........................Photograph
of dog rescued from Madeira
......................(Ruivhana)
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Ruivhana
is a very precious and much loved little dog. Despite starting her
life on the very beautiful island of Madeira, her start in life was
far from beautiful. She was rescued from the streets of Funchal by
an organization called SPAD. They are a dedicated animal-loving organization,
who rescue cats and dogs from the streets, and try hard to rehome
them. There are many stray cats and dogs in Madeira, some who have suffered from neglect; while others have experienced both neglect and appauling levels of cruelty. Despite the wonderful work of SPAD, only about 20% of the animals who are taken from the streets are successfully rehomed. I understand the rest have to be destroyed, despite the fact that most are healthy; which is tragic. I do not think that most Maderian people would intend to be cruel to their animals. There are a combination of reasons for all the stray animals, including inability to continue to afford to care for the animal, the recession, and perhaps a different way of viewing animals in Madeira-----compared to Britian. Of the animals that are rehomed from SPAD, a proportion are adopted by tourists and visitors to Madeira. A few countries in Europe have had dogs rehomed by people from these countries, including Britian. I understand that less British people rescue dogs from Madeira, because of the quarentine laws in Britian, though. I chose my little Ruivhana from SPAD, with the help of a young Maderian woman who was helping at the rescue centre. She spoke quite good English, and i think she was a Trainee Vet. When i first met Ruivhana, she had only been brought in 2 weeks previously. She had been brought in at aprox 9 months of age, and having just had a litter of pups, There was no sign of the puppies, though, and apart from all her other suffering, i guess she was suffering a deep sense of loss due to losing her pups. The first time i saw her, she had recently been spayed (about 2 days before, i think.) To say that she appeared traumatized and terrified would be a gross understatement! She was huddled as far back in the cage as she could possibly get, and was trembling all over. I held her, and gently stroked her and she slowly relaxed. I fell in love with her right away. I wanted to take her with me then and there, but obviously that was impossible. She spent the next 8 months with SPAD. They cared for her till she had her rabies injection, and then for the quarentine period. Leaving her was one of the hardest things i have ever done, and i was constantly worried about her. I was worried she might not survive the wait, too, and indeed i think that she nearly didn't. She finally arrived in England in November 2009. She has been with me for 10 months, now. When she first arrived, she was very skinny and had almost no muscles. She was terribly insecure and timid. But now, you would hardly know she is the same little dog. She is well and healthy, with a shiny coat, and lots of energy. She is part of my family of dogs, as i have 4 others, too. She is my little shadow, and is very attached to me (as i am to her.) She comes up to bed with me, too. I feel slightly guilty in relation to my other dogs (as they don't), but it started on her first night here, as she was so traumatized. There was really no alternative to taking her to bed. She still comes up with me at night, and we both enjoy it. She will always have a very special place in my heart. |
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