ‐ in Holland, Ger‐
many and at Dogwatch UK ‐ grew more solid and fruitful during the year. We are especially grateful to the De Reddingsboei Shelter for the gifts of dog food and special contributions they have made to the van fund. And four of the Dog‐
watch team came and worked as ’caravan’ volunteers themselves for 10 days in May, which proved very rewarding for both us and them. But the alarming challenge still fac‐
ing us is the physical state of the shelter buildings and infrastruc‐
ture. It was built under emergency conditions 10 years ago, and prob‐
lems with the drains backing up and overflowing, leaking roofs in the kennel areas plus general wear and tear means a thorough over‐
haul cannot be postponed indefi‐
nitely. And ‐ as always, particu‐
larly during the winter ‐ we are in real need of more volunteers to help at the shelter. Homing - totals up again, highest since 2005
Despite the problems with van break‐downs, and two transports needing to be postponed, the total number of dogs homed in the first 11 months of 2012 rose again. The number of dogs homed loca‐
lly in Spain fell by 50% ‐ but a big rise in numbers going to the UK more than made up for this. Gre‐
Dogs & puppies (10.12.12) Cats & Kittens (10.12.12) Total homed (so far) 311 Total homed (so far) 62 Spain: 25 Spain: 32 Holland: 179 Germany: 30 Germany: 52 Feral cats neutered 123 55 Still in PAWS care: 35 72 Waiting list: 10 at credit goes both to all our homing partners UK: and to the shelter staff! Still in PAWS care: 2
The Local Bark
Page 3
‘In Praise of Volunteers ...’
animal protection group at 14. It takes eight volunteers, working eight hours daily over two shifts, to look after the dogs in the shel‐
ter. That is 56 individual shifts a week ‐ every week. And they weren’t just young people ‐ when Romy, 24 and working for a Dutch notary, booked to come her dad Wim signed up too. We had full‐time mums leaving the dads to cope with the children in order to come and clean dog kennels for two weeks. There is a small but very dedicated group of local volunteers who give their time and energy all year, but not nearly enough to cover all the work. Without the help of volunteers visiting from abroad and staying in the two mobile homes, PAWS could barely sur‐
vive. We have had a wide variety of mostly young people coming to fill the gaps ‐
so much so that the Levante Lifestyle magazine published a three page arti‐
cle on them, and an editorial entitled In Praise of Volunteers. Some are high‐flying graduates building successful careers like Bianca, a trainee surgeon from Holland (above) who brought her friend Lonneke, a psychiat‐
ric social worker with disturbed children. Tamara, chief assistant to a Belgian cabi‐
net minister, returned for her third visit. Carina, Andrea and Mayleen were three 19‐year‐olds from Germany in their gap year ‐ but they had founded their own Our tireless local volunteers are some‐
times in danger of being upstaged by glamorous outsiders. They will have to be unsung heroes for this edition of the newsletter, but they provide the essential glue ‐ particularly in winter ‐ which holds everything together. The reward for this kind of volunteer‐
ing was summed up in the Lifestyle editorial: .”.. the love and trust they get back from the animals, but also a chance to see a caring and unselfish side to their fellow hu‐
mankind.” Cattery News - a year of ups and downs.
We made a good start to the year with 30 cats homed to Germany during the first four months, inclu‐
ding some long term residents. But then a respiratory virus caused homing to be suspended. It was almost impossible to separate sick cats from healthy ones, due to the lack of a quarantine area in the cattery’s confined space – but this has now been created in a separate area. In the meantime we lost our homing partner Alstrays, who transported cats to Germany. They had begun working with SOS in Almeria so we became de‐
pendent solely on local homing. Despi‐
te this we have managed to home a total of 62 cats to date – a 20% increase on last year (see figures on previous refuse bins, but there has been an in‐
crease in abandoned adult males. Sadly the routine poisoning of cats ‐ seemingly condoned in some areas ‐ continues during the summer months ‐ a practice which doesn’t distinguish between strays and domestic pets. But the police are unable to act unless the‐
re is concrete evidence. Mara, a ‘very clean’ cat, one of the ma‐
ny this year who found loving homes. page). We are currently negotiating to find new homing outlets in Holland and Belgium. Foster homes continue to be hard to find and we have had to rely heavily on our fosterer in Huercal Overa, which makes homing difficult. Our intake of kittens was less this summer, although litters continue to be dumped by the 3
Despite some staffing problems in mid‐year we now have an exce‐
llent team of volunteers at the cattery and a dedicated group of fundraiser for our stray cat neute‐
ring programme. Our thanks to Clinivet and Clinica Europa who give us an excellent service doing this despite having to deal with some hard to handle cats Page 4
The Local Bark
Another stellar year for our fundraisers
PAWS events don’t just raise money for needy animals ‐ they have become popular events on the social calendar of the Mojácar area. From Easter Bonnets to mince pies at Christmas … from serious drama productions to rock and blues concerts … to opera and classical guitar recitals. There has been somet‐
hing to suit every taste on the fundraising calendar for 2012 ‐ and 2013 will be just the same. The PAWS Fundraising Team has a daunting task. Every year they have to start over and raise in excess of €50.000 from a range of different events. And every year ‐ somehow ‐ they mana‐
ge to do it. There are too many events to mention them all ‐ but the selection of photos here will give you so‐
me idea of the colour and variety they provide. It takes upwards of 20 volunteers to put on a single event ‐ to sell tickets, put up posters, man stalls, provide refreshments, organise car par‐
king … the list is endless. We are contantly in need of more people to help, and to provide ide‐
as for new events to supplement the regular ones. If you can help ‐ PAWS NEEDS YOU! Send us an email to pawsenquiries@gmail.com Turre Music Fest (above) and on the right from top ‐ Easter Bonnets at the El Pinar Dog Show; Opera in the Quarry; and chilled out guests at the Hippies Go Rural party at Hostal Rural. 4
The Local Bark
Page 5
PAWS ‘financial rock’ ‐ its two charity shops. It is a year since PAWS opened the two new shops in Mojácar’s Multi‐Centro. After taking a little while to establish themselves, both customers and volunteers seem to like our new spot at the Multi Centro Mojacar. It’s a pret‐
ty area with friendly local busi‐
nesses who, like PAWS, have be‐
en in Mojacar for many years. help those who had lost everyt‐
hing. Donations of clothes, bric a brac, jewellery, books and household goods still continue to astound us. Donated items come from far and wide, not just locally. On dog transports to Holland our friends there will often fill the PAWS van for its return trip with items for the shop. PAWS visiting suppor‐
ters will often put items for the shop in their suitcases for trips here to visit friends or family. When floods in September devas‐
tated the Vera Playa area, where many PAWS volunteers live, we were delighted to help the Red Cross appeal by giving clothes to Despite the recession the public are ever generous and we are equally grateful. We are able to offer something for everyone – from cheap and cheerful to somet‐
hing for a special occasion, with high street brands, vintage and designer items in the boutique. If you want it ... we have probably got it, or will do our best to find something similar. Melissa’s ‘magical’ journey
PAWS was given an unusual insight into the world of other shelters this year, courtesy of one of our remar‐
kable ’caravan’ volunteers. Melissa arrived at PAWS for a month’s stay as part of an 18‐month trip to vo‐
lunteer at animal shelters and children’s orphanages. Melissa (33)
has been chronicling her travels in an online blog, which is being follo‐
wed avidly by many of us here who met her during her stay. She has The main shop exterior (left) and ítems on display in the Boutique (above). With ever‐decreasing natural resour‐
ces it makes sense to recycle what you don’t need. The PAWS shops are not only a recycling centre, they raise the majority of the funds to run the shelter. If income for December maintains the monthly average of €5.000, then we will match last year’s total net income of just over €60.000 ‐ despite the present severe recession in Spain. joyable, and fulfilling months of my life so far.” She loved her month at PAWS: “The organisation here is second to no‐
ne. Every food, exercise and medi‐
cal requirement is clearly docu‐
mented for every animal in each of the four sections of the shelter, and not a single trick has been mis‐
sed.” described her various expe‐
riences (so far) as “challenging, tough, emotio‐
nal, yet the most happy, en‐
5
Having been to various places in Europe she is now off to South America. We wish her well on the rest of her remarkable journey. The Local Bark
Page 6
People & PAWS ‐ Elianne & Jeanette wouldn’t allow it. So she said she Meet Elianne and Jeanette, the was quitting ‐ and came to Spain Shelter management’s two anyway! And just 30 months later most recent recruits. she found herself appointed as PAWS Kennels manager. Elianne Van Miert arrived at PAWS as a caravan volunteer from Holland in March 2009. She wan‐
ted to take three months off work as unpaid leave ‐ but her employer It is not surprising that she has beco‐
me such an integral part of the shel‐
ter, and one of our main drivers of transports to Holland ‐ given the range of experience and training she brought with her. She has a certifí‐
cate to manage a registered dog shelter, and has completed full cour‐
ses on dog training and animal be‐
havour. She even qualified as a dog handler for the Dutch Air force, but couldn’t take the job. Instead she drove vans for the transport compa‐
ny DHL. Their loss was very much PAWS’ gain!
‘A Dog From Spain’ by Belinda Meuldijk Belinda Meuldijk has a unique and honourable place in PAWS’ history. She became a house‐
hold name in Holland 40 years ago as a child star on television, and stayed there though her later film acting and music care‐
er. But Belinda has always been a passionate animal lover and activist. When PAWS was evicted from our previous shelter at a month’s notice in 2001, Belinda threw herself into the campaign to raise awareness and the money for a new shelter. She used her media clout back home in Holland to get three documentaries on PAWS screened on Dutch TV, Jeanette White became volunteer shift leader earlier this year. She and her partner came to Spain in October 2009, and five months la‐
ter she began cleaning PAWS ken‐
nels. “I had always wanted to work with animals, but didn’t have the opportunity in the UK ‐ and anyway I was fed up of tramping around in the rain!” She also worked a wee‐
kly day at another shelter, looking after 40 dogs on her own. “But when I was offered team leader I jumped at it ‐ I just love watching young puppies grow up into beauti‐
ful, healthy and happy dogs who find great homes.” Jeanette should know about that ‐ she has fostered many pups for whom there wasn’t room in the shelter. ************************************
made in partnership with BBC BAFTA
‐winning producer Jim Franklin (married to long‐time PAWS stalwart Janet). Her efforts helped PAWS to go from a small local charity, strug‐
gling to find new homes for 40 or 50 dogs a year in the local area, to one sending hundreds each year to won‐
derful new homes throughout the Netherlands. (continued right) 6
Ten years on Belinda has written that story in a fascinating autobiography entitled A Dog From Spain, and publis‐
hed as an e‐book on Amazon. It is a rollercoaster of a read, with many pho‐
tos and clips from the documentaries as illustration. The book costs less than €3 to buy – and half the profits will go to PAWS and Belinda’s own cha‐
rity Help All Spanish Shelters. You can find it at: www.adogfromspain.com