Play TAG!

CAS acts as an Information Exchange when dogs and cats are either lost or found.

Most of us know that our pets should be micro-chipped by law in Spain.

However, one cannot guarantee that a person who finds a lost pet will go to the trouble of taking that animal to a vet in order to discover if it is chipped and the owner can be contacted.

Therefore, I am appealing to everyone to buy a tag to go on the pet’s collar. This tag should have the pet’s name on one side and your phone number on the other. As an added safeguard, do as many Spanish families do,  and write the name and your phone number on the inside of the collar also.

From personal experience I know the panic when one loses a pet! We were fortunate in that all our dogs wear Name & Number tags.

Also from personal experience, I know the high price charged for an engraved dog tag from one of the shops in The El Ingenio Centre, Velez Málaga. So I recommend people either buy one of the plastic tags on which one can write the information ( and keep checking it’s still legible) or – buy a blank metal tag and take it to a local jeweler who will engrave name and number for a very small fee.

Most of us think our pets will never run away – many of us know different!

Please Tag and Pet this week!

Jane Kirk - President of CAS

Cat & Mouse

Last year we decided to take a cat, after having had dogs for over 15 years.

To us that made perfect sense as we are living in the campo. Cats will chase away rats and mice so they will stay away from the house, and also prevent them from knibbling on the irrigation system in the summer.

But how different is reality. I have never seen so many mice in our house. 

Instead of chasing them away, the cat brings them home! Fully alive!

So there’s a dilemma:

Watch the cruelty and wait until the cat is finished playing with the mouse?

Or get the cat out and run the risk that the mouse is going to hide somewhere in the house?

Jenny arrives in Holland

Jenny flew on Monday to her new home in Holland (dog # 14 in 2010). Jenny is the 3rd of the 4 puppies from one litter that was rehomed by our Dutch partner HzH. Pip and Bully flew earlier this year.

Lorraine, who found the puppies when they were only a few days old, bottle-feeded the 4 dogs for the first weeks and they now all became healthy young dogs. She decided to keep the last one, Bessie. 

Bessie will be neutered soon. "No more puppies for me", Lorraine said :-)

Transport from plane to arrivals hall (luggage claim)

The new owners can hardly wait until the cage is opened.

Priorities first: FOOD !

Everyone is happy

Bambi, Nana, Pip and Sara arrive in Holland

Bambi, Nana, Pip and Sara were heartily welcomed by their new owners at the Amsterdam airport. Four moreh happy dogs and four more happy families, making it a total of 13 dogs rehomed in Holland this year.  

(click picture to enlarge)

CAS Launches its Classified Ads Section

We have often been asked to include small advertisements on our web pages
and, until now, we have had to refuse. We have now been able to make that
option available (subject to a few restrictions)

Advertisements on these pages cost €20 for 6 months, paid in advance.
Advertisers may take the money to the CAS Office (in Nerja) in an envelope
marked JANE KIRK
The envelope should include your name, email address & phone number as well
as the €20
You can send the advertisement that you wish to appear to janekirkspain @
gmail.com.

You can put the fee directly into the CAS Bank Account:
Bank Cajamar.
Account : Costa Animal Society
Account No. 3058-0839-68-2720000283
BIC-Swift Code CCRIES2AXXX
IBAN Code ES58 3058 0839 6827 2000 0283

CAS reserves the right to refuse an advertisement and also to make minimal
changes to the wording
CAS will not endorse any products or services which appear on these
Classified pages

Vets Welcome Extension To UK Pet Travel Protection

The European Parliament has voted 618 votes to 17 for an extension to the
transitional arrangements contained within the regulation on the
non-commercial movement of pet animals (Reg. 998/2003) which afford the UK
additional protection against rabies, ticks and tapeworms.

The British Veterinary Association (BVA) and British Small Animal Veterinary
Association (BSAVA) have been lobbying MEPs to support the extension and
have strongly welcomed this decision.

The transitional arrangements allow the UK to impose stricter measures on
the entry of pet animals and are designed to protect the UK from rabies,
ticks and tapeworms (Echinococcus multilocularis).

The vote in the European Parliament today supports an extension of these
arrangements until the end of 2011 and puts in place a system so that
permanent measures can be imposed in the future for entry to specific Member
States based on scientific evidence. The decision will have to be ratified
by the European Agriculture Council before coming into force.

Commenting, Professor Bill Reilly, President of the BVA, said: "The Pet
Travel Scheme affords the UK's pet, wildlife and human populations
protection from serious diseases and parasites and we have long argued for
these arrangements to remain until scientific evidence can prove that the
risk is manageable.
"The BVA and BSAVA have worked closely with Defra to secure this extension
to the arrangements and we will now be pushing for investment in additional
scientific research that will give us a clearer picture of the threat of the
parasite Echinococcus multilocularis and other exotic and emerging
diseases."

Dr Richard Dixon, President of BSAVA, added: "This decision in Europe is
strongly welcomed and we are pleased that veterinary associations across
Europe supported our position. The next stage is to gather further evidence
to ensure the UK is protected in the future.
"In the meantime, the key message for pet owners is that they must talk to
their vets as early as possible to find out how to protect them from disease
and parasites when travelling abroad."

CAS Elects a New President

Jane Kirk was elected President of CAS on March 5th.

She explains why she accepted this enormous, challenging responsibility - 

”I have been a member of CAS for many years. 

For the last 2 years I have acted as Vice President with the following responsibilities :-

Developing & extending the CAS Web site

Writing most of the publicity  & information leaflets

Acting as the local, English radio contact 

Working closely with the Dutch charity, HzH, which has provided homes in Holland for well over 200 of our dogs

Organising the Cómpeta Scruffs Dog Show

Writing the CAS Quarterly Newsletter that is mailed to members who do not have an email address.

Creating the CAS E-News, which is now distributed to almost 400 email addresses as a Blog Publication that enables us to let people know what is happening in CAS and all about wider animal welfare issues

And, finally  ................doing anything else that my Presidential predecessor (Wendy Thorne) told me to!!”

Jane was born in Nottingham, England 63 years ago. She was a librarian all of her professional life. Initially within the Public Library System and, for 20 years, as a University Librarian.

Jane is married to Brian and they have  lived midway between Torrox Pueblo & Cómpeta for over 11 years.

Some of Jane’s aims whilst serving as President:-

1. Develop strong links with other, local animal charities

2.Change the CAS Membership Card into a Discount Card, making it a valuable, sought-after card

3. Develop links with other Ex-Pat communities in the area

4. Build on the successful network of over 95 Foster People who will temporarily care for dogs & cats until CAS can find them permanent homes

5. Add a “Small ads & Classifieds Section” to the CAS Web site in order to assist local businesses and raise much needed income for the Society’s work

6. Work with an organisation, based in Almuñecar, to form an Association that will be mutually beneficial and allow CAS to home even more animals and deal with even more  abused & abandoned animals

New home for Milly

Milly flew to her new home in Holland yesterday. She is dog nr 9 that is rehomed in Holland this year.

(click on the picture to enlarge)