ARCA protectora dog shelter in Spain

Donate to help dogs in need!

Hi, My name is Malene - I am fundraising for the Spanish dog shelter ARCA protectora in Aldover Tarragona which was nearly destroyed in recent wildfires.

The shelter has been at a breaking point for a long time, with a continuous torrent of abandoned and surrendered dogs needing help, and huge difficulties raising enough funds for food and veterinary treatments. But this is a place where they never turn away from an animal in need - everyone just keeps trying harder! And then came the wildfire Paúl - it began several days ago in the nearby nature reservation and spiraled out of control as the days passed.

When it became clear that the shelter was in immediate danger, the small community of volunteers began the evacuation of the dogs. 48 hours of chaos and stress for people and animals followed - the circumstances were extremely difficult and the pressure on everyone was overwhelming. It was possible for the passionate team to evacuate most of the dogs to a local empty kennel space. The remaining ones where in great danger and the team did everything they could to get them out of the fire zone too, but it was getting too dangerous and the road was closed.

The distress for the team of having to leave dogs behind was indescribable and they begged the 'bomberos' to do something! So they stayed all night at the shelter with four firefighter trucks and managed to keep the fire out, although the flames raged on three sides of the fence.

Thankfully all dogs survived and are fine, and the shelter is still standing, but it was a very close call, and with 3.000 hectares destroyed in the area, and so many people loosing their homes, ARCA will now face a new challenge, with even more family pets being surrendered to them, by people who lost everything in the fire.

Please help us raise funds for the shelter to get the place up running again and secure food and vet treatments for all the dogs and other pets needing their help. They have such a hard time ahead and we hope to support them with food and vet bills so they can concentrate on caring for the dogs in the coming months. Please donate if you can and share this fundraiser.