In the first four months of 2017 we have
rescued 636 dogs, not all of them came here to the shelter
in Medina del Campo, but many of them did. Here in Spain stray dogs are taken from
the streets in different ways. It can be done by municipal pounds, mainly in
big cities like Madrid, but normally this job is done by private
organisations. They could be animal
welfare organisations like us or any other kind of organisation. Normally the “other kind” are private
companies, looking only for money, not caring about animal welfare and trying
to do the job in the cheapest possible way to maximise profit. It means a lack of food, no care, no vet care,
21 days and then euthanasia. We, the Scooby people, from the beginning decided
that wherever there could be a chance to take those contracts we would, always
trying not to go to too many places so that the situation remains
manageable. This does mean quite a lot
of work, lots of paperwork (and the bureaucracy is always increasing) frequent
driving to pick up stray dogs who are not always easily approached. The revenue from the contract does of course
contribute but it is still less than one third of our annual income.
Why am I explaining this? Simply so that you can have an idea about
what is going on here and what we confront at the coalface day in and day
out: Four – five new dogs per day and this is every single day
of the year. Among these dogs we receive all kinds of dogs. We cannot refuse anyone and we don’t
selectively rescue, i.e. we do not take only the prettiest or the cutest - easy
to home. We take every dog in need,
including newborns abandoned in the streets and countryside. Here we have dogs that have killed humans the
hands of irresponsible and dysfunctional domestic owners, fighting dogs,
pregnant bitches and, of course, most of them are adorable dogs looking for a
second chance in life. Our main goal has
been always the benefit of them. Also
something we are very clear about is that a cage or confined kennel is not life
for anyone, humans or animals. It can be a golden prison but prison it is. So
we are absolutely clear that a life in those conditions is not a life and then
it is better to be dead, at peace.
And this is the crunch, often a contentious
point, this is our euthanasia policy. We
believe that euthanasia has a place in animal welfare. We euthanise dogs that
are aggressive to humans and dogs that are aggressive to other dogs. If a pregnant bitch comes into Scooby, we
spay her and we abort the puppies. All
of this is not pleasant but we must be realistic, we cannot accommodate another
6 - 8 dogs and we cannot home them as well as the shelter dogs who are already
here. Not being able to home them and
leaving them in a cage or a confined kennel is not a life. We have seen so many dogs going crazy in
confinement in a kennel that we just don´t want to see it with our dogs.
We realise this is contentious and not everyone
will agree. We are of the opinion that this
is the kindest approach and it is part of welfare. Every member of staff and volunteer is made
aware of our policy before they come to Scooby.
We recognise that we may lose supporters who do not agree with our
policy. While we are sorry to lose potential
help, donations and people who could contribute to changing life in Spain for
animals, then so be it because we have to think of the dogs and the bigger
picture. For those supporters who
respect our euthanasia policy and continue to be advocates for the shelter,
sending us equipment and items for the dogs, we are extremely grateful.
