"It causes us a lot of impotence to see that video and those dead dogs because it could have been avoided." This is how they have stated from the Sara animal shelter, from where they believe that the Arrecife City Council had time to have "acted before" in the house in Maneje, where neighbors reported the "bad condition" of some dogs.
The shelter affirms that "at the end of last year, in November or December" of 2019, it informed the Local Police of the facts after receiving calls from neighbors. "The Police then went to the house, took videos and photos, and presented a report to the City Council, which are the ones that have the power to act against this type of abandonment. We are talking about months ago, but it was ignored," said Obelesa Hernández, a member of the board of directors of Sara, who assures that in those images taken by the Police it could be seen that "there was no hygiene" in the house, where it is estimated that there are more than a dozen dogs.
After that, and as "the neighbors' complaints continued", the shelter affirms that they also sent "messages" to both the veterinarian and the Councilor for Health, Saro González, insisting that action be taken. "Nothing was done, in principle I don't know why, and then the state of alarm arrived and they told us that because of the state of alarm it was not possible to act," Hernández pointed out. "I only know that the veterinarian went once and that the man was not there," she added.
The Sara animal shelter affirms that it also offered its help both to the owner of the animals, who "rejected it", and to the City Council. "At all times we offered our help to neuter the animals. We also told them that if they didn't have room in the kennel, we would do it and they would say 'we are on it'," said Obelesa Hernández.
"The months have passed and we feel powerless to see the video where the man is seen with that dead dog, because it was something we wanted to help with, something we have offered to do ad nauseam, sent messages, called the Police, and they have not paid attention. If action had been taken in time, it could have been avoided," she insisted.
The City Council, awaiting a court order to intervene
Last week, and after a video was made public in which, in addition to seeing a dead puppy, a dog was seen walking along the edge of the roof, the Councilor for Health affirmed that the Local Police and the veterinarian had already gone to the house and that they were working "to get the animals out of there".
Now, just a week later, from the Arrecife City Council they have confirmed that a court order has already been requested to be able to access the property and that they are waiting for the decision of the Court, which has given five days for the owner of the animals and the Prosecutor's Office to pronounce on the matter.
However, from the Consistory they have specified that, in principle, the intervention will be of a sanitary nature, to eliminate the "focus of infection" that is considered to be in the house. "Once there, we will see what there is and if there is animal abuse," they have pointed out from the press department.
In addition to the video made public last week, La Voz has had access to more images recorded by the neighbors, in which the dogs are seen loose running through the street or barking non-stop from the roof of the house. "One of the dogs fell off the roof once," they have affirmed from Sara, from where they have pointed out that they then went to the house, but that upon their arrival "the man had already put the dog in the house" and that the neighbors told them later "that it was okay".
