Adopting means becoming responsible for the custody and care of an abandoned animal for its whole life.
Adopting offers you an opportunity and gives him or her a second opportunity. You’ll give a home and love to an abandoned animal that has been deserted and maybe even abused. Although most animals in a cage waiting to be adopted are sociable and trusting, there are also others which still have psychological damage and may be very frightened. If you decide to adopt, you can experience the amazing transformation of a traumatised animal recovering its trust.
About 140,000 pets are abandoned each year in Spain. So it is not a bad idea to ignore all the bad things they say about adopting animals and contribute, with a bit of empathy. Your contribution will help to reduce the stress on the hundreds of animal shelters –most of which are overcrowded– that there are throughout the country.
All animals need stability, security and role models. With a lot of patience and affection you can offer them the most basic and necessary thing in the world, a family. Adopting an animal means increasing the size of your family, committing to him or her and to society. Forever.
Every 18 minutes a pet is brought to a shelter.
Next we answer the most frequent questions about adoption.
From any animal welfare agency or from a public animal shelter (subsidised by the authorities). Private animal shelters tend to survive mainly from the monthly payments from their members or benefactors.
Animals up for adoption Bambú Difunde Animal welfare agencies & public shelters
It’s best to get advice from the manager of the shelter, who will know all the animals and their personality. What we can tell you is that you should forget all the stereotypes you hear, like when they say fully grown animals are more difficult, they don’t adapt; that females are more docile; etc. Every animal is unique and there will always be a home into which he or she fits perfectly. The person who receives you at the centre will know which one is more likely to adapt well to your family. It is best not to go with a preconceived idea about what type of animal you want, rather consider the needs of your family.
In many regions of Spain it is compulsory that the animals being adopted have microchip I.D., are fully vaccinated, have undergone deworming and sterilisation. All of this has a cost. The price you pay will cover part of these costs.
Before adopting and to have a full picture of the physical health of your new pal, make sure he/she: