Spain
Saving Peludos
During one of her stays in Morocco, Patricia met Fernando from Salvando Peludos , a Spanish animal welfare organization that operates in the Madrid area and runs several animal shelters as well as a sanctuary for former farm animals .
Fernando had also been to Morocco several times and, due to the catastrophic animal welfare situation there, had repeatedly returned together with veterinarians from Spain that he had brought together to provide medical assistance on site, particularly for stray animals and animals in animal shelters, and to carry out castration projects.
A friendship quickly developed between Patricia and Fernando and so it came about that Patricia went to Spain for more than a month in the autumn of 2023 to take a closer look at the working methods and facilities of Salvando Peludos and to actively help out.
Salvando Peludos runs several animal shelters for dogs, cats and other pets in the Madrid area, as well as a wonderful animal sanctuary where countless former “farm animals”, especially cows, donkeys, horses, sheep, goats, pigs and chickens, have found a home where they can spend their final years in safety and are loved for their own sake.
Salvando Peludos has its own medical staff at each of its locations and during her time there, Patricia was able to attend and assist with medical treatments and operations, such as tumor removals, castrations and sterilizations, every morning and thus learn a lot.
In the afternoons, Patricia worked both on the farm and in the animal shelters, taking care of the sheep, goats, cows, horses, donkeys, ducks, pigs, chickens and dogs.
The people behind Salvando Peludos do their work wholeheartedly and with incredible love and commitment, which is particularly reflected in the happy eyes of the former farm animals at Salvando Peludos' animal sanctuary, whose maintenance is financed solely through donations, while the operation of the animal shelters is also supported by the state.
Our future collaboration with Salvando Peludos will lie in the joint organisation, financing and implementation of individual animal protection and castration projects , where stray numbers are exploding and, due to the country-specific situation, a containment of animal suffering can currently only be achieved with help “from outside”.
In March 2024, Patricia was with Fernando and a group of Spanish veterinarians and helpers for a first project in Morocco to carry out castration projects in 2 regions, during which several hundred street dogs and cats could be castrated and, if necessary, medically treated in just a few days (see castration projects ).
If you are interested in giving an animal from the Salvando Peludos animal shelter a second chance and adopting it, you can find many wonderful animal welfare animals from Spain under adoption assistance.
Impressions of Salvando Peludos
A monument to a sparkling star – Centella
When Patricia arrived, she immediately noticed a beautiful dog who was completely stressed out in her kennel and barked at anyone who came near her. Centella had been in the shelter since she was a puppy and because she was never able to get over her nervousness and was not socialized with other dogs, no one had ever shown any interest in her.
But Patricia saw a sensitive and gentle soul behind the nervous eyes and the loud barking and she was smitten.
Unfortunately, when Centella was sterilized during Patricia's stay, complications arose, causing Centella to lose a lot of blood. So that she could recover from her operation in a protected environment, she moved into Patricia's room, where they both shared a bed and over the next two weeks a unique bond of trust and a deep connection developed between Centella and Patricia.
Patricia soon had to return to Switzerland, where she began to take precautions to protect Centella, which, due to her history,
was undoubtedly not an "easy" dog to adopt. She looked for an apartment in a rural area and contacted various dog trainers with whom she discussed strategies to work on Centella's behavioral problems.
Unfortunately, fate was not kind to the two of them, and before Patricia could bring Centella from Spain, Centella tragically died of a heart attack in her kennel at only 2 years old.
Patricia was heartbroken and will probably never get over the fact that Centella was never able to find a loving home and find peace for the first time in her short life. Through Centella we learned that sometimes, contrary to expectations , there is very little time to help a living being before it is already too late.
For Patricia, Centella will never be forgotten and will always remain an incentive to stand up for the many other Centellas who sit unseen and misunderstood in their kennels.