SOSAA Visits Local Shelters and Canils – No. 4 Camara Canil of Albufeira

With the help of the Camara Vet. Dra Cristina, constantly pushing for better facilities, things are hopefully about to change in Albufeira.  Cristina was appointed  Camara Vet for Albufeira in January 2013 and ever since then, she has been trying to improve the life for the animals in Albufeira.. Food, medication and deworming are all paid for by the camara. Blankets, baskets, beds, toys, leads and collars, need to be funded in a different way or, even better, donated by the general public.

Currently the animals are housed in two locations. The first is in Escarpao, the disposal tip of the camara of Albufeira. In this location,  the animals are housed in an old open barn, where two kennels have been created, housing 5 dogs at the moment.

Next to this barn, 3 dogs are living in a kennel made of old pallets, The entire ‘canil’ area is fenced in, and this is where  an old sweet male dog lives, which was abandoned in Albufeira, some months ago. Outside on the waste disposal grounds, lives Ronaldo, a really nice natured border collie mix, he has been here for years, and happily greets new visitors, and loves it when a tennis ball or stick is thrown for him to retrieve.

The whole setup is poorly, no constant supply of water, tucked away in a field in the middle of nowhere. For a city as large as Albufeira, far from ideal, but for now at least it does offer safety to the animals under their care.

The second and newer area is on the grounds of the Camara in Vale Pedras, where recently an area has been allocated to build a new shelter/education centre, “Centro do Estar dos Animais”, a Centre for the Wellbeing of Animals. The plan consists of buildings, kennels, and paddocks for the animals, and has now been approved. There will be treatment rooms for cats & dogs; a surgery room and a shelter for cats. However, 100.000 euro’s has to be raised to be able to complete the project.

Currently there are two kennels ready, and in use at the location in Vale Pedras, and a medium sized female has been living here since Christmas Eve. More kennels are being built, but without available workers at the camara, the kennels have been standing here unfinished for months now. Dra. Christina wants and needs to move on, and is desperately looking for volunteers, as many as possible to help and to continue this wonderful project.  Short term planning is to keep building and finishing the first kennels, so the animals can all stay at one central place.

The ideal set up would be the creation of a new charity, such as the Friends of Canil Albufeira for example, which would help with fundraising, rehoming, and caring for the dogs. It is a huge responsibility, which will require a lot of dedication, energy and the ability to overcome obstacles in times ahead.

At the moment, there are some really lovely dogs under the care of the Camara Canil of Albufeira, each so desperately craving for a home to call their own.

A small black young female, she was marked for life, by either acid or a fire…and incredibly, she is the most loving and sweet girl who so deserves a loving family.

The older golden retriever type female, just craving for a cuddle; a mix wirehaired podengo, who cannot stop jumping up with joy when he sees a human coming in… Then the old old big black male dog, who is so affectionate and full of gratitude for the 5 minutes you spend with him. And then last but not least…. Ronaldo….the border collie who greets you full of energy and sees you out, and when you leave him behind, you can only have tears in your eyes…Not because he is sad or ill treated, purely because he should be living in a home, and be curled up in the evening at your feet in front of the open fire…

The future for the animals in Albufeira is still not secure, but the camara has approved the project, and the wheels have been set in motion, and hopefully it will be an example for the other often larger Camara’s Canils in the Algarve to make the only one correct choice, to improve the life of the animals in the Algarve, by progressing and setting up properly run governmental shelters.

Contact information of the Canil is as follows:

To make a donation to allow this work to continue information about how to donate can be found here.  More photos of the canil(s) can be found here.

And if you would like to read other articles in this series on other shelters or canils please go here.  Thank you