Today, July 27, is International Homeless Animals Day, which aims to raise awareness about the millions of dogs living on the streets worldwide. It is not a day for celebration, but rather a day that invites the public to reflect on this grave social scourge for which we humans are responsible. The street is no place for an ARISTOPERRO; they all deserve to know the love of a family and the warmth of a home. The main reason so many ARISTOPERROS are forced to live on the streets is the irresponsibility of their owners, who abandon them.
Animal abandonment rates are, to say the least, alarming. And summer is the most feared season, showing that many families do not think twice about the responsibility that comes with having a pet. Sadly, during this season, the animal abandonment rate increases by up to 40%, and it's even more alarming that within that percentage, 70% of abandoned animals are puppies, according to a study conducted by more than 20 animal shelters across Spain.
To combat this, the Community of Madrid has launched a new campaign this summer to prevent animal abandonment. This campaign also aims to promote responsible pet ownership, and they have launched the hashtag #mimascotaviajaconmigo (mytravelingpet) on social media, where pet owners share images and videos of how they share their lives with their pets.
All of this with the main objective of preventing animal abandonment, as each year in Spain alone, more than 104,000 dogs and 33,000 cats are abandoned, a truly heartbreaking figure. Summer is the period with the highest abandonment rate of the year, with more than 35% of abandonments concentrated in this second four-month period of the year, according to the Affinity Foundation's 2017 annual report.
And if you find an abandoned animal during these dates (or at any other time of the year, of course), what should you do? First, approach them carefully, gently and slowly, as the animal will likely be very scared. Once you have gained their trust, you can take them to any vet to have them checked for a microchip free of charge. If they have no identification, you can contact the City Council's collection service or a local animal shelter.
Regardless of the reasons, the abandonment of domestic animals is penalized by law. Sadly, for now, we do not have a territorial law that regulates this; instead, it depends on the criteria of each autonomous community. However, in all of them, it is considered a serious or very serious crime, leading to very high fines.
Nevertheless, not even economic penalties are enough to curb the abandonment rate and deter those people who are capable of abandoning their pets. At ARISTOPET, we continue to work to further reduce the abandonment rate.