Over 80 people celebrated at the APAA’s (Associação de Protecção Animal do Algarve) recent World Animal Day party. The association, which is linked with the UK’s RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), raised an estimated 400 euros on the day from their charity shop and bric-a-brac stalls, which will go towards spaying, treatment and food for abandoned dogs.
However, this will be the last time the association celebrates World Animal Day in its current location. Although the APAA has long been known for its generosity towards abandoned animals in the Algarve, it is being forced to leave its current premises by June 2005.
APAA founder, Linda Pixley, is already working hard to find a new home for the sanctuary and to reduce the number of dogs living in the kennels. So she was grateful when Marius Donker, from Action Against Poisoning, introduced her to the SOS Strays organisation.
The association’s aim is to improve the welfare of strays in countries around the world. For example, SOS Strays took abandoned dogs off the streets of Athens, sterilised and re-homed them before the start of the Greek Olympics this year.
Linda has been working closely with the association to find homes for abandoned dogs in the Algarve. “If that means sending them to another country that is what has to be done,” Linda explained. She already has experience of re-homing animals abroad and has sent animals to the UK using the pet passport scheme.
So far, the SOS Strays and APAA collaboration has proved to be a success. Several dogs have already found loving foster families in Germany. Heike Reuteberg, from Clínica Forel in Espiche, has also helped the APAA to find new homes for its dogs, giving the association several contacts for kennels in Germany. Some dogs are already living there until they find the loving home they need and, only recently, Linda took 10 more dogs to live in one of the kennels.
In the meantime, the APAA is desperately looking for a new home for its kennels. It currently has 86 dogs, but Linda says she hopes to reduce that number to 30 with the help of SOS Strays and other organisations in the Algarve.
If you have a piece of land that might be suitable, or know someone who can help, please call or fax Linda Pixley on 282 471 347, 919 368 726 or email on pixley@clix.pt.
