After the meeting we had at on Tierra del sol.
With regards to Cereco and the collection of dogs in Calasparra. A friend and I decided to go to Cereco and see for ourselves what the dog pound was like and what happened to the dogs which were collected off the streets.
What happens is when Cereco picks them up they are taken to the dog pound in Crevellente. There they are checked as to whether they have been chipped and are assessed as to their temperament and any ailments they may have. The dog pound is clean, there is food and water is in the kennels and they are looked after.
As the dogs could have been lost, as many dogs are, they are kept for 21 days. After that time, if they are not claimed, one of two things can happen:
Firstly, there is a dog sanctuary, where there is a lady who has a rescue centre and she goes to the dog pound on a regular basis to take as many dogs she can rehome. Some are rehomed locally. There are some who go abroad Germany, France and the UK.
She is passionate about the dogs. She lives in the rescue centre where they are taken from the dog pound. She tries to take as many as she can. You can imagine the heartache she must go through to choose which dogs she can take. But she cannot take them all.
We went to her centre which is well kept, the dogs are in kennels very like the Battersea dogs home in the UK. They are all well fed and watered. There are dogs in single kennels and some have two or three in them.
There were two dogs there when we went that had had puppies a few weeks before. She said many of the puppies are adopted quite easily as she has lists of people who are looking for a certain type and gender of dog.
Last year she homed 280 dogs and puppies. Which is a credit to her and her hard work.
There were about 50 or 60 dogs at the rescue centre when we went.
As you know there are many, many dogs abandoned regularly all over Murcia and beyond.
As the Town Hall has a contract, with Cereco you can call them and they will come and collect the dogs. The Town Hall does not pay an amount for each dog which Cereco collects from the streets. It pays a yearly fee to Cereco for the service.
This was a great relief as we imagined all sorts if the puppies were sent to Cereco. It is not all doom and gloom.
The second thing that happens to the dogs if there is nothing else to be done is that they are are sadly put to sleep. But they are put to sleep humanly by injection and not gassed as we were led to believe. This is surely is better than them starving to death or a painful death with lieshmania.
We would love that no dogs are put to sleep but there is just no way they can all be kept. Until Spain changes its attitude with regards to dogs being spayed this is the reality. We are all sadly aware that the animal charities locally are always full to bursting.
As an animal lover myself I can recommend you going to Crevellente to see for yourself. We both gave a donation when we were there and she was very grateful. On the site you can donate one euro a month to help towards the costs.
You can go onto the site to see what the lady at the rescue centre does and/or email her with any questions. She will gladly answer them. She speaks English.
She loves people to go any time she is open. You don’t have to take my word for it you can go and see it for yourself. She is open 12 till 2 and in the evenings till 7 p.m. You don’t have to make an appointment.
I just wanted to tell people around Calasparra, the details about the dog collection service and the truth to dispel any rumours that are circulating
Thank you to Nexo for publishing this letter.
Tierra Del Sol resident.
