Found a Stray and What to Do?

Help Needed

A large portion of the animals with whom work are brought into us by individuals.  These are dogs and cats who may have just recently been thrown out and abandoned, they have no idea how to live on the street, how to feed themselves, how to avoid traffic.  Or puppies and kittens who only want to be loved and have a safe space.  There are so many many sad stories….

We do not believe that just because you want or are trying to help that you should be stuck with that dog or cat and we will do our best to offer you and the animal whatever support we can. Yes, this is a problem all over Portugal, but you can make a difference… if your help can save even one animal from tremendous suffering it is all worthwhile.

This does not mean that you should pick up every animal you see. Sadly, it is impossible to find homes or even a safe place in a shelter for all the animals on the streets of Portugal. Some will live a better quality of life on the street, it is an individual case by case determination that must be made.

We try to help as many dogs, puppies, cats and kittens as we are able. Sadly, we can only find homes for a small portion of the animals we are contacted about. We do not have a shelter, only a small private rehoming centre and our space and resources are limited. We need the people of Portugal to help, to volunteer, to donate.  Most animal aid in Portugal is provided by individuals and independent groups or charities dependent on private donations and volunteers. Government help is only through SEPNA or municipal canils, and that help is limited at best. Private groups, like us, do as much as possible, but all are underfunded and overworked.

 

What To Do:

Send us photos and a description of the animal and the situation by email. If we can help we will. If we cannot help then we will try and give you some other contacts in the area. But keep in mind, we cannot help every abandoned animal. Some will live a better quality of life on the street.

If the stray or abandoned dog is female, then the most urgent help is to get her to a vet to be spayed. Even if she is just to be operated and returned a day or two later, that act alone is tremendously better for her health and quality of life.  The importance of stopping the birth of unwanted street puppies cannot be stressed enough. Rehoming is the way to help an individual dog, puppy, cat or kitten. Sterilization of as many female dogs and cats as possible is the only way that the long term situation will improve.  Please visit sterilization for more information, available funding, or to make a donnation to this cause.

If an emergency, we will not say no, but please realize that it may sadly be that our only option will be to help have the animal put to sleep. If no space can be found for an animal, if there is no money to pay for special vet care, sometimes that is all that can be done. Our policy is not to put an animal into an overcrowded, badly run, badly managed shelter where dogs die daily in dog fights, there is no vet care, no sterilization etc. Sadly, the shelters that are well run are most often full and unable to accept new animals.

Except in rare cases, we do not and cannot pick up animals.  You will have to bring them to us in the Loule/Almancil area. Sometimes they are hard to catch, we can talk you through the process, give sedatives and tranquilizers and loan a dog or cat box. But we simply do not have enough volunteers or resources to do the catching. Municipal camaras may do this. But sadly… then the animal will end up in a municipal canil and, dependent on the location, some such canils are an ok option while some are absolutely not.

If you have an animal that you want to help here is rough guide of what to do, our general policies, and how to make these often difficult decisions,

1. Send us an email with photos and a description of the animal, its nature, and the situation. Include your telephone number and where you and the animal is located. We will reply by email and/or phone. Most emails are replied to within 48 hours. Please do not call except in an emergency. Those contacting initially by phone will be directed to please send an email with photos and the necessary information.

2. NOTE – we are unable to come and collect animals. You will have to bring the animal in to us in the Almancil/Loule area. We can provide advice as to how to catch strays, crates/boxes we can loan, and tranquilizers can be gotten from the vet. All of this will be explained in email.

3. Any and all female dogs or cats that can be caught should be caught and, at a mimum, sterilized to stop continual reproduction. Please visit sterilization for more information about this, available funding, or to make a donnation to this cause.

4. Animals who appear sick or unwell or who are not surviving on the street need help. Some groups are better able to help with this than others. Many such groups are listed on our useful links. Taking the time to contact all these groups may be time consuming but can also often provide the best solution and offer more choices.

5. In an emergency we will not say no and we will accept the animal at one of our local vets. While we will help and try to find the best solution, if no such solution can be found it may be that the most humane option is to put the animal to sleep.

6. Note, some animals are living a life of quality, if not of quantity, on the street. Life on the street is often better than in many Portuguese shelters or canils. Do not plan on saving every animal you find living on the street. Some animals do not need saved and some very much do.

7. Puppies and Kittens are a special situation. Please see below for more detailed information.

8. Any animal whom we take on for rehoming must test negative for leishmanioisis (sandfly). These animals must be non-aggressive. When there are far more animals than spaces available, the animals we chose to help are those who have the nature and personality that is most deserving of a second chance and new home

9. We have limited space available. Every animal we agree to help we do so because we feel that eventually we will be able to find that animal a loving home. We are not a sanctuary or shelter. With the exception of a very few animals who we help via virtual adoption, all our animals will hopefully eventually leave our care to live in their own home and with their own responsible family.

10. If you are able to foster the animal, it is more likely we can help. Sometimes our rehoming centre is full and so, even if we feel that we could find the animal a home, we do not have any temporary space to offer. Keeping an animal permanent versus temporarily is a decision that we respect, and often we leave the animal with you as foster for only a few weeks, then bring him or her into our rehoming centre. We will suggest this temporary fostering only if, when we meet the animal, we feel confident of eventually being able to find him or her a permanent home.

 

Puppies, Kittens, and Bottle Feeding

- Puppies!!! We do not agree with leaving puppies to live a life on the street. So please try and catch any puppies.

- Kittens!!! Sadly, especially in the summer months, kittens arrive by the dozen. It is impossible to find them all homes. For this reason, if the kittens are living wild we often suggest leaving the kittens, providing them food, and once they are old enough that you try to catch them (there are cat traps that can be loaned to do this) and have any females sterilized. If the kittens are exceptionally friendly and handled (e.g. just abandoned) then they will not survive on the street and should be brought off the street. Sadly, especially with cats and kittens, appearance makes a difference. Finding homes for black or black and white kittens is far more difficult than finding homes for white or Siamese kittens. Please consider this when adopting…..

- We are strongly against bottle feeding either kittens or puppies. Sadly, when faced with so many puppies, we do not feel that bottle feeding puppies or kittens is of any help to the larger picture or problem and so suggest that they be taken to a vet and humanely put to sleep. If you do decide to bottle feed then please realize that those animals are then your responsibility to keep or to find a responsible home for – an often difficult task.   You have saved them, nature would otherwise have played a role. Please DO NOT put any of these puppies into a shelter!  There are already so terribly many unwanted puppies and kittens in shelters that will not find homes.  Bottle feed only if you are resigned to offer the puppies or kittens a home for life. When they are bottle fed they have a weakened immune system – especially in the early stages of their life, they have different pack behaviour, it is more likely they will catch a disease and die or be the victim of dog fights. We have seen bottle fed puppies dropped off at 6 months of age to live for months and months in a shelter. They are absolutely devastated, with no understanding of shelter life and why this happened to them.

 

Please contact us or email sosalgarveanimals@hotmail.com for more advice or help.

Or visit our section on happy homes for those animals that we have been able to help.