Good News (at last)
see the progress of our erstwhile wards in their new forever
homes. It looks like Tiny Tim is off to a great start.
On the first of February a European directive on animal
protection will enter Spanish law. Well done, you say.
Unfortunately, this directive was passed in Strasbourg on
November 13, 1987. That’s right, virtually all EU member states
turned this directive into national law at the time, 30 years ago.
Featured Dog of the Month: Marina
Marina is a female Podenco mix about eight months old. She
was found at the side of a road in Maro after being hit by a car
and left to die.
What happened to Spain? A charitable explanation is that the
average Spanish citizen probably had no idea that concerns
about animal welfare were widespread and well-known to their
fellow Europeans at the time. So who would benefit from
keeping the general public in the dark?
Her hip was broken and
she had some other
injuries to her body.
Afterwards, it was
discovered that she had
also suffered a ruptured
bladder. Marina
underwent a successful
operation but two days later she
suffered a twist in her intestine.
Amazingly, she survived two more
additional operations. After that she
was under a strict diet but now she is a
100% healthy dog looking for a loving
home.
One group would clearly be those who love watching animals
be tortured and call it culture. A second might be those people
who possibly love the family pet but have a strong economic
incentive to ignore the torture and slaughter of millions of
other animals. Another? How about those who believe that
animals have no souls and are thus beyond any consideration
as far as their “lives” are concerned.
So what were these lot fighting against, what beloved practices
will now become crimes? Well, “a ban on docking or removing
tails, cutting ears and de-clawing unless they are for purely
medical reasons”; also, slicing the ears of hunting hounds to
make them more aggressive. In fact, according to the new law,
sterilization is the only surgery that may be carried out on
domestic animals except for therapeutic measures.
Thanks to the phenomenal care
provided for her by CAS Committee
member Jo and her husband, Marina
Marina
is now a very happy girl with lots of
personality, she loves to cuddle and
play. She is good with other dogs and cats, fine on lead and
house-trained. Marina’s vaccinations are up to date, she is
chipped, has a passport and is sterilized. All that is needed now
is for her to find her forever home to make this what will
certainly be one of the great stories of the year.
On the positive proactive end, this law requires authorities to
actively promote dogs and cats being sterilized. This is still a
hard sell in Spain for reasons too embarrassing to enumerate.
So, the law is now on the books. Will it be enforced? It is up to
the public to demand that this law is acted on and to hold the
authorities’ feet to the fire.
Punta Lara CAS Quiz
Happy Tales
Mark and the gang at the Punta Lara Bar are pleased to
announce the next CAS quiz being held on February 16 at
7.30pm. All regular quizzers and newcomers alike are welcome
to test their grey matter and join Quiz Hostess Laura for a fun
evening. Food and drinks are available at the bar and advanced
booking is recommended by calling Mark at 635 369 673.
Tiny Tim and Nina finally went to
their Scandinavian homes in
January after spending several weeks
going through the rigorous
preparation process required for
dogs relocated this Norway.
Meanwhile
Rosie is still
waiting for
her blood
test results
to come
Tiny Tim
back from
the lab
before a flight can be booked for her
to start her new life. When rehoming
animals, it always gives the Costa
Animal Society (CAS) great pleasure to
Available for Adoption
Humphrey is a wonderfully good
natured, fun loving Podenco. He loves
to play and even entertains himself with
toys but also gets along great with other
dogs. Humphrey always looks like he
has a smile on his face and will always
come up to you for cuddles. He is a
medium size male, is a good example of
a wire-haired Podenco who weighs
about 20 kilos and is about three years
old. Humphrey is castrated, fully
48
Humphrey