February

Newsletter

The Pain Of Dog Rescue

Most of our articles tend to be uplifting, happy and full of optimism for the future of APA Nerja and the work it does
for the abused, abandoned and lost dogs of Nerja and the surrounding area but underneath that joy of rescue,
foster and adoption there lies a dark and painful reality.

Since the beginning of December last year APA Nerja has been overwhelmed, stretched and strained with the
number of abandoned and abused dogs taken into our care but it didn’t end there, because to date APA has taken
51 puppies into their care. How do we know the number? We know because a spreadsheet is needed to co-
ordinate their care, their feeding, their foster and their vaccinations. These puppies WILL find homes through the
dedication of the APA re-homers in Spain and other European countries but why were they dumped in rubbish bins,
born on river beds, left in a box outside the vet and hurled to their death? Only four survived out of ten puppies
thrown from the viaduct at Maro.

The reason WHY is because people will NOT neuter their dogs, a simple operation which will prevent a mother dog
having to go through the pregnancy, the birth and to have her babies ripped away from her. APA Nerja will help with
neutering programmes, it is not unhealthy for your dog, it is not against religion but it will stop this senseless
production of puppies.

The ones that are born will be cared for, nurtured, loved and found homes and for that we are grateful … for those
that have died, cold in bins and on the side of the roads, we say a prayer.

PLEASE NEUTER YOUR DOGS

New Year Lunch Happy Birthday Mitzi!

Mitzi was adopted to

Sweden in November and
she certainly landed on her
paws! Mitzi celebrated her
6th birthday in January and
was treated to a beef and
chicken neck lunch with
extra cuddles.
We love hearing about our
adopted dogs and their
new lives. Please tell us
your stories in our APA
Many of our volunteers got together for a well earned Dog Rescue Group
catch up and lunch to celebrate the New Year at
Chiringuito Mauri in Nerja. An enjoyable afternoon
was had by all. You deserve it guys!
 Rosie’s Story
Rosie and her puppies had been living on the streets of Nerja for some time. Our volunteers had been closely
monitoring Rosie’s situation and slowly gaining her trust. Finally, during one week in mid January, progress was
made. It began on the Monday with a more cautious approach to gain Rosie’s trust that lasted 3 hours, then again
on the Tuesday our volunteers spent another 3 hours with Rosie until finally, on the Wednesday, after a lot of hard
work, patience, perseverance, a ton of dog food and treats, 14 humans, a net and a pair of very sturdy gloves,
Rosie and her puppies were safely caught and taken to a local vets.
Unfortunately Rosie found the exertion of life and caring for her babies too much and she was taken ill. 24 hour
care by our Shelter Mum Sue Kiff allowed her to rest but the next day she had to be admitted to the vet for a blood
transfusion. Liberty, one of APA’s rescue dogs, was very brave and came to the vet from the Shelter to give much
needed blood to Rosie. Sadly, despite everyone’s efforts, Rosie could not fight her infection and she passed away a
few days later. Everyone at APA was devastated to hear about Rosie’s passing, but sadly that is the reality of dog
rescue. Despite all our efforts, not all of them make it. Now we must focus on Rosie’s puppies and get them
adopted into wonderful homes. We would like to thank everyone who helped with Rosie, especially Carol Ellul, the
gentleman in the photo below who was on holiday but took to feeding Rosie twice a day and all the team at Clinica
San Fernando.

Capture taking place

Living rough With Carol & her puppies

Receiving blood Receiving care

Liberty giving blood

 ADOPTION BOARD

Toby &
Sancha

Toby and Sancha are brother and sister and are two of our longest residents at the shelter. They are a
medium sized hound mix. Both are good with other dogs and love the company of people. Sancha
especially loves to play and run on the beach. Toby can be a bit timid at times, however he has been
attending training for a few months now and his confidence has grown enormously. For some reason
Sancha and Toby often get overlooked which is a real shame. Can you foster or adopt Toby or Sancha?

Winston

Winston, a pointer/labrador mix, came to the shelter with his sister Willow who has since been
adopted to Sweden. He's one of our crazy characters, he doesn't seem to like hot weather very much
so an adoption in a cooler climate would suit him perfectly! Winston gets on well with his pen mates
and the pack, he can be trained to walk better on a lead with patience and treats. Winston has been
at the shelter for over a year, can you give Winston the forever home he deserves?

Tyson

Tyson is a mixed breed, about 2 years old. Tyson is an uncomplicated dog, he just likes to chill, go
for walks and loves the attention of people. He also gets on really well with other dogs. He
currently attends weekly training with one of our volunteers where his obedience and socialisation
skills are improving each week. Could you be the one to give Tyson his forever home?

APA Nerja has many dogs in our shelter and in foster homes that are looking for their forever
home. We have many different types of dogs available for adoption from small to big and from
young to old. Our dogs can be adopted anywhere in Europe. If you’re interested in adopting a
dog, please contact us to find out more.
 Team work at the Shelter

Thank you once again to all our volunteers who spent their Sunday morning on the 14th January working
hard at the shelter. Jobs included weeding, cleaning, tidying up, fixing fences, cement mixing and repairing
the pens. And all was done with a smile!

Work at the shelter didn't just take place on the 14th however, it’s a continuous job and we have a great
team who have been continuously working hard at shelter for the past couple of weeks. Our wonderful
volunteers do their best to keep up on the repairs but now it has come to a point of needing major
rehabilitation and we need your help.

The dog enclosures have been weakened from constant battering and repairs have been ‘make do’ due to
lack of funds but we cannot risk the dogs getting out.

To repair each pen will cost from 200 to 300 euros each and that is with the work being done by volunteers.
There are approximately 16 pens. Anything you can spare will help us. If you would like to donate, please
click on the link below. Thank you.

https://www.youcaring.com/apaestacionesperanzastationofhope-1070890

For the Love of Dogs

On 17th February APA Nerja will be hosting ‘For the Love of Dogs’ event at Venta San Miguel restaurant in Nerja.

There will be a full buffet available, music by the amazing Alberto, followed by lots of dancing to the DJ kapt'n Crap!
There will also be a Prize for "Best Dressed in Red” and a fabulous Raffle.

Monies raised will be donated to APA Nerja for the much-needed shelter repairs.
Tickets 20€ pp available from Lou Adams. Please get in touch if you would like to attend. It’s going to be so much
fun, make sure you don't miss out!
 Blanco’s Story

This is Blanco's story, a story of rescue and love. Blanco arrived in Frigiliana in
early January, lost, alone and injured. Once again a selfless and caring APA
volunteer Kate Royston and her husband Steve would not turn away and took
Blanco home.
APA Nerja took Blanco into the APA Family and the San Fernando Clinic swung
into action. X-rays revealed severe breaks in his leg which needed specialist care.
Arrangements were made for Blanco to be transferred to have his operation, the x-rays below show the extent of
his injury and the pinning needed. Blanco is now with Steve and his family getting the specialist care he needs. He
is a young dog, he will heal well and will eventually look for his forever home. BUT the cost of his operation is
between €400 and €500. If you would like to donate towards Blanco’s operation, you can make a payment by
PayPal or you can take into San Fernando Clinic in Nerja and quote "Blanco Operation”. Thank you.

Alex’s Appeal

TALK TO THE PAW – FEBRUARY 2018 – ALEX’S APPEAL

Hi, Rubio here, all the way from Holland – I got my forever home - YAY
– what a lucky boy I am! Thank you APA; I had a lovely last day in sunny
Nerja; with a trip to the beauty parlour (I didn’t know I had white socks!), a
nice long walk along my favourite beach, and lots of cuddles and kisses!

Of course, I know I’ll be missed, now that you’ve got to know me so well.
So, I’m handing over this very special job to my pen-mate, Alex, a big old
boy, but a real softie. He’s looking for his forever home too – hope he’s
as lucky as I am!

Hi, I’m Alex: I’m a 3 year old Mastin and have been in the shelter for 18
Alex
months. At last, I’m in charge, now that Rubio’s gone!! This month,
Alex’s Appeal is for bedding to keep us warm at night, and towels to
keep us dry when it rains – and it sure can rain here in sunny Spain!

Alex’s URGENT REPAIRS Appeal will be on-going; there’s a huge

amount of work to be done, and a phased maintenance programme is
being set up to deal with this. Can you or any of your friends help? With
donations for the materials; your time to help out on site; or fund-raising
ideas? Please contact APA or kindly send donations to URGENT
SHELTER REPAIRS.

Thank you and be seeing you next month, Love Alex

Rubio in Holland
 Tessa and her puppies
We first told you the story of Tessa and her puppies in our December edition and since then we have followed their
progress from tiny pups to not so tiny puppies! We are pleased to say that all four have been adopted to Sweden.
Zippy, renamed Azlan, and Bungle have already arrived in their news homes with Tanna and George following shortly.
From being dumped on the streets to finding their forever homes in less than three months. Thank you to all our
fosterers, our Swedish Adoption Team and their new families for making this happen. Sadly Tessa is currently at our
shelter and is still looking for her forever home. We hope her happy ending is not too far away.

Bungle

Tanna

Azlan George

Walkers Needed!
Do you live or holiday in Nerja? Do you like walking dogs? Then we would love you to join our walking
team. Regular walks are so important for our shelter dogs development and socialisation. We walk
every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning. If you would like to join us, please get in touch.

CONTACT US

If you are interested in adopting one of our dogs, fostering a dog, becoming a walker, helping out at our
shelter, obtaining one of our donation tins or making a donation, please contact us and become a part of
the APA family.

apanerja2015@gmail.com

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apanerja2015@gmail.com
Muchas Gracias!