From Fermin.

‘We collaborate with 10 – 15 partners internationally who help us fromtime to time to home our rescued dogs and cats in their countries. This is much needed because it is impossible for us to home dogs and cats in significant number in Spain. Shelters like ours cannot operate without international adoptions.

We, like our adoption artners and fellow shelters around the globe, are witnessing a decline in home offers. We have noticed this trend over the years since 2019/20 and attributed it to the many pets homed during the COVID period. But it is a continuing trajectory and we suspect there may be more to it than a simple glut. It is now so acute that we cannot rescue as many dogs and cats as in prior years or indeed those now in adversity because our refuge is at capacity. It is simple if we don’t move dogs and cats to families, we will not have accommodation space for those in need of rescue.

We are aware there is much said in the recipient countries about the drawbacks of homing foreign dogs: Untested for Mediterranean diseases, the Brucella canis question, circumnavigation of imports under the ‘Balai Directive’, poorly assessed dogs, no rescue back-up. We are wondering if this level of apprehension is making people reluctant to adopt our Spanish
dogs.

In Spain the role of a dog behaviourist is not at all recognised. We assess the characteristics of our dogs as much as is feasible and our partners put potential adopters through their paces, as well as offering adoption support. We test for Mediterranean diseases and, upon request, for Brucella canis. In Spain, the application of brucellosis eradication programmes in domestic ruminants since1996 was a turning point in the incidence of the disease in people. Spain does not have Brucella in its canine population. Between 2021 and 2022 Spain has been declared by the European Commission free of ovine and caprine brucellosis and free of brucellosis infection (B. abortus, B. melitensis and B. suis) in cattle.

Our transports take place under the Balai rules.

We feared we are perhaps being unfairly judged and tarred with the unscrupulous brush.