As you see from the photo Santa brought me some great toys which was nice, and I had a wooftastic Christmas dinner, usually I have to stick to a prescription diet, but hey it was xmas ! My festive dinner was better than my human parents who both had stomach viruses and could only eat a very small amount ! Check out these two menu's and see what you think …
My Christmas Menu
Chicken filet lightly sautéed in virgin olive oil with chopped up green beans and a small amount of baked potato with gravy.
Followed by mature cheddar cheese on cheesy biccies !
My Humans Christmas menu
An egg boiled in slightly salted water (one each that is - after all it was Christmas day, so hey, they pushed the boat out) and a small amount of Tomatoe Heinz soup.
For dessert nothing as they spent the rest of the evening rushing to and from the toilet having failed miserably to digest their main meal.
On a personal level, health wise this year has been good. I have had no major illnesses or accidents or attacks by other nasty dogs ! Just minor stuff, landing on my furry face slipping on a wet patch on a tile, trying to run through a glass door. I'll explain, I saw a pesky moggy in my garden and wanted to chase the feline, but instead unfortunately head butted it (the door not the cat ) with full force, OUCH !
As some of you are aware I published my first novel this year 'Nobody's Poodle' and was recently listed in the top 50 guardian indie books, which was wooftastic ! I also have had loads of great reviews on amazon.
Moving on to the subject of the stray dog situation, It's been another tough year in Tenerife for the refuges but they are still battling along and managing to still look after the doggies in their care. I don't know how they do it.
On a positive note this year Adeje council started an initiative to promote responsible pet care through leaftets, and talks which is good, and a step in the right direction. Marion at Accion-Del-Sol continued with her excellant education campaign with visits to schools. The events at Accion-Del-Sol were all very well attended this year and support for Accion-Del-Sol is now coming from many different nationalities which is great.
Tierra Blanca in Fasnia is going from strength to strength under the guidance of Isabel, vet and Manager. The refuge is not quite fully constructed yet but it's getting there, I think Tierra blanca is doing very well given the fact that they have 400 dogs to look after and only a few staff to keep the place clean. Isabel's management skills must be good !.
There is now a dog beach in Guimar and I have heard there is going to be another beach for pooches, and is situated between El Medano and los abrigos which if that happens will be Wooftastic !
I have only mentioned two refuges in this post, because these two refuges are the main ones on the island in the South and they keep in contact with me the most. The other smaller refuges of course also do fantastic work !
If you would like to help the stray dogs of Tenerife, but feel maybe uncomfortable about donating cash to a refuge that you haven't visited, volunteer your time and bring along a bag of dog food that way you can find out about the refuge and speak to the refuge staff, also volunteering your time can be just as helpful as a cash donation. I don't want to put off anyone giving a gift of money though, as the refuges badly need cash. I am only offering this as a suggestion to make an informed decision for yourself. A list of the refuges is on my website http://tenerifedogs.com/tenerife-refuge-shelters/
Of course it would be great if no refuges were needed and people took more responsibility for their furry friends , but it's a not a perfect world and so refuges are unfortunately necessary.
To all the refuges on the island, dedicated foster carers, fund raisers and to anyone who has given a rescue pooch a home, and all my amigos on my facebook page have yourself a WoofTastic New Year
