Benalmadena encouraged to collaborate with charity by adopting or fostering animals

FIDELIO animal charity representatives and the head of Benalmadena Council’s Health department, Alicia Laddaga, have urged local residents to collaborate with the charity following a meeting on Friday (January 8).

“For 26 years Fidelio members have been carrying out vital work anonymously in favour of abandoned animals, taking them in and looking after them at their shelter and giving their free time to providing them with care and affection,” the councillor explained.

Laddaga encouraged local residents to collaborate with the charity by adopting or fostering animals from the shelter, helping walk the dogs or donating food or blankets.

David Suarez, a Fidelio volunteer, reported on the current situation in Spain. “Every year 250,000 animals are abandoned in our country, an extremely high figure compared to other European countries, and six out of 10 pets given as Christmas presents end up being abandoned,” he said.

Suarez stressed that getting a pet should be a well-thought out decision and never done on the spur of the moment. “An animal isn’t a toy, it’s a living being with needs and feelings,” he said and encouraged those who have decided to get a pet to adopt one from the shelter rather than buying one from a pet shop or breeder.

Suarez also encouraged locals to collaborate with the charity, which currently has 22 volunteers and more than 30 animals at its shelter by the bullring.