# Horrific - please read & sign if you can



## donz (May 5, 2010)

Hey peeps, sorry to upset your evenings, but please see the attached on our blog and sign the petition on the link given if you wouldn't mind giving up a few minutes

Dogs are being gassed to be PTS instead of euthanised by injection because of cost - sickening :sad::Cry:

Now I can't say how accurate the email itself is but I know the gassing is correct. This email came from one of the Rescue Centre's we work with but who's to say if somebody really did write that or if it is a sympathy call - all I can say is the gassing part IS true so your help would be appreciated

Cheers all


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## donz (May 5, 2010)

thought it might help to put the links on durrrr

Gassing!

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/dogs-and-cats-being-gassed-in-spain/


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

donz said:


> Hey peeps, sorry to upset your evenings, but please see the attached on our blog and sign the petition on the link given if you wouldn't mind giving up a few minutes
> 
> Dogs are being gassed to be PTS instead of euthanised by injection because of cost - sickening :sad::Cry:
> 
> ...


How sad and horrible. I wish there was an equivalent to the PDSA here that would offer free neutering. Few people can afford 50 or 100 euros to have a dog neutered and these days people are squeamish about drowning the puppies at birth, so they just get abandoned to their fate alongside the unwanted Christmas presents. 

We had several dozen strays rounded up and euthanised lhere last month, including galgos (greyhounds) who chase and occasionally disembowel cats (I have seen the evidence). They also run in front of cars in our narrow streets and cause accidents.

Although it must be soul destroying to do this work, until animal owners are forced to behave more responsibly it is hard to see what alternatives there are. Individual injections are expensive; at a time of crisis, when the Junta is expected to cut back on everything, where does the money come from? And carbon monoxide doesn´t actually lead to a "slow and painful death" - it just sends them into a sleep they don´t wake up from. 

Fines for allowing dogs to foul the pavement (oh no not dog poo again!), or to run around unsupervised, should be enforced more rigorously and the money used for more humane euthanisation. I would sign a petition proposing that.


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## Seb* (Mar 22, 2009)

Sadly this is going on all over spain for years now and has nothing to do with the current economic crisis. And as sad and distressing it is, I don't see it change any time soon - an internet petitition won't change it in this country.

If you want to help the situtation I strongly recommend to help one of the many animal charities all over spain, who actively work on getting animals out of those death centres before they get killed (there is a grace period they have to keep caught animals before they are allowed to kill them - not that they would get fed or watered in many cases). Most animal charities actively work on getting stray animals neutered or run kennels, where they don't kill after one week. IMO this is the only way to ease the dire situation.


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## donz (May 5, 2010)

absolutely Seb, I know at least one rescue where they go into the 'vets' once a week to select (for want of a better word) the dogs that a) they have room for and b) who have the best chance of being rehomed - the rest are put to sleep.

The rescues here are doing as good a job as poss but by raising more awareness etc we can only aim to ease the suffering that little bit more 

We ourselves are attempting to start a change in the thought process and way dogs are treated here but this is a long rd and tiny steps are being made - always good but a big change is a way away yet :confused2:


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## nigele2 (Dec 25, 2009)

I am sympathetic to any call for better animal treatment. However the material offered in relation to this petition seems rather emotive and short on facts. 

Can you offer or point to any response to Alcalaina's words ?

"it is hard to see what alternatives there are. Individual injections are expensive; at a time of crisis, when the Junta is expected to cut back on everything, where does the money come from? And carbon monoxide doesn´t actually lead to a "slow and painful death" - it just sends them into a sleep they don´t wake up from."

I just feel gassing maybe better than leaving the strays to roam. I'm not sure attacking the authorities telling them to spend more is going to prove helpful when there are people going without.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

This is a Europe-wide issue of course, and there is some new EU legislation going through concerning the welfare, breeding and sale of companion animals. 
FOUR PAWS

So pester your MEP and make sure this is taken seriously!


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

nigele2 said:


> I am sympathetic to any call for better animal treatment. However the material offered in relation to this petition seems rather emotive and short on facts.
> 
> 
> I just feel gassing maybe better than leaving the strays to roam. I'm not sure attacking the authorities telling them to spend more is going to prove helpful when there are people going without.


What is described in this blog from Andalucia is horrible, just horrible.
I am not unsympathetic to this either, and certainly would not like to see my or any other dog suffer unecessarily, but think the emphasis should be put more on the who, how, what of pet ownership in the first place.
And , please don't believe that in the UK everyone treats their pets better than in other countries. It just isn't true.
BBC - Press Office - Panorama: Battersea Dogs & Cats Home puts down record number of dogs

Quotes from the article 


> Last year a third of all dogs taken in by *Battersea Dogs & Cats Home* were put down





> Taking in lost and unwanted animals cost Battersea Dogs & Cats Home £11 million in 2009





> Panorama sent freedom of information requests to all 445 local authorities in the UK which deal with stray dogs.
> It's the law to keep the figures and respond promptly – but though given ample time, barely over half the councils answered all our questions. 82 didn't reply at all.
> Just using figures from the full responses, there were over 69,000 stray dogs across the UK last year. Just over 6,000 were destroyed. So the complete picture will be much worse.


Etc, etc


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

I'm currently President of our animal rescue centre. Our policy is to put down only those dogs whose quality of life is nil and are actively suffering because of illness and injury. We have dogs that have been with us for years.
When we put our dogs down the vet first puts them to sleep then when they are asleep administers the lethal injection. I have been present on one of therse occasions and our dog was stroked, cuddled and showed no distress. My co-worker, myself and the vet were in tears afterwards.
The vet must have carried out this procedure hundreds of times but she still felt such emotion.
Now....we are full to the point where we can take no more dogs as if we ram them into overcrowded pens they will turn on each other and some may die a much more painful death.
If we turn people with dogs they no longer want away they may well turn to one of these 'killing stations'.
I personally found the report too emotional and 'fanciful' to be totally true but it has disturbed me sufficiently to find out more for myself, possibly by visiting any facility that is near to us.
The root of the problem is the casual attitude people have to dogs. They are living beings, ffs, not objects to be thoughtlessly given as Christmas presents to soon be tired of.
We charge 10 euros to neuter dogs. Nothing. The cost of a pack of cigarettes.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Pesky Wesky said:


> What is described in this blog from Andalucia is horrible, just horrible.
> I am not unsympathetic to this either, and certainly would not like to see my or any other dog suffer unecessarily*, but think the emphasis should be put more on the who, how, what of pet ownership in the first place*.
> 
> 
> Etc, etc


How true. We operate on a shoestring budget and do our best but all our funds comes from the public and those who become members.
You would be amazed at how people treat dogs.
We had a dog left at our refugio door which had had its microchip cut out by the owner to prevent us tracing him/her.......
We also try to get into schools etc. to educate the public but we are a small organisation with a huge job on our hands.


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

As animal lovers this story has caused us much distress but I can only echo what others have said and say that I cannot see the situation changing for a very long time. It is changing but very very slowly. We heard today that owners who allowed their dogs to foul in a street in Nerja were fined up to 300 euros (laughably the amount of fine was said to be dependent on the size of the poo!!!) and we have spoken to several Spaniards who told us they were fed up with owners allowing dogs to run free and cause problems. Our local animal charity, Costa Animal Sanctuary are fighting a losing battle with stray dogs and cats but they do the best they can. We arrived here with four cats, although sadly one of them died the day of our arrival, and since then we have 'adopted' four nearly identical tabby kittens, all of whom arrived at our doorstep on different days, weeks apart. CAS are helping us to have them neutered and spayed (2 males and 2 females who are already showing an unhealth interest in each other) so we are sharing the cost. They use a vet who does the work for half his usual fee. But where we live there are literally hundreds of un-neutered cats and the proble grows worse every few months. We really thought our days of cat litter trays were well and trully behind us but, alas, not to be and the sweet perfume of cat poo is something we hate. Strangely, when we go out for the day we always put the kittens out in the hope that they might learn to use the huge litter tray outside, but no, they wait for our return, run in and poop - usually twice each within 20 minutes. Yuk!! Then they go out again.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

thrax said:


> As animal lovers this story has caused us much distress but I can only echo what others have said and say that I cannot see the situation changing for a very long time. It is changing but very very slowly. We heard today that owners who allowed their dogs to foul in a street in Nerja were fined up to 300 euros (laughably the amount of fine was said to be dependent on the size of the poo!!!) and we have spoken to several Spaniards who told us they were fed up with owners allowing dogs to run free and cause problems. Our local animal charity, Costa Animal Sanctuary are fighting a losing battle with stray dogs and cats but they do the best they can. We arrived here with four cats, although sadly one of them died the day of our arrival, and since then we have 'adopted' four nearly identical tabby kittens, all of whom arrived at our doorstep on different days, weeks apart. CAS are helping us to have them neutered and spayed (2 males and 2 females who are already showing an unhealth interest in each other) so we are sharing the cost. They use a vet who does the work for half his usual fee. But where we live there are literally hundreds of un-neutered cats and the proble grows worse every few months. We really thought our days of cat litter trays were well and trully behind us but, alas, not to be and the sweet perfume of cat poo is something we hate. Strangely, when we go out for the day we always put the kittens out in the hope that they might learn to use the huge litter tray outside, but no, they wait for our return, run in and poop - usually twice each within 20 minutes. Yuk!! Then they go out again.


We have almost two hundred dogs now, many more than we can accommodate as we would wish......as for cats, that's also a problem.
We have a separate branch that takes in and neuters stray cats and they are full to bursting point.
My OH feeds our local strays on a patch of ground near some flats. She always makes sure no food is left to attract rats and mice etc. A couple of weeks ago she was pelted with stones and threatened by a fat English slob who told her he would poison the cats as they were 'filthy'. (Amusingly, he also told her in a Geordie accent to ''Go back where you come from' - which is Glasgow, actually'.)
Needless to say she continues to feed the cats. It seems English slob and equally slobby wife were here on holiday....


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

"A couple of weeks ago she was pelted with stones and threatened by a fat English slob who told her he would poison the cats as they were 'filthy'. (Amusingly, he also told her in a Geordie accent to ''Go back where you come from'.)
Needless to say she continues to feed the cats. It seems English slob and equally slobby wife were here on holiday...."

So hopefully they will go home and re-infect wherever it is they came from. It was exactly that kind of loutish behaviour that helped us decide to move here - of course it exists here to but nothing like as much


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

thrax said:


> "A couple of weeks ago she was pelted with stones and threatened by a fat English slob who told her he would poison the cats as they were 'filthy'. (Amusingly, he also told her in a Geordie accent to ''Go back where you come from'.)
> Needless to say she continues to feed the cats. It seems English slob and equally slobby wife were here on holiday...."
> 
> So hopefully they will go home and re-infect wherever it is they came from. It was exactly that kind of loutish behaviour that helped us decide to move here - of course it exists here to but nothing like as much




Yes, they did lower the tone somewhat
And this happened a few days after I learned that a Mafia hit-squad killing had taken place two minutes from our villa in our 'respectable' neighbourhood


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

thrax said:


> "A couple of weeks ago she was pelted with stones and threatened by a fat English slob who told her he would poison the cats as they were 'filthy'. (Amusingly, he also told her in a Geordie accent to ''Go back where you come from'.)
> Needless to say she continues to feed the cats. It seems English slob and equally slobby wife were here on holiday...."
> 
> So hopefully they will go home and re-infect wherever it is they came from. It was exactly that kind of loutish behaviour that helped us decide to move here - of course it exists here to but nothing like as much




Yes, they did lower the tone somewhat
And this happened a few days after I learned that a Mafia hit-squad killing had taken place two minutes from our villa in our 'respectable' neighbourhood
I should have said in my previous post that OH is feeding the cats with the object of getting them tame enough to catch and neuter.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

mrypg9 said:


> How true. We operate on a shoestring budget and do our best but all our funds comes from the public and those who become members.
> You would be amazed at how people treat dogs.
> We had a dog left at our refugio door which had had its microchip cut out by the owner to prevent us tracing him/her.......
> We also try to get into schools etc. to educate the public but we are a small organisation with a huge job on our hands.


Yes, I think I probably would be amazed mrypg9.

The idea of going into schools is great, although very time consuming on your part. However, although, I really do think it's a great idea to go to schools, it's the adults who do the buying and more to the point usually the abandoning of pets, so going to any adult collective is also an idea although I don't know how feasible. Perhaps go to the local Town Hall to see if you can be outside their premises with a table or visit an old people's day centre or church group???
It's a bit like when primary school kids have all these talks about recycling and eating well when it's not them who do the recyling or the shopping. Of course they've got to know about it, but educating the parents as well is essential.


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

I love the people of Spain, in general I think they are great people and I love living here but their general views on animals, particularly dogs does disgust me. Don´t get me wrong, many Spaniards treat their pets like the average brit would, but a huge proportion see dogs as material things rather than living, breathing creatures with emotions and feelings.

I have three big dogs (one is a rotty , the most loving beautiful dog i have ever had the privelidge to own) but every day I get spaniards crossing the road to avoid him in the street. Those that know him stop to pet him and he laps it up like a baby.

Mary, you are right.. eductaion in schools is a great way forward. I also think they should ban pet shops from selling dogs. As some of you may know, this is where we gto the rotty... despite me being against pet shop dogs, and not wanting to fuel the business, he was alone for 2 weeks and I couldn't help feel he would end up living outside as a guard dog until he was too old them being released into the wild... so I bought him. But, despite rotties being ¨perros peligrosos¨the shop just took my money and handed me the dog. No questions about where I live, what experience I have owning dogs etc. They didnt even ask to see my ID.

Thankfully I am an experienced dog owner and know several people with rotties, so I knew exactly what I was getting into and what would be required to develop him into a good adult well rounded dog.

Every day people buy little puppies because they look cute, don´t have a clue what to do, and when they are a little bit older they dump them. Its the pet shops that significantly fuel this inevitable death for so many of the poor things.

Only last week I was in Carrefour and saw two young lads, probably in their late teens buying a boxer pup... whilst It is wrong to pass judgement... I wonder where that little thing will end up in 12 months time...


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Yes, I think I probably would be amazed mrypg9.
> 
> The idea of going into schools is great, although very time consuming on your part. However, although, I really do think it's a great idea to go to schools, it's the adults who do the buying and more to the point usually the abandoning of pets, so going to any adult collective is also an idea although I don't know how feasible. Perhaps go to the local Town Hall to see if you can be outside their premises with a table or visit an old people's day centre or church group???
> It's a bit like when primary school kids have all these talks about recycling and eating well when it's not them who do the recyling or the shopping. Of course they've got to know about it, but educating the parents as well is essential.


Yes, I take on board what you say but talking to the young does no harm and may do some good, although my years spent in education have given me a somewhat cynical view of its potential.. 
Our organisation is also involved in talking to the groups you mention.
It does take up time but time is something I have plenty of.
Steve....agree with every word you wrote.
I doubt whether those dogs sold commercially will ever be registered, chipped, vaccinated, neutered etc. 
Currently we have seven gorgeous Podenco pups, a few weeks old, if anyone in our area is interested. They are just lovely. We would have one but Our Little Azor would be very jealous.
For 120 euros you get dog plus passport, chip, vaccinations, neutering and if you need it one free dog-training session.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

mrypg9 said:


> We charge 10 euros to neuter dogs. Nothing. The cost of a pack of cigarettes.


Do you get many Spanish locals taking advantage of this service? Is it promoted (in Spanish) locally, somewhere where they might see it?

Round here it is 50€ minimum, nobody can afford it.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

mrypg9 said:


> Yes, I take on board what you say but talking to the young does no harm and may do some good, although my years spent in education have given me a somewhat cynical view of its potential..
> Our organisation is also involved in talking to the groups you mention.
> It does take up time but time is something I have plenty of.
> .


Oh, I agree, it's not that going to schools is a waste of time. It's exactly what you say, does no harm and might do some good. I didn't know that some refuge places did work like this and I think it's a very worthwhile project.



> Steve....agree with every word you wrote.
> I doubt whether those dogs sold commercially will ever be registered, chipped, vaccinated, neutered etc.


I didn't know that. I though that buying from a shop you were given more guarantees than buying privately. Our dog was a present (that we had asked for) bought from a Basque farm, and at 17 is the only dog we've ever had, so I don't have much experience of buying dogs from other places.


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

Pesky Wesky said:


> I didn't know that. I though that buying from a shop you were given more guarantees than buying privately. Our dog was a present (that we had asked for) bought from a Basque farm, and at 17 is the only dog we've ever had, so I don't have much experience of buying dogs from other places.


Actualyl we got a "guarantee" with the pup... "if he is sick return him in 7 days for a refund, or if you use OUR recomended vet we will pay the bill".

Their recomended vet gave him clean bil of health despite him having an under**** jaw that needed clsoe monitoring... thank god I changed to a decent vet! 

The 1st Jab had been done when we got him too... but nevertheless I would not buy another in a pet shop... its a cruel business...


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## Caz.I (Mar 21, 2009)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Yes, I think I probably would be amazed mrypg9.
> 
> The idea of going into schools is great, although very time consuming on your part. However, although, I really do think it's a great idea to go to schools, it's the adults who do the buying and more to the point usually the abandoning of pets, so going to any adult collective is also an idea although I don't know how feasible. Perhaps go to the local Town Hall to see if you can be outside their premises with a table or visit an old people's day centre or church group???
> It's a bit like when primary school kids have all these talks about recycling and eating well when it's not them who do the recyling or the shopping. Of course they've got to know about it, but educating the parents as well is essential.


Well another idea would be to talk to your local AMPA (Parents association in schools) organisation. In my son's school, they often organise talks for the parents and the town hall also organise various talks on a larger scale in the "Casa de la Cultura".


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## nigele2 (Dec 25, 2009)

Mary I wouldn't be too quick to undervalue the work you might do in schools. The young are perceptive and can be very strong influences in any household. And they have 80 years of dog buying potential in front of them; the parents much less 

I know that getting the message across to the spanish is harder than in the UK but one convert might influence another ten and ....... It's a long road but do not weaken .

Steve appreciate you are a good dog owner but people being wary of a rotty or similar I think is a good thing. We have an owner in our UK village - the guy is a highly strung thug who gets aggressive if anyone looks at his dog. The fact that such people need a potentially vicious dog I think is of concern. If you see a rotty by the time you assess the owner it might be too late. The other side of the street might seem unfriendly but I think logical


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## donz (May 5, 2010)

nigele2 said:


> The fact that such people need a potentially vicious dog I think is of concern.


I presume you are aware that all dogs have teeth and they all have the potential to be vicious?

Are you also aware that the majority of dog bites in the UK (sorry I know we are in Spain but not a lot of research here yet) in the last several years have been caused by.....Jack Russells! Yes! Yet it's the 'scary looking' ones that continue to get the bad press and not the small and fluffies such as chihuahua's and those dogs that are kept like children and not dogs. The police are also naff at a decent reaction to these dogs acting aggressively on the street yet if they even saw a Staffie pulling hard on the lead, they will stop the owner.

Of course there are breeds that have the tools to do that bit more harm because they have a stronger jaw or they have been raised in a certain way - but only if it had reason to do so - same as any dog.

Not having a go here, please don't take this the wrong way but I am sick to death of hearing about 'I don't like X because they COULD do this'  Either make it ALL dogs or not if this is going to be said. On a seperate note I appreciate if you have had a bad experience with a certain breed that could be a different kettle of fish. I know more Rotties, Dobermanns, Staffies, Boerbels & German Shepherds that have the best temperaments and do some real good work than what many would class as 'normal' breeds. 

And why? Because these owners care. They understand that if they let their dog get bored then he will go self employed. They understand that if he has a behaviour they find unacceptable then they go and get help for it so it doesn't escalate - or at the very least it becomes a management situation. 

There will always be the idiots out there that have dogs for bad purposes and this is never going to go away but at the same time I find those people that have their dogs in a handbag, or a pram, or under their arm all the time are doing just as much damage to their furry friend and 'potentially' the public 

I nearly had my arm bitten at some pedestrian lights the other day when I stood next to a woman with a Min Pin in a seemingly normal handbag and it did its pieces at me! Couldn't see where the noise was coming from because it's colour blended in with her coat and the bag so I was quite lucky that the lights changed just before I realised where the dog was!


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## jimenato (Nov 21, 2009)

mrypg9 said:


> We charge 10 euros to neuter dogs. Nothing. The cost of a pack of cigarettes.


I don't understand. Are you saying that if someone brings their dog to you, you will get it neutered for 10 Euros? Does that include *****es? Oh, ok then, lady dogs?


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

donz said:


> I presume you are aware that all dogs have teeth and they all have the potential to be vicious?
> 
> Are you also aware that the majority of dog bites in the UK (sorry I know we are in Spain but not a lot of research here yet) in the last several years have been caused by.....Jack Russells! Yes! Yet it's the 'scary looking' ones that continue to get the bad press and not the small and fluffies such as chihuahua's and those dogs that are kept like children and not dogs. The police are also naff at a decent reaction to these dogs acting aggressively on the street yet if they even saw a Staffie pulling hard on the lead, they will stop the owner.
> 
> ...


I agree... I understand Nigels point but I agree with you. My Rottie ignors people who pass us in the street, and if anyone does stop for a chat he sits and waits patiently for a pat on the head. The local village chewawah (is that how you spell it) is the one who scares me to death, literally pulling at the lead to attack every passer by.

To own my rottie I had to apply for a dangerous dogs licence. I understand this... if a snappy little thing really wanted to kill you it would be easier to fight it off.. a rottie has power and if it so wished he could kill... but to obtain my licence I had to undergo a CRB check, I had to also undergo a psychological assesment, register him and me with local and national police and pay a chunk of cash for the priveledge. In order for him to them walk without a muzzle I had to pay for him to undergo a personality test with a approved vet...during this the vets aim was to assess him, and really push him to the limit to ensure that he did not relatiate and attack.

My point is that hardly any owners of large dogs bother with this process... perhaps if everyone did then it would eliminate the irrespoinsible dog owners, and also reassure members of the public that although its a big dog, the owner is responsible and knows what he is doing..

When I bought the dog what saddened me is that the shop didnt even tell me about this licence... they took the money and asked nothing! The busineses have a responsibillity here just as much as the dog owners.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

steve_in_spain said:


> The local village chewawah (is that how you spell it) is the one who scares me to death, literally pulling at the lead to attack every passer by.


It's chihuahua, after a place in Mexico where they apparently come from. But I kind of like chewawah - it describes them very well!

Does anyone here watch _Malas Pulgas_ - the Spanish equivalent to Cesar Millan the Dog Whisperer? It's on primetime Spanish TV and hopefully will help a lot to convince people that there is no such thing as a problem dog, just problem owners!

MALAS PULGAS en Cuatro.com


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## Val43 (Feb 8, 2011)

PAWS a charity, work in the Mojacar/Turre area an animal charity that helps owners and their animals and strays but they rely on donations and volunteers.
A lot of the strays here are abandoned by the English when they return to the UK, this coupled with a weird Andalucian mentality towards animals -and people for that matter, makes the bad treatment of pets here everybodys fault and problem.


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## nigele2 (Dec 25, 2009)

donz said:


> I presume you are aware that all dogs have teeth and they all have the potential to be vicious?


But I was referring to the owners. The thug with the rotty can do me damage. The little old lady even with the protection of a teeth bearing chihuahua is extremely unlikely to 

However a more than 25 years study in the USA concludes:

According to the Clifton study, pit bulls, Rottweilers, Presa Canarios and their mixes are responsible for 74% of attacks that were included in the study, 68% of the attacks upon children, 82% of the attacks upon adults, 65% of the deaths, and 68% of the maimings. In more than two-thirds of the cases included in the study, the life-threatening or fatal attack was apparently the first known dangerous behavior by the animal in question. Clifton states: 

If almost any other dog has a bad moment, someone may get bitten, but will not be maimed for life or killed, and the actuarial risk is accordingly reasonable. If a pit bull terrier or a Rottweiler has a bad moment, often someone is maimed or killed--and that has now created off-the-chart actuarial risk, for which the dogs as well as their victims are paying the price.

Even if you believe the guy is only half right I would have thought walking on the other side of the street a very sensible precaution, especially if you are responsible for children.


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## donz (May 5, 2010)

I cannot comment on that study as I don't have access to it but there is always something to question in these unfortunately.

Don't get me wrong, I am not pro 'fighting' dogs or anything else. I work with dogs. We have experience in this.

Sadly, it is the people with all the other breeds that are 'just' nipping me when I go near his food bowl, or hiding from the kids that just don't get it, and are the FIRST to scream blue murder when the dog DOES bite saying 'well he's never shown any sign of that before'! HE HAS! MILLIONS OF TIMES!

I agree that there are breeds that have stronger tools to do more damage, but what about the Great Dane, the Newfie, the Afghan. I don't hear anybody mentioning Collies and the ******s that they are!!!.

The Presa's, Pits, Rotts, Dobies can do the same damage sure. As I say, it is the way they are raised and the way they are handled. I have more concern over here about the handbag dogs than the Staffies etc. The campo dogs aren't fabulous either but then that's usually because they are left to fend for themselves after 4 weeks of age. So many of my clients come here saying they got their dog from a pet shop, or found on the side of the road way before the time they should have left their mum and this causes serious issues later on.

Steve you are spot on. Rarely do people register their dogs. One guy said to me it was because it meant only he could then walk it and nobody else!

Anyway, I could rant all day (as you can probably tell!)


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## nigele2 (Dec 25, 2009)

Donz believe it or not I agree with what you are saying. I'm just pointing out why Steve or any other owner of an outwardly looking very strong dog should not be offended by people walking on the other side of the street. They are simply taking sensible precautions.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Alcalaina said:


> Do you get many Spanish locals taking advantage of this service? Is it promoted (in Spanish) locally, somewhere where they might see it?
> 
> Round here it is 50€ minimum, nobody can afford it.


I was wrong, it's 25 euros. But the 120 euros includes that plus passport, chip, vaccinations.
Our clientele is mainly Spanish, I'd say. We don't advertise too widely as our vets work for very reduced rates and there is only so much we can ask them to do.
We are currently engaged in rethinking our fundraising and education strategy.
We do not operate in the Marbella area so our clientele is not that wealthy, although Sotogrande is in our 'patch'.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

jimenato said:


> I don't understand. Are you saying that if someone brings their dog to you, you will get it neutered for 10 Euros? Does that include *****es? Oh, ok then, lady dogs?


No, I got it wrong (see earlier post).
The polite word is 'hembra'


We are thinking of paying you a visit for lunch then walking Our Little Azor along the river. Maybe in the first week of March.


As for people's reactions to lasrge dogs: it's understandable. Our Little Azor is sweet and gentle - JoJo has met him - but he is a very large Rhodesian Ridgeback weighing in at 54 kilos of muscle (see photos in My Album). It's sensible to be wary. He is gentle but how do strangers know that? There are far too many irresponsible dog owners about, sadly.
We always tell people who look apprehensive that he isn't aggressive but it p****s me off when people ask 'Does he bite?'
I always reply: 'Yes, like you he has teeth and can bite. But he won't bite you...unless you act aggressively towards me. Then he will kill you'.


I don't actually say that last bit.....


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

nigele2 said:


> Donz believe it or not I agree with what you are saying. I'm just pointing out why Steve or any other owner of an outwardly looking very strong dog should not be offended by people walking on the other side of the street. They are simply taking sensible precautions.


I do agree, but I maintan that if they clamped down to ensure all owners of ANY dog were more responsible, particularly powerful ones then people would feel more at ease...

Anyway back to the subject.... its barbaric that the dogs are being put down in this way... The problem of too many dogs needs addressing of course but the authorities really need a kick up the arse about how they do handle the over crowded "pounds"... OK its sad that dogs will have to be put to sleep but surely there is no need for these terrible 3rd world conditions.

I read in a local paper a few months ago that one of the pounds round here is terribly filthy... one member of staff who is only part time, feces everywhere and the kennels bleached out with dogs still in it... when the time comes for the lethal jab the dogs are suspended by their collars onto their hind legs by a chain that hangs from the ceiling and then injected.... WHY OH WHY! Benidorm council recently spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on new crappy roundabouts that quite frankly look cheap and naff... they should really prioritise where money gets allocated to!


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