Latest News
Abandoned dog needs home - can you help?
Currently being cared for on an emergency basis at Cat and Dog World in Alhaurin. We would like to keep him out of a long-term stay at SOS if at all possible. Can you help? Read more on the Home page by clicking on this link: Home for Ron
Two puppies need homes
Two 6 month old puppies (last of a litter of six) need homes. Can you help? Pictures and more information on the Home page. Click this link: Last of six.
Sponsor dog gets new home
Lovely news: one of our long stay sponsor dogs, Binfo, has a new home.
After over 4 years at SOS and seemingly with no chance, he starts a new life with Swedish volunteer Elin.
Click there to read the full story and see pictures of Binfo walking and swimming freely again.
Home for a German Shepherd puppy?
Denzel, only born in June, was found on a rubbish tip with his brother by a Spanish man. The man kept the other brother and Denzel was fostered by Ronna from SOS until he had all his injections. When found, he could hardly walk,or focus his eyes properly.
He is now at SOS refuge looking for a home. He is a lovely puppy who, thanks to all at SOS has been given a new chance in life. Can you help by giving him a permanent home?
Double success at SOS
Two happy bulldogs – one English and one French – find happy new homes as a result of the dedication of SOS staff and their Vets. Story and pictures halfway down the Home Page (just click on this link): Bulldogs' stories and page down halfway.
Pet Care News
Denise Whitehair (of Cat and Dog World Kennels and Cattery, Alhaurin El Grande fame) gives some timely advice about two issues. First, selecting a boarding kennel or cattery and, second, keeping an eye out for ticks – click here to read more
A Classic SOS Success Story
And now for a story which sums up SOS – its dedication to saving animals and finding them new homes. Nine months ago one of our volunteers found Kajsa beside the Churriana-Cartama road.
No longer young and desperately ill, she was taken into her home by the volunteer before being moved to the refuge when she was well enough.
To see how well she looks now and hear about how she has been rehomed in Sweden, click on this link. The story is half-way down the Home Page.
Sad News
We are so sad to report that one of our sponsor dogs, Liza, our gentle giant of a mastin, has died. Liza was with us so many years, she was the SOS mascot who pottered about spending quite a lot of time snoozing.
She had been rehomed but twice made her way back to us and was a happy and gentle soul to the end. Her best friend Sophie is coping but she's now a lost soul. She worshipped Liza. Over the years Liza found her way into the hearts of all our volunteers – she was a big presence and will be sadly missed.
Her death comes just a few weeks after Heather's brother Willie, who also featured on one of our sponsor certificates, had to be put to sleep following illness. Willie had been living at the home of SOS vice president Tony Byford.
URGENT NOTICE
We regret that the shelter is currently closed for new admissions until further notice. We have absolutely no available space and are beyond our limit. So please be aware that if you find a dog we will NOT be able to take it into the refuge at this time. Please try other shelters to see if they can help, failing that, please foster the animal yourself and keep in touch until we, or another shelter, are in a position to help. We apologise for this and hope you understand that this is not a decision taken lightly. We are happy to offer any guidance we can. (Please refer to our advice, lower down on this page, on what to do if you find a dog.)
Advice from Wayne our resident Vet
New laws have made it even more important that you complete the formalities of chipping and inoculating your puppies and dogs. Wayne explains why this is so important and makes the case, yet again, for neutering pets. Click to read the full article.
What to do if you find an abandoned dog
If you find an abandoned dog or puppies there are some steps we may have to ask you to take. Firstly, be aware that many abandoned or stray dogs are very nervous so take extra care if you are trying to catch one near a busy road. Frightened dogs have been known to run in front of oncoming traffic.
Secondly, if you pick up a dog do take it to a vet to check whether it is microchipped. You may be lucky enough to reunite a lost pet with its owner. If it is not microchipped ask the vet for advice. He may suggest contacting a refuge and that is where we and the other animal charities come in. BUT PLEASE BE AWARE - SOS and the other refuges are FULL. We will do our best to help but we CANNOT guarantee an immediate place.
We may have to ask you if you are prepared to foster the dog for possibly up to 6 weeks (and maybe longer).If you can we will try to help with feeding and vaccination costs. But it is a responsibility you will have to shoulder until we can make space available following the rehoming of one of our existing dogs. There are significant risks involved in putting too many dogs in one pen and we have to avoid overcrowding for the safety of the animals.
Puppies bring different problems. Apart from space, we have to avoid the risk of puppies bringing disease into the refuge, however healthy they look. If, for example, they develop Parvo it can sweep through the refuge, leading to high vet bills and potentially risking the lives of the dogs.
Again we would ask you to foster the puppies for some weeks, during which time they can be checked for diseases like Parvo and vaccinated. Again, we can help with this.
We do not have staff - we rely on a small team of overstretched volunteers who fit their work with SOS around jobs and family commitments. So you would have to be prepared to undertake the necessary visits to the vet for tests and vaccines ( or we could arrange for Wayne the English vet, to visit).
In a perfect world we would like to be able to immediately accept an animal when it is brought to us. But we have been overwhelmed by the rise in numbers of abandoned animals, we are constrained by the space available and our funds are tightly stretched, and, in common with the other charities, donations have been hit by the recession.
We do not put to sleep healthy animals and we do know just how important it is to protect animals in our care from the dangers of overcrowding. We do hope that you understand why we are not always able to step in straight away and would ask for your continued, valued support. Please contact Tony on 620 782 484 if you find yourself in this position.
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New Special Cases Page
On this new page we feature dogs that are suitable for re-homing, but for different reasons, have not yet found a home. For example, take our older residents – some have been with us since puppyhood and as they have got older, have been overlooked. But just like all the others, they want nothing more than a loving new home. For some people, giving a home to a dog in his or her later years could be the perfect answer – so if you could make an older dog happy, please contact us.
Here is one example. Binfo is 5 or 6 and has been at SOS for 3 years. He was an abandoned pet. He loves people and would make a fine pet for someone. He is a strong dog who loves walking and has a mad 10 minutes at the start of walks when he is ecstatic to be out and about.
Click on Dogs in the Main Menu then Special Cases to see more of these special dogs
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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.
