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English version of Biancas' newsletter of July 2012TRANSCRIPT
Help us to help!Call 760 20 70 60
(0.60€ + vat)
JULY’ 2012
Help us to help!Call 760 20 70 60
(0.60€ + vat)
Official Bianca Association Newsletter | Year III
http://bianca.pt/english | http://bianca-pet-rescue-adoption.blogspot.com
TITIFeatured Animal
see page 4
1
EDITORIAL
July is a special month! It is the time of Bianca’s
anniversary which we celebrate with our annual party. This
year, like the previous ones, the party was a success! We
had lots of fun, games, food, beverages, facial paintings
that delighted the children, stalls with several articles for
sale, and above all good conviviality! It is always nice to be
with friends, sympathizers and volunteers that help our
Association.
But this month is always a difficult one too with the highest
number of abandonments. Some people tie the dogs to our
gate in an anonymous and coward way! Others, without
shame, go to our shelter and even though they know they are being filmed, have no fear of
consequences. We lack a law that effectively protects animal rights and punishes whoever
mistreats and abandons an animal. Bianca has already filed several complaints for
abandonment by owners properly identified.
Education and good judgment are crucial when adopting an animal! If you cannot adopt
don’t do it! Adopting an animal just to abandon him when he grows up or because you
want to go on vacation, is a way to mistreat and traumatize him.
We hope that the future generations are better and friendlier to animals because we still
have to face those who don’t respect them and even offend those who protect them.
Read more inside this edition.
Help us to help them!
http://bianca.pt/english | http://bianca-pet-rescue-adoption.blogspot.com
MAKING ANIMALS HAPPY
This month we selected the Hello Kitty’s purse which
its very pretty, practical and feminine!
See other items and utilities at the blog and know that
by buying something you are directly and actively
helping Association Bianca.
http://fazendoanimaisfelizes.blogspot.com
DO YOU KNOW. . .
When you fly, you may help Bianca Association? If you fly - on vacation or for work - from
Lisbon to Belgium, Holland, Germany or Denmark, you can help our pets. You can take an
animal with you to his new home.
Lets us know when you fly and we will manage all the details including animal passports,
sky kennels, a person to take the animal to Lisbon Airport and do the check-in with you
and a person in the destination airport to pick up the animal.
You don't need to do anything except transporting the animal. This is your way of helping
a dog or a cat that needs a home. If you are willing to help out, please contact us by
2
Rosy Titi
Clark
Aba
TreyPrima
Piko Melito
MaxPrimo Pandora
Mocho
Fish
Niko
WE WERE ABANDONED.. .
http://bianca.pt/english | http://bianca-pet-rescue-adoption.blogspot.com
Bianca was formed 10 years ago and (unfortunately) we know by
heart all the excuses people come up with to give their animals:
health problems, job transfers, new houses, divorces, etc. But in
fact, for those who love animals, there is no reason in the world
that could lead them to abandon their animal.
Our shelter is not the perfect home for any animal. We bring them
to the shelter (hopefully) temporarily, give them a safe place to
heal and be cared for, while trying to promote a responsible
adoption for each and every animal. A responsible adoption
because, if someone lacks the conditions to adopt, they shouldn’t
do it. The animal may become stressed, psychologically damaged
and his future life may be impaired.
If you want to join our cause, you may visit us on Saturdays and
find out more about us and our work. All help is welcome.
If you can and want to adopt, please send an email to
If you cannot adopt but want to help, know that you may sponsor.
This way you will be providing an extra welfare to an animal.
Know more at http://bianca.pt/english or send us an email.
3
Rima
Michelle
Pocky Tanga
Roxy
Lami
Yuri
Minnie Gabor GibbMilady
Gugi
Nora
Peta
Narta Narcy
NualoPer
Roma
WE WERE ABANDONED.. .
http://bianca.pt/english | http://bianca-pet-rescue-adoption.blogspot.com
4
LokiLetty
Mazarati Mhia
Miana
Lauro
Marluce
Nalin Mora NarutoMica
LuciBravoGui
BiléSilvy Pako
Pintada
Phelps
Liv
WE WERE ABANDONED.. .
http://bianca.pt/english | http://bianca-pet-rescue-adoption.blogspot.com
5
Pintas
WE WERE ABANDONED.. .
http://bianca.pt/english | http://bianca-pet-rescue-adoption.blogspot.com
This cat was abandoned this month and at the day we brought
him to the shelter we realised he was not able to urinate. He was
taken to the vet on an emergency basis, but unfortunately he died
a few days after.
May you rest in peace sweet cat.
B L A C K C A T
Riva came to us one day presenting a giant hernia on her
abdomen. She underwent an emergency corrective surgery and
survived. Recently she suffered an accident and passed away. . .
Rest in peace sweetheart!
R I V A
Makro was at the shelter for a very long time. She had always
been shy and liked to be left alone! One day, while being bathed
and cared for, we realised she had several tumours on her belly.
She was taken to the vet for proper observation. Her health status
was weak and even after some days of treatment she did not
resist. May you have your rest dear Makro.
M A K R O
IN MEMORY OF. . .
6
puppies, one of which died. When we managed
to collect the puppies Titi followed them into
the car and remained calm the whole time. She
is now very sweet. Nevertheless Titi has an
enormous hernia that almost touches the
ground! Because she is breast feeding the
puppies she cannot undergo surgery yet.
Unfortunately we do not have a temporary
foster family that may shelter them during
these crucial first weeks of life. We cannot be
sure if the puppies will survive because they are
very young (just a few days old) and small.
FEATURED ANIMAL
SPECIAL ADOPTIONS
COVER ISSUE
T I T I
Aline at our shelter in January.
A L I N E
http://bianca.pt/english | http://bianca-pet-rescue-adoption.blogspot.com
Titi in our shelter
One day when we were searching for a dog
that had loosened herself from the chain,
we found Aline. She is a very sweet and big
female dog that was in a pitiful condition
when we found her. She was producing
milk, lots of milk. We asked a man that was
wandering around the place if he knew
where the puppies were. He told us that
they had been adopted but we realised later
that they had been killed. We took her to
the vet immediately and the exams showed
she suffered from a mammary infection,
chronic otitis and leishmaniasis. Today she
is treated, the leishmaniasis is under
control but still no one wanted her. She is
super sweet, tender and has a suffering
look. Adopt her!
Titi is a female dog of a group of 6
that were abandoned near the
shelter. We were never able to
catch her because she always ran
away. She eventually became
pregnant and gave birth to 3
Additionally we are overcrowded with new and sick animals, all in need of our attention
and care.
We have already mentioned here the importance of spaying and neutering and once again
we give emphasis to that. Every year thousands of unwanted puppies are born and we have
to counteract this tendency and be responsible human beings.
We need volunteers that may actively help at the shelter! Be solidary and come volunteer
at our shelter.
7
WE ARE VOLUNTEERS
C h a r l i e a n d J u l i e
We are Charlie and Julie and moved to Portugal
a couple of years ago, to look after a friend's
fruit farm. We are originary from the United
Kingdom (Guernsey, Channel Islands) and
have been involved with Bianca more or less,
since our arrival.
Our motivation comes from witnessing so
many homeless dogs on the streets of Portugal
and wanting to help.
Having lived in Goa, India, for around 3 years,
we have seen what happens when dogs are left
to their own devices on the streets. Basically
they form scavenging packs that hunt at night.
They are full of diseases, (rabies etc) and have
many, many puppies that are not controlled or
monitored by humans whatsoever. Their lives are basically terrible, with no hope of help,
and mercifully, their life spans are short, due to illness and neglect. We found a few
volunteers from Europe trying to help with a sterilization program, but the problem was
almost impossible to control. The local Indians had problems in feeding themselves, let
alone animals, and the end result was that animals were left alone to completely forage for
themselves.
In Portugal however, there seems to be a different type of problem, where animals appear
to be brought into the family as household pets and given security and hope from the
"puppy" stage, only to be abandoned later on, through no fault of their own. This is
perhaps crueler than India, as a lot of the Portuguese strays seem to be so very easily
approachable, and have been given love at some stage of their life, and cannot adapt easily
to street life. We have seen some terrible signs of neglect in stray animals in Portugal, and
it would appear that Portuguese people have not understood that when taking on a four
legged addition to their family, that it is for that dog's entire life, regardless of expense,
family changes, or whatever. A lot of the dogs have not been neutered, and hence the local
population of strays, increases rapidly.
We honestly believe that any society can be measured in its humanity, as to how it treats
its animals. We also believe that the volunteers at Bianca are very very special people. Not
only do they understand the local problem, but tirelessly devote their time, money and
love on helping the dogs that are lucky enough to find themselves in Bianca.
One of our biggest surprises when first visiting the Bianca shelter, was how nearly every
dog there, wags its tail and comes straight up to you when you first visit! That alone, tells
everyone what incredible work they do there! All the volunteers know every dog by name,
and also know its history of where it was found etc etc. We are truly honored to play a little
role in helping them all. The other amazing factor about Bianca, is how it attracts young
volunteers from all over Europe, (Holland, Denmark, Sweden, Germany etc) who give up
their annual holidays to come over to Portugal, and tirelessly help in the shelter, or in
escorting dogs to their new homes found in Europe! Now that the regulations have been
reduced for dogs entering the UK, we do hope that some day in the future, there will be
some UK volunteers, as well as finding wonderful homes for Bianca dogs!
When we took on our first dog from Bianca, (Kooga, a beautiful 8 year old thoroughbred
http://bianca.pt/english | http://bianca-pet-rescue-adoption.blogspot.com
8
WE ARE VOLUNTEERS
German pointer), he had been found tied to a
litter bin. As he had been "chipped," the Bianca
representative tracked down the owner easily.
When questioned about why his dog had been
left in such a terrible state, (he was so dirty, it
took four baths to see that he had dapple
markings on his fur. . . .) the owner couldn't
understand what all the fuss was about. Kooga
had been used for hunting all of his life, and
was used to being tied there!
He was only fed once a week by the owner, and
was no longer any use for hunting, so he had
basically been left there! His back had been
marked by stick beatings, and he was more or
less close to emotionally giving up on life. . .
That was over a year ago, and now he has found out that he doesn't have to walk directly
behind me, and he doesn't get beaten if he has a good bark at anything that takes his fancy
! ! (yes, it took two months of complete silence before he learnt to bark again!) We have
found a beautiful loving dog, (thanks to Bianca) who will be by our sides for the rest of his
life. He has responded to our love, and pays us back a hundredfold on a daily basis, with
fun and love and happiness. . . the change in his character has been a joy to watch!!
We would so thoroughly recommend anyone to adopt a Bianca dog!!
In the United Kingdom, dogs are generally looked after, as a four legged member of the
family, and are taken on for life. This is not to say that there is no cruelty, however the
general population get very annoyed and upset if they hear of specific cruelty to animals
and generally, offenders are punished by law. Serious offenses are well publicized. . . There
are still animal shelters all over the country, but generally, the main worry appears to be
the breeding of dangerous dogs (Pit-bull, Dobermans, and Rottweilers) that are used by
the more uneducated members of the community, as appendages for their "macho"
image. . . You will not see many stray dogs anywhere in the UK, as the community would be
concerned for its welfare! The RSPCA (The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals) plays a huge role in monitoring the overall situation in the UK. There are also
laws to protect animals, with severe penalties for offenders.
With the recent relaxation of the UK's strict quarantine laws, we are really hoping that we
can contribute to finding loving, happy homes for Bianca dogs in the UK, in the not too
distant future. We are confident that Mike Gibb in Scotland, is making tentative enquiries
with this in mind.
We believe that Portugal needs to introduce legislation on "Responsible Ownership of
Animals". This should encapsulate animals being chipped by law, to track the owners,
along with suitable fines for any cruelty discovered in the home environment. The law
should also cover the responsible neutering of both male and female dogs that have been
found abandoned, along with the Government or suitable charitable trust, meeting the
veterinary costs incurred.
http://bianca.pt/english | http://bianca-pet-rescue-adoption.blogspot.com
9
WE ARE VOLUNTEERS
We also believe that many people obtain dogs for "security" purposes, and have no
intention of allowing them in their homes or family. We believe this to be wrong and
again, education should be spread on how dogs should be a part of the family, and not
delegated to sleeping outside of the home in the garden or elsewhere. After all, a good dog
would react to an intruder just as well if it was in the house or outside!
We also believe that in cases of extreme cruelty or neglect, the story should receive
adequate local publicity in newspapers and TV, to encourage the community to be suitably
appalled by the acts of "the few". This might help in showing the population what is
happening amongst them to their "four legged friends".
Finally, we believe in education at school level from within the curriculum, to show
children how they are expected to treat animals generally in the home environment. It
would be nice to produce a short "Bianca" film for circulation amongst schools at some
point, showing how animals should be treated and loved for all their lifetimes. (Would
you believe that we walked Kooga on a lead through Setubal, and all the children were
scared of him and moved to the other side of the street??)
If we had any message to leave with the Bianca newsletter, we would like to mention that,
thank goodness, dogs have got an amazing capacity to forgive what has happened to them.
We all know that eventually they will become a reflection of their new owner's character,
and given the right environment, will become an extremely loving, valuable member of
the family.
Perhaps it might be an idea to have a small document given out to potential owners of
Bianca dogs, when they arrive at the Bianca shelter, asking them what would they do with
this animal if they lost their job, or suffered a divorce or similar problem? Would they
still want to care for the dog? Perhaps they should sign a document promising to look
after that dog for its lifetime??
That seems to be one of the main problems with finding new homes. Are the owners really
serious about their new commitment?
Perhaps only education of the general public will help in the long term. . .
We are so very grateful for the opportunity to help at Bianca. We do wish we had more
time to help, but our hearts go out to all those
people who help with Bianca! Keep up the great
work!!
Charlie and Julie
http://bianca.pt/english | http://bianca-pet-rescue-adoption.blogspot.com
10http://bianca.pt/english | http://bianca-pet-rescue-adoption.blogspot.com
TIPS
Summer, heat and beach are the
watchwords of this season! Lately the
temperatures have been very high and
many pet owners think about taking their
dogs to the beach.
The option may not be a very practical one
for many people but it is possible to enjoy
a real family day at the beach with your
dog. Nevertheless we leave here some tips
on how to improve this experience and
make it a pleasant and safe one.
First of all make sure that dogs are
allowed at that beach. In the summer
season it is forbidden to take dogs to
concessioned beaches no matter what time
of the day, except for assistance dogs. At
non concessioned beaches be sure to look
for any prohibition sign.
Do not forget that you must always keep your dog on a leash at public places and the beach
is no exception.
Keep your dog in the shade at all times! Take an extra sun umbrella with you if necessary.
Be sure to always have fresh water available. At the beach and on hot days animals
increase the ingestion of water! We take this chance to remind everyone not to let the dogs
drink sea water. It may cause them indigestions.
Even in the shade the UV rays may be harmful not just to ourselves but to our four legged
friends too. The solution is a sunscreen! Nowadays every pet shop or vet has this products
available. The most sensitive areas are the ones without hair like the nose, belly and ears.
Animals with fewer or brighter hair are more exposed. Young and senior dogs must have
extra surveillance. Apply some sunscreen on your dog, avoid sun burns and have fun with
the family!
11
Berta Gigio Dani
Delinda
Lista
Prince
Dany
ClementinaLobito
Dhara
RaulUma
Dica
Naruto
I FOUND A HOME. . .
It is always a great joy to see an animal being adopted. An
adoption should always be a conscientious, well though and
voluntary act. And that is why at Bianca all adoptions are carefully
considered.
This way we try to assure that the animals are in good hands, that
they will have a family for their entire lifes and will be loved,
cherished and respected as a member of the family that feels,
reacts and suffers like all of us. And even with all this some
animals are still returned.
Remember, if you cannot adopt there are other possibilities for
you, like sponsoring. In this case, you are actually helping without
taking the animal into your home. You may walk your sponsored
animal, take him to the vet, etc. They thank that!
Go to http://bianca.pt/english or send an email to
[email protected] and find out more about it.
If you send us photos we will publish them on our website and
social networks.
Contact us by e-mail for the address [email protected]!
http://bianca.pt/english | http://bianca-pet-rescue-adoption.blogspot.com
12
Blaze Nora Felix Sebastião
NEWS of the MONTH
Like the previous years, the “Bianca’s Day”
party was a huge success! Lots of people
joined us and had fun knowing that they were
at the same time helping and contributing for
the welfare of the more than 300 dogs and tens
of cats we have under our care at the moment.
The games amused everyone and the food was
delicious. It was the celebration of Bianca’s
10th anniversary, well spent among human
and four legged friends.
We were also visited by some of the dogs that
already found a home and it was rewarding to
see them so happy.
To everyone who attended the party and to
those who could not come but sent very
positive messages we thank very much.
B I A N C A S ’ D A Y
http://bianca.pt/english | http://bianca-pet-rescue-adoption.blogspot.com
I FOUND A HOME. . .
13
EVENTS
On Saturday, August 18, 2012 at Catoctin Creek Distilling Co. , Purcellville, VA, Friends of
Bianca Pet Rescue will host a whisky bottling fund raiser. 100% of the donation goes to the
rescued pets!
During this event you can reserve a private spot at the magic “whisky cow” and learn an
important skill: how to bottle, cap, seal, and label whisky. Be a part of whisky history at
VA’s first legal distillery since prohibition and sign your name or promote “Friends of
Bianca” with a personal message on some bottles. Share lunch on the house with your
fellow whisky bottlers and, best of all, you get to take home your own souvenir bottle of
whisky, filled by your own two hands! RSVP now! Reservations are limited!
F R I E N D S O F B I A N C A I N S E S I M B R A
It was with great enthusiasm we welcomed Mike and his wife Norma, founder of the
“Friends of Bianca” charity in Scotland. Mike came to meet our shelter, our conditions and
of course, to personally meet the volunteers, who took the chance to gather and have a
pleasant evening with these scottish friends.
W h i s k y B o t t l i n g F u n d R a i s e r
August 19 will be the DAWG Day, which is a big event and weather permitting will be very
well attended. It will be held at Hazelhead Park in Aberdeen Scotland from 12:00 p.m.
until 4:00 p.m. Friends of Bianca will have a stand at this event with dog shows,
demonstrations, catering stall that include ice cream and. . . a bouncy castle for the
children. Show up and have a fun filled family afternoon with no admission and free
parking!
D AW G D a y b y F R I E N D S O F B I A N C A
NEWS of the MONTH (continuing)
http://bianca.pt/english | http://bianca-pet-rescue-adoption.blogspot.com