Welcome to the SOS Website
LATEST NEWS – For latest news, click here
SOS is an animal charity, located on the Costa del Sol in southern Spain. The organisation was founded in 1997 and is funded entirely by donations and sponsorship. Our refuge is now home to over 80 animals. We seek to:
- provide a safe and caring environment for our animals
- rehabilitate dogs damaged by their experiences
- find loving homes in Spain and other European countries
- provide veterinary care
- neuter, microchip and vaccinate all our animals
- Click to learn more about us and our work
Every animal that comes through our gates receives the utmost care and affection. Our pledge is to never euthanase our animals unless it is absolutely essential and then only on veterinary advice. We are fortunate in having a sister organisation in Sweden that helps rehouse some of our animals Click to see Swedish Website.
Tony Byford to step down.
After 13 strenuous years our co-founder Tony Byford has decided to step down from day-to-day activities. To read more, click here.
PUPPIES RESCUED – now can you help?
Six lovely puppies saved in the nick of time as the owner was intent on destroying them. Can you help? For more details and picture – click here
URGENT NEWS
SOS, like so many other refuges is FULL – bursting at the seams in fact. At the moment, it is unlikely that we would be able to take any more dogs if you just turned up at the gate with one. If you are looking for somewhere to take a dog, please read the facts about our current problems by clicking here. You will also find some suggestions about what to to do BEFORE you bring a dog to us. Thanks for your understanding.
IMPORTANT NEWS
From Sandy Tash, SOS President, and Tony Byford, Vice-President
Moving home after 10 years is always hard work – especially if you add nearly 90 dogs to the mix! Well, at SOS Animal Refuge we have done just that. We moved from our home in La Atalaya into a new refuge in Churriana at the end of January.
Our new home is much more accessible and can be found just behind the Paraiso municipal dog pound on the Churriana Road (A7052, km 5 just behind the CEPSA petrol station). The move brings fresh challenges and gives us a fresh start, and we managed to pick a time which has seen the worst rainfall in Spain for decades – so everyone has been rather damp!
The closure of the road from Alhaurin el Grande to Fuengirola had made access to our old home hugely difficult for volunteers wanting to dog walk, for people wanting to bring water when the well ran dry or wanting to visit and maybe give a home to one of our dogs. Those difficulties were set to continue, but thanks to Irene Lawson, a friend of SOS, we now have our new refuge which we think will be so much easier to get to.
Our volunteers, both local and from Sweden, worked like Trojans to make the move happen as we dismantled pens and loaded dogs, kennels and materials so a huge thank-you must go to those who have put their backs into this mammoth task.
Volunteers Ronna and Brian Clark, Kate, Les Hemmings from TagsinSpain, Des Lawson, Steve Williams, Dan Carter, John Lincoln and his wife, Dave and Mark – we could not have done it without you and apologies to anyone missed off this list. Brian worked tirelessly to build new pens, so a special thanks to him. A big thank you too to those volunteers who defied the roadworks and continued to come to help walk and clean in our old home. We hope very much to see you again in the future.
Once we have settled we plan to develop a relationship with the Paraiso municipal pound to see if we can help reduce the number of animals that are put to sleep there by bringing as many as we can into our re-homing programme to Sweden, the UK and other European countries. And now we are so much more accessible to Churriana, Cartama and Coin we would love to hear from anyone who felt they could volunteer in any way – helping to clean pens, dog walk, and of course, help with fundraising. As soon as the weather improves we look forward to holding an open day so hope to see our supporters soon.
An Uncomfortable Truth
Most people don't know that municipal dog pounds in this part of Spain will only keep stray dogs for about 10 days. After this, they are killed by gassing – a distressing process. Without animal charities like S.O.S, there would be more dead animals on the roads, starving in the streets, or sitting on "death row" in one of these pounds. So, we are working hard to save and re-home as many as we can. See some of our success stories below.
And the successes keep coming
Despite these tough times many people do not cross the road when they see an abandoned dog. Lizzy, a little Podenco cross, is a good example. She was wandering around the La Trocha car park in Coin, and people had been putting food down for her but could not touch her because she was so scared. But finally hunger and exhaustion overcame her fear and she approached our webmaster Richard Joss's wife, Jean, and her friend Linda Burns.
Now Lizzy is settled in Lindaīs home and loves her new friend Hoppy, another rescue dog with three good legs.
We know that taking on a new dog brings with it the costs of microchipping, vaccinations and neutering. But we can and do help – if you can do what Linda has done, and provide a home, we at SOS, and CHAIN too (see links page) will support you and very much help with those costs.
And, thanks to the hard work of our volunteers, sponsors and pet-lovers everywhere, NINE more dogs have found new homes.
Bolsito, Ghandi, Ricco and Barnaby are all now successfully rehoused in Sweden. Bibi has a new home here in Spain. Miguel has been taken to live with Therese Rantzow (Joint Shelter Manager here in Spain). Glenda, after many years at SOS, is finally reserved and being prepared for Sweden.
After seven years at SOS, special case dog Bobby now lives with CHAINīS Steve and Wendy Kay, and is a good pal to Eva, also formerly of SOS, and the most recent addition to the family, puppy Max, found in a bin. Naomi, also featured on our Special Cases page has a wonderful new home in the UK.
There are still two more dogs available on our Special Cases Page and more will be added soon. Click here to read about them.
All in a day's work for the volunteers
Swedish volunteer Phillip, aged 19, has been taking it in turns with the other volunteers to feed tiny Ella the puppy from a tea spoon. Ella was found dumped at the side of the road in Guaro aged about four weeks.
Lucky Ella was a tough little girl despite her tiny size, and is now in a loving home in Sweden
Recent Success Stories
Some of the SOS pointer puppies lucky enough to find new homes have been busy settling down.
Sue in Alhaurin hands out the treats. A volunteer for ARCH, Sue has now given homes to two SOS dogs, and her elderly labrador loves them.
Young Jordan Sparkes, who helps out with ARCH in Alhaurin, is pictured with two members of his animal family.
Pepe and Rafa (he is wearing the red collar) now live with Christine and Phil near Monda and have given a new lease of life to their 13-year-old Staffie chum Jessica.
Huggable Barney was found abandoned at a gate with a bag of biscuits. He now lives with Phil and Zoe in Alhaurin and has been warmly welcomed by their other dogs.
A Double Success
In September last year, a volunteer from Sweden called Clara worked at the sanctuary for a week. A couple of months later, in November, Clara emailed Therese to say she had fallen in love with the twin brothers Jolly and Jimmy and she wanted to give one of them a home in Sweden with her.
These two brothers had been in SOS from young pups - nearly FIVE years. She sent Therese a picture so we could be sure which brother she actually wanted. We all used to get them mixed up they were so alike. It turned out to be Jolly who was the lucky dog – he has a brown spot on his head.
By December Jolly was on his way to Sweden and his wonderful new life. He adapted very quickly and Clara was delighted. Unfortunately, Jimmy, left behind at the refuge, pined for his brother. However, this July, Clara contacted Therese again to see if she could take Jimmy. We were all thrilled.
Gill took Jimmy, along with three other dogs, to Sweden at the end of August. What a reunion Jimmy had with his brother Jolly and how fantastic Jolly looked with his gleaming coat. Hopefully it won't be long before Jimmy looks just as good.
Heartwarming or what?
Heartwarming stories are a bit thin on the ground at the moment so this is one to share. SOS began its work 10 years ago – and at that time we took in our very first SOS rescue dog. Sally the Pointer had been found, aged about 2, cowering in the car park at Lidl in Fuengirola. She was hiding behind the bins while local children threw stones at her. Luckily she was rescued and brought to us.
Her experience made her very nervous, and as years went by she was overlooked by potential owners and became one of our sponsor dogs. She was happy enough but it looked like she would spend the rest of her life with us without ever knowing the love of a caring owner and the comfort of a home of her own.
But now, against all odds, Sally, and 8 year old spaniel Lily, have been given a home in Lake Vinuela and have already settled themselves on the sofa!
We have many older dogs who would love a home and make a wonderful pet. If you can help, click our Special Cases page to see some of these deserving dogs. Then contact us. And thanks to Sally's new owner, coincidentally called Sally! – for making this gentle pointer's remaining years happy ones.
We have many such success stories – Click here for more.
We try never to turn an animal away, especially if it has been abandoned or is suffering. This is an expensive commitment. We desperately need your help to continue our valuable work.
Can you help us in any way? There are many ways to help (not just financial). Click the Donate and Other Help buttons on the main menu to find out more.
The Costs of Caring
On arriving at the refuge every dog and puppy costs SOS 200 euros in basic medical costs. This covers neutering, vaccinations (including rabies) blood tests and microchipping. After that each animal costs 240 euros every six months in feeding costs, plus worming and flea treatment. Our long stay sponsor dogs cost 40 euros a month each. This of course does not include subsequent vets bills should we discover a medical condition that needs treatment.
The overall running costs for the refuge depend on the number of animals at any one time, but in the winter months, it costs around 550 Euros a week for rent, food, cleaning materials, electricity and so on. This does not include veterinary bills.
And Finally...
Thank you so much for visiting our web site – we hope you have found it interesting. If you would like to find out more about our work please contact us by email, or phone – just click on Contact Us in the main menu.
