Guper is missing - please, please help find him.

Important message for anyone in the vicinity of Rotterdam Airport

Our beloved Guper has gone missing.

Yesterday afternoon, 14th February, Guper escaped while being handed over at Rotterdam Airport.
Guper is a brown dog, 4 years old and 46 cm high and has a collar on and a lead.

He is a very frightened doggie, so if you see him stay very still and quiet and try to coax him with some kibble. If you try and chase him you will scare him away.

This really is heartbreaking. Guper is one of our long-stayers. A sweet dog who, until now, has always been overlooked. He appeared on this blog on November 16th, in an effort to find him the forever home he so needs and deserves. This is his chance of happiness, poor little fellow. So please, if you are anywhere near the airport, please, please keep a lookout for him.

We are hoping and praying that he is found. Some of you may remember Stefan, another scared doggie, who escaped on arrival, in the midst of the coldest winter. He was missing for weeks and we had secretly given up hope. And he was found - the clever boy had found a barn and shelter. A friendly farmer had spotted him and given him food. We are all praying that Guper, like Stefan, will be found.  I will update here when I hear anything.

The authorities have been alerted. If you have seen Guper, or even better, if you have managed to catch him please phone our representative in the Netherlands, Elvira, on 06-46 38 61 68.

The youth of today .....

You often hear people complain about young people today. But there as many fabulous youngsters and not nearly so many difficult and unkind ones as some newspapers would have us believe.  While I have read some reports that say that this young man, Gus Kenworthy, is only doing it for the publicity, I would rather believe that he has a kind heart and loves animals.

Gus is 22 years old and is competing in the Winter Olympics in Sochi. He loves animals and when he found four puppies with their mother, cowering under a tent outside the media centre, he couldn't leave them there. He's tweeted that he is doing everything he can, arranging for them to have their injections. It's reported that he has already found homes for them in the USA.

Even if he does get some good publicity from his actions, what's the harm in that? It's a win-win. It's also worth remembering that to get where he has done in his sport, you have to be hardworking and dedicated. I for one am very grateful to him for his kind and loving action.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

Our heroes

Our heroes, Miguel and Julian, prepare to do battle with the undergrowth.

Next to El Refugio theres a river, which is mostly stagnant and only occasionally has water in it. However, when the winters are bad and rainy it overflows and causes us misery and suffering. Some years ago we were so badly affected that some dogs even died and all our machinery was destroyed and much more.

In the meantime, there's been an infestation of Canna plants in the river bed and all along our borders. These plants are life threatening for our dogs. And on top of that, should they catch fire it would mean catastrophe. When the forest fires raged in 2012 we only narrowly escaped. For years we've been begging the municipality to remove the Canna and to clear up the river bed, but we are talking to a wall. Fabienne has asked them countless times but got nowhere.

Then suddenly, last week, they came to clear all the undergrowth and rubbish from beneath the electricity poles, to a width of about 10 metres. So we asked them to clean the rest but the answer was 'no'. Not their job, they hadn't been instructed to do more than they were doing - according to European law they have to clean everything under the electricity poles and keep it fireproof. They don’t care about the rest and so the danger remains.

Fabienne visited the municipality again and again found herself talking to a wall. If we had to pay to have the river cleaned it would cost 3500 euro and we simply don't have that amount of money. To buy a machine would cost 1000 euro, crazy! We have now rented one. In the future we hope to have a machine like this ourselves so that we can keep everything under control. 

Now we are busy to clearing the river and the undergrowth ourselves with this special machine. The powers that be don't see the need - they are only dogs, right! The answer of the municipality was that people here have so much problems right now that animals have to stand at the end of the line, as if they have ever stood there at all!

Animals have no value here, so we are taking things into our own hands and cleaning up the river ourselves. It is hard work but certainly worth it! Soon the danger will be gone, we will welcome the warm summer and our dogs will be safe.

Donations towards a machine of our own would be very welcome. Please see the main website for how to donate.

Hard and dirty work but so worth it.

A true foster dog

Thanks to Fabienne for sharing this delightful, sweet picture.

True Tenderness ....

So sweet. And just look at those wonderful ears!

Aymar - the cutest cutie

I'm cute, no?

I'm still very little.

Look, we even fit in the drawer.

Treats!