Friday 19th November 2021
In 'normal' times I was lucky to be able to visit the Refugio every year, sometimes twice a year. And then two things happened. First a small dog ... and then Covid.
The small dog is Teddy Edward, formerly Dunde. On my last visit - in September 2018 - I adopted this little three legged mutt. I felt it important to give him time to settle in so it was over a year before I was able to come out again. Everything was arranged - Teddy had a nice temporary home and I had my ticket and was getting very excited ... then suddenly we were in lockdown and no one was going anywhere!
Last month, almost three years after my last visit I was finally able to fly out to Spain. It had been such a long time but reassuringly so much was the same. Obviously Covid and all the restrictions has taken a toll. I can't imagine how tough it must have been in the past two years under the Covid restrictions with no students to help, no possibility of rehoming the dogs for long stretches and not even to mention the floods, the threat of fire and the many other difficulties and obstacles that arose.
While the end of Covid has brought new problems - for example the massive increase in the number of dogs being dumped - the restrictions actually had some positive outcomes. During lockdown no dogs or cats could leave the site so that when some restrictions were lifted, it was imperative to be able to start rehoming as soon as possible. Air transport was impossible for some time, so an alternative had to be found. The answer - road transport. Not only does this mean that many more can travel at one time, but there are very few time consuming trips to the airport, with all the driving and the waiting around that that entailed. One thing that hasn't changed is the amazing support of both volunteers donors. So generous with their time, their energy and their financial support. Truly the Refugio could not continue without them.
It was good to see some new faces, though I also missed some familiar ones. The students are back, a lovely hardworking group of youngsters. The Refugio is as usual full to bursting, but things are moving. New admissions and a bunch of happy ending dogs. The day after I left the transporter arrived to bring another bunch of darling cats and dogs to their eagerly awaiting new owners. However, plus ca change .... in the week I was there yet another obstacle was thrown in our path. The new 'animal welfare' law in Holland (and soon in the whole of the EU) that, while intending to stop such evils as puppy farms and animal trafficking, is in fact catching legitimate animal shelters in it's net and thus making life even more difficult for all those hard working organisations that just want to save and care for animals. If you haven't already done so, please sign out petition on the front of the new website.
With Veerle, all of the wonderful students and some of the darling dogs.
A massive HGV arrived one morning, delivering wonderful gifts for our dogs. With heartfelt thanks to all the generous donors and to our collection volunteers who give up so much of their time to help co-ordinate everything.
 |
Bring your dog to the office day ....🤣  The cats are still on cat mountain. This sweet fellow has found a very clever place to sleep! |
No comments:
Post a Comment