Who are we? ANAA's Objectives Activities The Re-homing Centre Financing How to help
ANAA is a legally constituted association, registered in the:
ANAA is a member of the Community of Madrid Council for Animal Protection and Welfare (comprising representatives from the Departments of Environment and Agriculture, the Federation of Municipalities, SEPRONA, the Royal Canine Society, animal protection societies, the AMVAC and ACEPA veterinary societies, and the College of Veterinary Surgeons), which is a consulting and advisory body on animal affairs.
ANAA is a founding member of the Federación Madrileña de Asociaciones de Protección y Defensa de los Animales (Madrid Federation of Associations for the Protection and Defence of Animals), through which our association works together with others in reporting cruelty, making legislative proposals and conducting campaigns to raise awareness.
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It is ANAA's ultimate goal, on which all our efforts are focused, to increase people's sensitivity and respect towards animals and living creatures in general, thus making it unthinkable for them to inflict or permit the cruelty to which they are now subjected.
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The National Association of Animal Lovers (ANAA) is engaged in the following activities:
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ANAA provides services and takes steps to extend public knowledge of the Law for the Protection of Animals and raise general awareness of the grave consequences of abandoning a pet, and the responsibilities involved in having one. We publish articles in the daily press and in magazines, and take part in TV and radio programmes, providing these are cost-free for the Association. We do not spend funds on advertising. Our Birth Control Campaign for Pets, under which owners can sterilise their animals at a reduced price, actively helps to mitigate the problem of overpopulation and abandonment. |
Talks have been given at several colleges and institutes, and student groups have visited our re-homing centre. Information stands have been set up at dog shows and shopping centres, and activities such as membership day, bazaars, raffles, dinners, etc. have been organised.
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 Abandonment Thousands of dogs are abandoned in Spain every year. Most of these die in traffic accidents, or from hunger and disease. The most fortunate arrive at centres such as ours, and find a second chance for happiness. Our re-homing centre ANAA has a Re-homing Centre currently housing lost, abandoned and stray dogs, where inmates receive the care they need: food, exercise, love…, in addition to strict veterinary attention: de-worming and de-fleaing, vaccination, tests for Leishmaniosis, etc. Animals are sacrificed only when necessary for humane reasons. |
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ANAA looks upon re-homing as the most ethical and humane solution to abandonment, and prolongs indefinitely the minimum periods of residence stipulated in Law 1/90 on the Protection of Domestic Pets (Official Bulletin of the Community of Madrid [BOCM] no. 46, 15/2/1990), for the animals given shelter. The dogs are kept until either reclaimed by their owner or adopted by a responsible person, and their post-adoption progress is monitored by members of ANAA.
Occasionally ANAA has taken in other types of animal, such as sheep, goats, ponies, horses, ducks, doves, chicken, cats and iguanas, all of which have been found new homes.
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Volunteers and personnel The centre is run thanks to the disinterested help of volunteers from various walks of life, who undertake different tasks: care of the animals, assistance to the vets, the organisation of activities… In this way, it is hoped to avoid the negligence that sometimes arises when this type of job is done by people without vocation. There is also a permanent staff, comprising three vets and three keepers. Health control and care Animals arriving at the re-homing centre are identified with a number and name in a logbook, and a health chart is opened. From the moment they are taken in by ANAA they are given food and daily exercise, the health and sanitary care they need, a sheltered place to rest, and the attention and affection of the volunteers and keepers. |
Indeed, de-worming and de-fleaing is practised regularly on animals and facilities, following a schedule which includes vaccinations, and the dog and cat kennels are cleaned out daily. Some animals need special care because they were ill or wounded when they arrived, and these receive the appropriate treatment until they recover.
ANAA covers the cost of neutering all bitches at a veterinary clinic in order to prevent these animals, mostly mixed-breeds, from procreating uncontrollably in their new homes, for they could give birth to many puppies in the year and be a source of yet more abandoned pets.
All animals are kept for as long as necessary either to be reclaimed by their original owner or for their adoption by a new family. Sometimes, despite our efforts, they die because they were very ill when taken in or had suffered a serious accident, and very exceptionally, if the vet considers it necessary and unavoidable, an animal may have to be humanely destroyed.
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Re-homing and post-adoption monitoring If the dog has not been claimed by its owner within the legally stipulated period of 10 days when it carries no identification, and 19 days if it can be identified, healthy dogs of a good nature become eligible for re-homing. Anyone wishing to acquire a dog from ANAA must present a document proving his/her identity, and sign an Animal Adoption Contract promising to keep the animal in provisional custody, and not to give it away, sell, neglect or submit it to any improper treatment or treatment punishable by law. The adopter also promises to feed and care for the animal, and procure the necessary veterinary attention. If there is any failure to fulfil this commitment, the adopter will be required to relinquish his ownership in favour of ANAA. When an animal is re-homed, it is fitted with a microchip and vaccinated against rabies. ANAA also supplies a tag engraved with the Association's telephone numbers, which should be fixed to the collar so the animal may be located rapidly if lost. UFollowing the adoption, members of ANAA will monitor the animal's condition and reserve the right to take it back if any fault is observed. Any animal not re-homed remains indefinitely at the Centre, and is given the best standard of life possible for its species at all times. |
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Our Centre differs from the municipal dog kennels in that an animal will only be destroyed if it is terminally ill; has a contagious disease difficult to treat which endangers the health of other animals; congenital malformations preventing it from developing normally or leading a normal life; or if it has suffered a serious accident and cannot be saved. When unavoidable, the animal is humanely sacrificed under veterinary criterion, using an intravenous injection of penthotal. This is a quick and painless operation, which inflicts no suffering.
OTHER ANIMALS
At present, ANAA does not have suitable facilities to house certain animals, so we help the owners or finders of such animals to seek someone who can adopt them. Sometimes they are temporarily housed with collaborators until a permanent new home can be found.
INFORMATION SERVICE
The Association lacks the means to satisfy the multitude of requests for us to take charge of the dogs people no longer wish to keep, or have found, so we help by putting those who find themselves in this position in direct contact with potential owners.
We also answer a large number of inquiries relating to the animal kingdom and offer information on the possible ways of solving individual problems regarding animal behaviour, disease, legal complaints, temporary kennels, and re-homing centres in other autonomous communities...
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We would like to emphasise that ANAA is practically free from administrative and publicity expenses, for it is our understanding that members wish their donations to be spent in direct benefit of the animals. The Association therefore especially values the altruistic work of its collaborators and expressly states in its By-Laws that those serving on the Board of Directors should do so gratuitously.
ANAA obtains funds from various sources:
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Give an abandoned cat or dog a new home. and save two lives...
...that of your new friend and the life of another abandoned pet that can take up the vacancy at our re-homing center.
Sponsor an animal
If you cannot keep a pet at home, help us to keep it.
Care for them at home... Be a foster owner
Puppies, kittens and other delicate animals need a family environment until they can be permanently adopted.
You too can be a volunteer
None of the work done by ANAA would be possible without the altruistic help given by animal lovers in running our centre, caring for our inmates, setting up information tables, and organising other activities.
Become a member. They need you
Donations and membership “fees” are vital for us to continue our work and widen the scope of our activities.
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