Another animal cruelty case is in the news in Tenerife.

This information was taken from the Proteanimaloy facebook page which was set up to help the poor dog, Luna.
Another animal cruelty case is in the news in Tenerife, this time in Los Realejos, where a man beat a dog so badly that her skull was split into two and was found conscious in a metal drum covered with earth. The dog was admitted to a veterinary clinic with ataxia, decreased sensitivity, hypothermia, tachycardia, and mouth full of dirt ... The diagnosis is Central Vestibular Syndrome due to traumatic brain injury and stroke.

LUNA will go to the foster carer, Maria Perez Vivas to recover from his physical wounds and severe psychological trauma.

This case of animal abuse has opened preliminary proceedings in the trial court of the judicial district of La Orotava, where criminal proceedings have been inituated by Proteanimaloy, (Eloy Torres) through their  lawyer Vinent Sandra Barrera.

Proteanimaloy is raising funds to pay for Luna’s ongoing treatment...

Nuevo caso de Maltrator animal de  en Tenerife, esta vez en el municipio de Los Realejos, donde se golpeó a una perrita en la cabeza partiéndole el cráneo en dos.

A la perrita, de nombre LUNA, se le encontró conciente dentro de un bidón metálico cubierta de tierra, quedando ingresada en una clínica veterinaria con ataxia, disminución de sensibilidad, hipotermia, taquicardia, boca llena de tierra…con un diagnóstico de Síndrome Vestibular Central debido a traumatismo craneoencefálico y accidente cerebrovascular.

LUNA se irá a una casa particular a recuperarse de las heridas físicas y del grave trauma psicológico, gracias a la educadora canina MARIA PEREZ VIVAS.

Este caso de maltrato animal posee diligencias previas abiertas en el juzgado de instrucción de la demarcación judicial de La Orotava, autos penales donde se ha personado la protectora de animales que se hizo cargo de la perra, PROTEANIMALOY, (ELOY TORRES )por medio de su abogado solidario, SANDRA BARRERA VINENT. A lo largo de la próxima semana se espera se interponga QUERELLA por las personas de sus rescatadoras a fin de que su agresor, o agresores, sean castigados.

Suerte LUNA.

Cruelty To Dogs

TenerifeDogs.com have recently received some emails equiring about videos showing cruelty to, and abuse of dogs which has allegedly been happening in a refuge for stray dogs in Tenerife.

Perhaps because TenerifeDogs is a website that is very easily found on the internet, people from all over the world have been getting in touch for more information, and even asking if the website might be linked to these videos in some way. I just would like to say that TenerifeDogs.com is neither a refuge, nor an animal rights campaigning group, but a website that aims to help ALL the local refuges to find new homes for as many dogs as possible.

We have seen these videos and they do show some horrendous scenes of cruelty and dogs being kept in appallingly overcrowded conditions. Because of this, there have been some comments that suggest that it is typical of the way that Spanish people treat their dogs.

This is a dangerous generalisation, and a bit like saying that because there is evidence * of cruelty in some care homes in the UK, then British people must be child abusers  (* eg the recent video broadcast on BBC news of abuse in a children's home near Bristol). Unfortunately cruelty, abuse, and appallingly bad management can and do happen anywhere and everywhere in the world (or to put it another way; "sheet happens !").

I gather that the UK care home has now closed and will only re-open with a change of name and new staff. The people involved in the abuse are no longer there, and will probably be prosecuted, which is clearly the only way that the home could start afresh.

A solution has also recently been found for the Live Arico dog refuge, involving a change of management and re-location to a new site.

There have been problems at LA for quite a few years. In 2010 after a visit, we posted on this website (LINK) that the dogs were in a bit of a sad state. The reason we wrote about this was not to take sides, but to pose some questions for all those involved to think about carefully:

1. Is it better for dogs to live in overcrowded (and potentially worse) conditions in rescue kennels, or are they better off on the street fending for themselves ?

2. If LA were to be closed down, then where would the dogs go ? Presumably a lot of them would have too be put down, so is this a viable option ? nb of course some dogs from LA do indeed find homes eventually.

3. Then there's the difficult and controversial issue of Euthanasia. Is it better to keep alive say an elderly dog with a terminal illness ? or a dog which is aggressive / potentially vicious and is very unlikely to find a home ? Keeping it alive might well be detrimental to the other dogs in the kennels. Is it more cruel to keep a dog alive when it can have no real quality of life, than it is to 'put it to sleep' ?

So, these were the questions that we posed in 2010, and if you go to the link, you'll see that it started a very full and open debate.

Unfortunately the problems weren't solved, and in fact, as the videos allegedly show, only got worse. But at least this is now out in the open, and as mentioned, a solution has been found. The LA dogs are now being looked after by Fedcapap LINK at a new refuge in Fasnia. TenerifeDogs wishes them well, and hopes that this situation never happens again !

We will continue to do our bit to help find good homes for as many dogs as possible, and also to try and get people to be responsible dog owners.


.....I will not put any comments up that have bad language  or are not worded in a reasoned way....

A denuncia is made on a neighbor who trapped a dog in a cave

Protection Animal welfare organisation in Gomera  reported that employees of the protective and Civil Guard officers have rescued a dog that was sprayed with poison and left trapped in a cave in the area of ​​La Hoya, in Valle Gran Rey. The owner of the dog has been identified by the Civil Guard,  and has been  charged with an alleged crime of animal abuse.The rescue took place thanks to the care of neighbors, who after hearing constant whining of a dog coming from a cliff, decided to inspect the area. 

Neighbors found  a cave walled up with stones and a large black dog, a German shepherd mix Rottweiler, was tied up with a rope and a strong odor of poison was present. The dog, about seven years old, had malnutrition and dehydration, lack of hair and muscle and burns on the eyelids, said Domiique Lecroc secretary of Animal protection Gomera .The dog was taken to the veterinarian to receive first aid and then taken to a dog hotel in Tenerife to  recover from the many injuries he suffered.

Protection Animal Gomera, who filed a complaint with the Civil Guard and the city of Valle Gran Rey, initially asked the cooperation of citizens to find out the identity of the owner of the animal. Shortly after it  the person who allegedly trapped the dog in the cave was called to testify 30th April Monday in the police station. 

The protection Civil  reported that so far this year there have been many more strays animals in La Gomera , and a considerable increase in acts of cruelty...examples of which are puppies dumped in trash bins and seven cases of dogs being thrown from moving cars of which only two were saved.

Information taken from Laprovinca.es Diaro De Las PalmasFriday 27th April

First case of animal abuse that has been brought to the courts in the Canaries.

The first case of animal abuse that has been brought to the courts in the Canaries, took place today in Santa Cruz , Tenerife.

Addanca which is an animal welfare organisation are behind the case of an 80 year old man who has been accused of abuse to a dog. Vela a female German Shephard suffered starvation, beatings and scars from abrasive liquid.

This will be landmark mark case for animal abuse in the canaries if it succeeds .

For more information diariodeavisos and here and join Addanca on their facebook page

Vela

Good luck Vela  !

' Handbag Dogs'

( Me trying to get into a handbag fortunately for me only my front paws will fit, thank goodness !)

This definately makes me barking mad , 'Handbag dogs' or 'Purse dogs'. I mean what is all that about !. Stuffing a poor defenceless pooch into a bag. A dog is a dog irrelevant of whether the doggie is small in size or not.  Very small dogs like Chihuahuas which are popular hand bag dogs, need walks  and be socialised with other dogs just as much as large hounds , otherwise they get bored then can turn nasty. Not surprising really I would turn nasty if I was expected to sit still in a hand bag all day, fortunately for me though I can't fit into a handbag ( as illustrated in photo ).

So anybody out there if you are thinking of getting a Chihuahua or any very small doggie  please don't keep him in a hand bag its down right cruel. Every dog deserves to be treated like a dog not a fashion accessory.!

Why People Do Rescue

Came across this article on a online Dogs Magazine, it explains about the situations and people who unfortunately are more concerned with their own personal gratification than the welfare of the rescue animals.

Honestly some humans its an absolute disgrace.! Fortunately there are many kind rescue people who do care about us pooches and do things in the correct way, thank goodness..!

The examples given in this article, are people who take on pure-bred dogs from a rescue shelter for the sole purpose of breeding and making money by selling. Often they inbreed the dogs so inevitably the dogs end up with severe health problems

People who spend a lot of time talking about how great they are , and rescue everything and subsequently end up with a huge collection of animals which they can't possibly look after properly, and they don't spay, castrate, take the animals to a vet. Also don't euthanize sick or aggressive animals because they '"love them too much"

Click here to read more

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A judge in Spain has ordered a Man to give up custody of his dog ...

Breaking Barking News...

For the first time in Spain a Judge has ordered a Man to give up custody of his dog as the accused was mal treating the dog . In addition to this 'Friends of the animals' have lodged an application to disqualify this person from ever having animals.

The judge has given custody of the dog to the  'Association of Grenada'

To read more about this case see link...

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Live Arico - Whats your point of view..?

2/9/2012 - Since writing this post Live Arico have now been closed down and the dogs are under the care of Fecapap and a new Refuge in Fasnai.

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The photos in this post  were sent to me by a volunteer who helps out  at the Live Arico rescue centre,  and one was originally posted on the Tenerife forum 

I recently visited the centre and I honestly have to say that the kennels and the dogs generally are in a bit of a sad state. Live Arico say that they are doing the best that they can with very limited recourses, but some people have expressed the opinion that it would be better for the dogs if the centre were to be shut down.

The purpose of this post is not to take sides, but to pose some questions for all those involved to think about carefully ...

1. Is it better for dogs to live in overcrowded (and potentially worse) conditions in rescue kennels, or are they better off on the street fending for themselves ?

2. if Live Arico were to be closed down, then where would the dogs go ? Presumably a lot of them would have too be put down, so is this a viable option ? nb of course some dogs from Live Arico do indeed find homes eventually.

3. Then there's the difficult and controversial issue of Euthanasia. Is it better to keep alive say an elderly dog with a terminal illness ? or a dog which is aggressive / potentially vicious and is very unlikely to find a home ? ... keeping it alive might well be detrimental to the other dogs in the kennels. Is it more cruel to keep a dog alive when it can have no real quality of life, than it is to 'put it to sleep' ?

So those are just a few of the difficult questions involved in this complex issue. Tenerife Dogs website aims to try and take a balanced point of view and puts the interests of the dogs above anything else. We would urge everyone to look for solutions that are in the dogs best interests, not to look for the negative but to facilitate positivity.

For instance, we would suggest that if anybody is thinking of getting a dog, adopting from Live Arico means one less dog living in difficult, overcrowded conditions.

Tenerife Dogs hopes to able to continue to support Live Arico by publicising fund-raising events and encouraging donations of time & money, so that conditions can be improved for the doggies, but we feel that it's our duty to raise issues which might not be very dog-friendly - as we have done in past stories here 

We would welcome your thoughts - you can post them in the comments section.

Quote from - Sue Havenhand, Vice President of live Arico (LAAP)

We at Live Arico are more than aware of the dire situation in the present location. It is not fit for the purpose and is overcrowded, which is why we have been desperately searching for a piece of land for some considerable time. Although this is now almost a reality, wheels turn very slowly here and all we can do is sit it out and wait. A further complication is that the refuge is now not even safe following a rock fall due to recent heavy rains.

Despite conditions at the refuge however, I still do not believe that dogs roaming the streets is a better option. At least with Eugenio they are fed and have a possibility of rehoming. Many of our dogs were sent to Germany for rehoming last year, and their happy end tales can be read on www.livearico.de , it is lovely to see them running in gardens and enjoying themselves.

Eugenio has provided a service to the Ayuntamientos in the south for several years, and is the first port of call for the police and authorities when dealing with abandoned animals, so he does have more animals than the other refuges, yet sadly has probably the worst location for a refuge.

We are currently working hard to bring about change, and we believe a change of location will be the beginning of a better situation for the dogs.

With regard to euthanasia, Live Arico shares the ethos of the Dogs Trust, who "never put a healthy dog to sleep".We thank Tenerife Dogs for bringing our plight to a wider audience, and can only say again, please consider a Live Arico dog for your pet.

Three convicted over dog -fighting in the UK

Breaking Barking News -

Three people have been convicted of running a dog fighting syndicate. The police said it was one of the largest cases of dog fighting in Europe. Chief inspector Ian Briggs said "Dog-fighting is a barbaric and cruel so-called sport which belongs in the Dark Ages and horrific suffering is caused to the dogs involved".

Too right its barbaric, hope they are never allowed to keep dogs again.

To read more of this news report click here

Chinese Fur Trade

Be warned the depiction of animal cruelty in the video link below is so horrible, you may not want to watch it ..!

I will explain what its about, the video depicts animals including dogs being skinned alive on a fur farm in china, they say its done to get a more perfect "cut". Some of the animals are still alive even after being skinned and their hearts pump for 5 or 10 minutes later. There was one pup, that still managed to lift his head and gaze at the camera with bloodied eyes

There are no regulations governing fur farms in China....The swiss animal protection investigators who secretly fimed this atrocity, found horrors beyond their worst imaginings and concluded,"Conditions on Chinese fur farms make a mockery of the most elementary animal welfare standards. In their lives and their unspeakable deaths, these animals have been denied even the simplest acts of kindness."

The only way to prevent such unimaginable cruelty is never to wear any fur - Take the pledge to never wear fur

Here is the link to the video

http://www.peta.org/feat/ChineseFurFarms/index.asp