Before adoption
Think through the decision to get a dog. Adopting a dog means great responsibility. You take responsibility for your dog’s health and quality of life for perhaps 15 years to come. Therefore, we want you to have thought through what your everyday life with a dog will look like. Do you have the time, finances and interest to adopt a dog and adapt life to it? Does everyone in the family agree?
A dog that comes from APAA-Nerja has mostly not lived indoors, if it has not lived in a foster home or family before. Don’t count on it being house-trained. It is usually quick to teach, even older dogs, to alert you to the need to go outside, but of course it takes different amount of time for every dog. Everything is new to the dog: telephone, television, washing machine, doorbell. New sounds that the dog must get time to get used to. You must be able to give the dog time to settle into its new life as well as be prepared to work with any problems that can occur.
Health and disease information
- The dogs are vaccinated against rabies and basic vaccinations, usually with the following vaccine: Eurican L R, and against distemper, usually with Eurican DAP.
- The dogs receive regular deworming, defleaing and deticking
- The dogs are blood tested for Anaplasma, Erlichiosis, Borrelia, Leishmania and heartworm. Puppies are not blood tested as it can give misleading results because they have not had time to get antibodies. Despite blood tests and the fact that we are doing everything we can to detect possible diseases, no guarantees can be given that the dog does not carry anything latent, will get sick in the future or that it has other hitherto unknown diseases.
- Our dogs are always sterilized if they have reached the right age, but if you adopt a puppy, we have a policy of sterilizing the dog in the future.
- The dog gets a simple veterinary inspection before departure, when the vet checks if the dog is fit to travel.
- A small number of our dogs have tested positive for Leishmaniasis. This is a parasite which is transmitted to dogs via sandfly. Some dogs have no symptoms for months or years after becoming infected. Symptoms can include skin lesions, depression, weight loss or drinking excessively. Some dogs develop kidney failure. Some dogs are asymptomatic and do not require treatment. However, if they do require treatment it is usually in the form of medication. This is given until the signs have resolved and the blood tests are negative. However, the dog is not cured and relapses can occur after stopping the medication. Your vet will advise you of the best course of action. The disease can be controlled and is not a death sentence. Most dogs with Leish live a happy and normal life.
Journey home
Of course, it works best if you can come and pick up your new family member yourself. If you cannot do it, APAA can help with air transport, and in some cases with land transport.
In case of air transport, APAA-Nerja delivers the dog to the airport in Malaga. We arrange a “flight buddy” who checks the dog in and takes it through customs upon arrival. The new family meets the dog at the airport. When the dog comes, it has a collar on, but you need to take with you a leash and possibly a harness. Please bring water and a water bowl for the dog. It has been without water for several hours and may be thirsty. You can also bring poo bags, some treats or food. If the dog should continue travelling in your cage, you should bring newspaper or a blanket to put in the bottom.
Home visits
We usually make a home visit to the new family, where we ask questions to see how and where the dog will be living. After the visit, we send the information to responsible persons in Spain for approval. If the home visit goes well, you pay the adoption costs and we start looking for flight companions, unless the dog will travel by land transport. Sometimes, one of our volunteers will travel with the dog.
More information
Adoption costs, rules and procedures vary per country. For more details on the adoption process in your country, please send a message to Ester Pulido +34654537972 via Whatsapp