So sorry for the lack of blogposts ...

I am so sorry there was no English blog last weekend. And there may not be any for a couple of weeks.

I moved home on Friday and am going away for 12 days at the end of the week. I will do my best to catch up before I go, but if I can't I will try to make up when I get back.

The clinic is kitted out ...

Sterilisation and Castration Day in our Refugio

Our TC is doing well!

He's become a darling, active dog and we enjoy him every day.

Bassie and Malte !! We could now not imaging being without our two rascals Bas and Vince.

Here are some lovely adopted cats who are having a great time ...

Calin and Amour

Gingeray

Peter Pan and Bruma

Tigrito

Max in his little cart ...

Max likes being in his little cart - with our littlest one, Peewee.

Saint Antony ... for some people animals are important. For others, they are simply disposable

MADRID - On 17 January, 'the day of the animals' is celebrated everywhere in Spain on the name day of San Antonio Abad, Saint Anthony of Egypt. On this day, the Tres Tombs celebrations are held in Catalonia and the Comunidad Valenciana region, where special church masses are organized where owners of their pets or any other animal can go to receive a blessing. In other places such as in Canals, Valencia, on the night before the name day a big bonfire, La Hoguera, takes place, the largest in the world, while in various villages and towns in Andalusia special activities take place and in Madrid it is a madhouse at the most important church.

If you happen to walk past a church on Wednesday 17 January and see a crowd of people, do not think of a wedding or funeral. It is on that day that the church blesses the animals because this is the name day of San Antonio Abad, the patron saint of all animals. It is not unusual to see hundreds of people with their cats, dogs, parrots, pigs, horses, donkeys, rabbits, turtles, snakes, etc. at the church where they hope that the priest will give their beloved animal a blessing. It is now an annual tradition that is taken seriously by many believers.

In many places in the country there are special masses that are usually held on the street in front of the church because it is so crowded and the animals prefer not to be in the church. That is the case, for example, in the church located in Madrid near the Iglesia de San Antón in the Calle de Hortaleza. This church is, as the name implies, named after the patron saint and so this is the place par excellence for the animal lovers and church-minded. However, Madrid is not the only place where animals can be blessed. This also happens in many places in the state of Catalonia where the Tres Tombs parties take place. In the Valencia region people celebrate this joyous fact with bonfires, called hogueras.

Perdigon, his owner took him from the clinic and dumped him around the corner....

Just look at that sweet face - how could anyone treat him so horribly!

Perdigon had a home, but nobody paid any attention to him... he could walk on the street, or not ... the owners didn't care. Until one day he was hit by a car on a roundabout and was taken to a killing station. His owner was notified that his dog was waiting in the clinic for some necessary care.... his owner went to the clinic but thought that surgery was not necessary... he didn't want to spend a euro on the dog and so he took him home. The pain, the open wound - they were left untreated, without any care... the clinic just let them go, no money, so no help....

And the next hell was literally around the corner for the defenseless dog, because the owner threw him out of the car around the next corner, his problem was now solved! 

And the work continues on the outside cages for our hospital ...

Some more atmospheric images of the Refuge this week

Our experience with Wolfy's adoption.

I had been following Ace for a while on Facebook and had already passed over many dogs. My husband always said, oh, have you seen that one already, and those ... I kept putting it off, because with a dog in the house and 2 cats, I did not dare to take home a rescue dog. Until the moment I saw our Wolf's photo, those eyes looking straight to my soul. In the evening my husband came home and again, oh, you've already seen Wolfy! Yes, have already looked him up, he is already in Belgium. Very soon after that we followed up with a visit to the great foster family, with our dog. It went very well, then there was the visit to our home to see how the cats would react. No problem.  The week after we finally took our Wolf home with us, not regretting it for a second. t
The first months were not easy, but every day we saw him making progress and doing his best. Wolfy has now been almost a year with his family and we love him so much! Foster families are incredibly important and give many dogs that extra chance of happiness! So much respect to them!

Our pussycats in foster care - Musti, Milo and Men

If you can't adopt at present, but would like to help our dogs ....

You can not adopt at this time but would like to help our dogs?
Then register as a foster family.
Being an important link in the lives of the dogs will give you so much satisfaction!

For more information, go to:
http://www.ace-charity.org/nl/helpen/vangvanggezin-worden

To subscribe you may mail to:
For the Netherlands: relocation.nederland@ace-charity.org
For Belgium: opvang.belgie@ace-charity.org

Thank you very much on behalf of our dogs!

From Fabienne's Diary: Paddy was beaten on the street by his boss, then thrust into the arms of the woman who tried to stop him

Today we received a phone call from a lady who had saved a Podenco Bodeguero cross doggie ... and how! She saw a man hitting a dog with a stick, the dog was screamed but that did not stop him from continuing, he just kept hitting the dog. The woman walked up to him and shouted at him to stop! The creep became so angry with this that he took the defenseless dog by the scruff the neck and pushed it into her hands!

Here you take it bitch, you do something with it! The woman was completely upset because she was leaving home the next day and did not know where to go with the little girl, none of the surrounding rescue centers wanted to help her, because it was "only" a Podenco x Bodeguero. So this came little one in our midst, still completely shocked but luckily saved, ... The dog is currently very upset but is externally not injured, probably she will have bruises and pain, how could it be otherwise if you are brutally beaten. Our veterinarian and employees will now take care of her!

Our Yerik - finally going to better places

How is Yindy doing? (ACE Evelien 12328)

Since last May, Yindy's basket is in the Netherlands and she is doing very well. She is a sweet and gentle lady.

She begins to feel more at home, becomes more relaxed in terms of playing and cuddling. She was already affectionate, but that is actually becoming more and more. In terms of playing she is like a frisky calf, now and then she does not know what to do with her legs . But usually she prefers to be with us or she cuddles with us.

She is gentle with everything here in and around the house.
The latest cat is now her best friend, they often sleep together, the cat prefers Yindy.
She also loves the chickens and guinea pigs, she does not really react to them. She's curious, but she respects them.

She is now at home in the daytime when we are working, which is going well at the moment.
We had to leave her in the bench for a while because she broke some pillows 😊 and had peed in the house a few times. But she no longer does that. We think it is the best for her when she can sit in the house with the other two dogs.

Walking is also a very good thing, we do not dare to let go off the lead, but because we have a long walking line she can still walk and sniff. She is not a fan of rain or snow, but we have made a tailor-made jacket so that she stays warm and dry.

We are very happy with Yindy, we realize how lucky we are with her and her character.
She has adapted so well, we are happy with that!