More success stories
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 Linda's 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 CHAIN'S 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 some 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
A successful Pointer (or several)
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.
Saskia
Saskia has lived at SOS for three years – she and her four siblings were brought to us as puppies and they had the toughest of starts. The pups developed distemper and it was touch and go whether they would survive. But they did – thanks to hard work by the vet and loving care and attention at the refuge.
Distemper can be deadly which is why it is so important to vaccinate against it. And when animals survive, the effect of the virus can be to leave them with slight nervous tics and discoloured teeth – and that's what happened to Saskia and her brothers and sisters.
It was nothing too drastic and all grew into large,loveable dogs with calm, gentle natures – but enough to put them to the back of the queue when new owners came to call. Until Now!
Tanja Tuntursvarra from Finland came to SOS a year ago determined to give an older dog a loving home.
It was a big success and she came again this year to the refuge and picked Saskia. Here she is on her way.
And here she is now exploring her new home and finding a comfy seat,as you can see from the picture (left). Tanja has emailed to say that this gentle handsome dog has settled down very well with her other dogs and all is well.
A big thank you too to Mrs Hilka Lavi-Plant from Finland, who lives on Miraflores Golf, on the coast. It would have cost us EUR500 to send Saskia solo on the Finnair Flight but because she was accompanied by "foster-mum" Mrs Lavi-Plant the trip cost just EUR100.
Jack's Story
Jack, a pointer cross, was found abandoned in the countryside three years ago and came to SOS. He has leishmania, a disease caused by the bite of an infected sandfly. A few years ago, this disease was difficult to deal with and almost certainly lead to death.
But veterinary advances mean that this horrible disease can be controlled. So the charity has been paying for Jack's treatment.
After three years it seemed unlikely that this charming, affectionate dog would ever find a home.
But we featured him on the Swedish website and now a family in Denmark have said they would like to take him.
Many thanks are due to Jack and Carol Talbot from the UK. They generously paid for the costs of preparing Jack for the trip to his new home.
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Tess, arrived with a very bad virus and had to be hospitalized for 7 days. She is now doing well, thanks to the dedicated care of all at SOS.
We try never to turn an animal away, especially if it has been abandoned or is suffering. This is an expensive job. We desperately need your help to continue our valuable work. Can you help us in any way? There are many ways to help :– Click the Donate and Other Help buttons.
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Hugo's Story
Hugo is a lurcher cross who was found abandoned on the hillside, probably by hunters. He still has a bullet in his back. He was brought to S.O.S with a smaller dog and the two were inseperable but sadly the smaller dog had to be put to sleep.
After spending a year at the refuge, Hugo was spotted by the step-son of one of our volunteers, who had come down to help with dog walking. A bond instantly formed, and after six months of preparing him for a new life in the UK, Hugo now lives in Sussex and was very excited to play in snow!
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The Costs of Caring
The costs of taking animals into our care and then looking after them on a daily business is considerable. Maybe more than you think. 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. In the summer, costs rise to 650 Euros when our well dries up and we have to have water delivered to the refuge.
