Seventeen first-year secondary school students from the CEO Playa Blanca visited the facilities of the 'Animal Shelter Center' of Yaiza this Tuesday to learn firsthand how pets that were abandoned or mistreated by their owners live, now enjoying municipal care, with the invaluable collaboration of the 'Doggys del Sur' shelter volunteers, while they find an adoption home.
The Councilor for Animal Welfare of Yaiza, Águeda Cedrés, who toured the animal recreation area and other spaces equipped for their care with the students and teacher Belinda, reports that "we now have 18 dogs that we care for in the center, apart from the animals that are in the homes of families who have generously offered their home as a temporary place of shelter."
Águeda Cedrés and workers from the area she directs shared information with the students about responsible animal ownership, care, and health of pets, valuing not only the visit of the young people, but also thanking them for the donations of blankets, towels, and feed that they themselves took care of delivering. Boys and girls pampered the animals and even had fun with Pupi and Oli, two playful podencos who never stopped running and jumping.
"The Animal Welfare Area has the support of a group of volunteers who take the dogs for walks every day, and this gesture is very important both for the animal's health and for their socialization because they then feel much more comfortable and integrated when they find a foster home. The volunteers also help us to find foster homes inside and outside of the Canary Islands," explains the councilor.
The Mayor of Yaiza, Óscar Noda, publicly thanks the CEO for their interest and awareness of animal welfare through their Educational Care class, a subject that addresses community and environmental issues.
At this Christmas time and at any time of the year, before giving a pet as a gift, Águeda Cedrés emphasizes, "we must verify if the person to whom we give the pet is able to offer and share their family home, because an animal is not a stuffed animal, it is a living being that needs attention."
"We must verify if the person to whom we give the pet is able to offer and share their family home, because an animal is not a stuffed animal"