22/02/2022
Dear Friends, finding loving homes for long term invisible dogs in Spain like INDIRA pitbull is the reason we have this little project that has been going for a good few years now, but this is its new page! A detailed explanation here for anyone who would like this, otherwise please just enjoy the page as it grows.... Our new dogs to help will be posted over the next few days.
As you will remember "In Kennels & In-Visible" dogs is a small committed project to help dogs in Spain who have become "invisible" following their rescue. Dogs who are forgotten, or constantly overlooked for adoption, tragically losing their lives sitting year after year in kennels, refuges or no-kill pounds. We've been without a dedicated page for a few months now, but the core group of us have been posting the dogs under our wing from our personal pages and of course keep on going with our efforts behind the scenes. But it's good to have one place again where we can all meet up for the dogs. Please re-join us!
Indira is now so happy in Austria. See her two "at home" photos here, and enjoy her running about videos in the comments section. They are in complete contrast to the first two sad photos taken when she was still so "lost" in Spain. This was Indira's life until recently and it seemed it would be her death too. Thankfully she had people to give her shelter and food and an occasional hug, but that is all. Her daily reality for FIVE years has been a terrible "prison life" of sadness since she was rescued from a kill pound, only to end up re-abandoned in commercial kennels in rural Spain. One more of Spain's countless dogs trapped in similar tragic circumstances. Indira's life was the same every day, spent alone inside a small kennel with no creature comforts, no walks or outings, no dog company, no loving family. Just four walls, very occasional exercising time and increasingly poor physical health. It is testament to Indira that she remained cheerful when any one of us would go mad living like that. And many of her fellows do show signs of complete despair. And it is testament to so many of you who stood by Indira (and many of her fellow "Invisibles") that she is now so happy. Thank you to all the extended family of Indira, whose members are dotted about in Spain, in the UK, in Finland, in the US, in Germany; and now she has her loving forever-foster family in the green fields of Austria. Sadly Indira's health may mean she does not have a very long time ahead of her, but we hope with all our hearts she can saviour every day - and so many days - of this freedom and joy she is so obviously revelling in.
As a disabled middle-aged pitbull in Spain, and invisible, Indira's fate seemed so hopeless, but since discovering her plight we have all worked hard to turn her life around. As well as many of her kennel mates over the past years. They are of course still a few amongst so many across Spain, but for each of them this help means the world. Seeing Indira like this is the best! And we will keep on fighting for those invisible ones like Indira as much as possible.
As many of you have been kind and supportive friends of the "In Kennels & In-Visible" dogs a while, to explain this is simply a new page to replace the original one and we have changed things a bit to make the project easier to administer as an independent entity, and not be under the wing of Asociación Valencia Perrera Dogs as it was. All thanks to AVPD for those years, and we stay very connected and collaborating. The fact is the project is still essentially about the same little team of dog colleagues coming together on a case by case basis alongside our other work, family commitments and other limitations to help a little pack of dogs at any one time the best we can.
The majority of the dogs helped to date have been those who have landed up in the commercial kennels near Tobarra in Albacete province (which is not a shelter or an association and does not have the staff, infrastructure or contacts to search out homes for dogs who end up essentially dumped with them). Mostly the work to date has been co-managed by Polly Mathewson (who is responsible for admin for this page now) and Angie Robinson (of AVPD), but we have had so much help from some other key dog rescuers and so many supportive friends. In particular we want to thank Maggie Moo (who made the logo for our page as well as giving so much rehoming help), Stacey Lloyd, Jaana Kärnä, Nicola Michaela (especially for Indira!), Andrea Johnson, María Casares Crespo, Christiane Evert, Maria Sol Hernandez Schneider, Mari Carmen Valenciano Julian, Rosa Maria Valenciano Julian, Sandra Ramírez, Chris Willott, Deborah Ashton, Courtney Bussell, Marissa Johnson, Shirley Hall, Tuula Liukka. But there are many others, including the loving forever families of former invisibles! These dogs who are often un-socialised with other dogs or people, traumatised and timid, institutionalised, elderly, infirm, trickier breeds or not very conventionally beautiful (though they are each beautiful!) depend on us working together and helping each other out. The kennels are also not the easiest environment to assess dogs or get detailed information.
Over the last years we have helped home a huge "back-log" of poor invisible dogs from the kennels, but now we want to keep moving newer ones on before they too become lost. As well as dogs from Indira's old kennels the Invisibles page has always promoted a few other dogs for close contacts where they have dogs who are also so stuck or at risk of becoming invisible and where we think we can help. Unfortunately this is not a page to post and post numerous of the other dogs needing visibility, because we know our own limited capacity and it is better to help a few dogs well than take on too many and not manage. But we will carry on and plug away to support dogs who will go under if we don't, and we are always so grateful for any help you have given already or can give going forwards: offering foster, adoption, sharing, helping with raising funds for vet work.
In time we will also re-instate our little fundraising shop and have a section to update a bit on our happily rehomed once-invisible hounds. Please add your friends and share and share the dogs. Thank you! Polly, on behalf of the dogs
