The Huella a Huella Association has sent a "farewell" statement this Friday after six years of activity on the island. "Today we have formally canceled our last collaboration of those that we have been carrying out during these years, the one we had with the Teguise City Council. Huella A Huella does not disappear, but what you knew about us until now does," they point out in their writing, in which they recognize that they are not "very clear about what is going to happen from now on."
For the moment, they will continue to be constituted as an association and hope to continue providing advisory work, although they will no longer receive donations from individuals or subsidies from public administrations. Since its creation, Huella a Huella came to have agreements with three municipalities on the island, but in recent years it has been ending them.
First they renounced the one in Tinajo, then the one in Yaiza and now finally the one in Teguise, and in all three cases for similar reasons. "There comes a time when it seems that there is no progress, you don't want to move forward. When we have stopped collaborating it is because there was no more progress. We were regressing," Nuria Cárdenas explained to La Voz. And she affirms that although during this time they have done a job of "rescuing" dogs and searching for new homes, "because there is no other option", that was not their true purpose.
A commitment to prevention
"Huella a Huella was born with the purpose of doing all the prevention that was not being done. Work that was not done in the town halls and we have fought for it to be done," says Cárdenas, who defends that in these years they have "achieved many changes", such as the creation of "animal protection areas" and that the kennels become animal shelters. However, she regrets that there has been a lack of involvement on the part of the town halls to continue advancing.
"What interests them is what is seen from the outside, that they are not sacrificing animals, but they are not interested in the work", she questions. Thus, she explains that that is why they were ending those agreements, years ago with Tinajo and Yaiza and now with Teguise. "Everything we were doing stopped being done," she laments in the case of La Villa. In addition, she points out that the facilities were also "in a rather precarious state" and that they presented a report with the improvements that would be necessary, but they were not carried out.
Therefore, she affirms that months ago they began to stop collaborating, although it has been this week when they have decided to officially end the agreement they had with the City Council, by which they provided services in what was the municipal kennel. "As far as we know, they are now talking to Sara," Nuria Cárdenas pointed out.
In addition, she affirms that both in this case and in the previous two it has been a decision of Huella a Huella and not of the town halls, since the agreements had been renewed annually "without problems" and they had been receiving the corresponding subsidy, although this year with some delay because they asked for a "more specific" justification. "But when we did it, they paid us," she specifies.
They will continue "active for Adele"
Regarding her immediate future, she affirms that they will continue "active" for Adele", one of the dogs rescued by the association with serious health problems. Currently, Adele is staying at the home of one of the volunteers and needs medication that involves an expense of more than 200 euros per month
"We continue forward for Adele, who will need us, we hope for many years, for all the hundreds and hundreds of animals that we have saved during these years that will always be a part of us and for those who continue to count on us to advise them on animal protection to improve Lanzarote and achieve that necessary change," they point out in the statement, in which they clarify that they will not continue receiving donations because in principle they will not have more animals in their care.
Thus, while they define their new path, they wanted to say goodbye with a message to all the people who have collaborated during these years, and also to those who have not. "We take this note to thank those who have accompanied us during all this time, those who threw stones at us along the way, who made us stronger; those who did not believe in us, who made us more confident; those who helped us with their words, their gestures, their company and donations, to those, especially to those, thank you very much," they conclude.
