At the beginning it was an uphill struggle to convince the authorities that they had an animal problem, despite having 300 letters on file from tourists saying that much as they loved the people, the food, the beaches and the sunshine they were not prepared to return to the Algarve because of the suffering of the unwanted animals on the streets.

Bitches from their first season, still themselves puppies, were being mounted by a pack of 20 'Lotharios' and their young subsequently born in storm drains (very often drowned if this happened in the winter months), derelict buildings, rubbish dumps and near to the beach bars which they relied on for food in the summer and which were closed in the winter.

Should an animal be injured it was left to die from heat and starvation, should an animal be injured by a car it was left to die in the gutter.

There were few small animal veterinarians along the length of the Algarve to whom people could turn for help.The only answer was to round up thousands of unwanted animals, this done by the rubbish department, and subsequently destroy them. As nearly every country resorts to this method of eradication of street animals we were hardly in a position to object but what we did campaign against was their capture by noose ( which sometimes resulted in ears nearly being torn from their head and bleeding eyes), this being only the beginning of their suffering as they were then put into pounds situated on rubbish dumps to await their final extinction by strychnine, an indescribable cruelty. Our quarrel was never with the Portuguese but only with those in authority who refused to admit that there was an animal problem.

Much has changed since then. Pressure was brought to bear by LAPS, kennels which resulted in municipal dog pounds being closed down, new accommodation built, proper supervision given, and humane euthanasia instead of killing by strychnine.

After this long, hard, bitter struggle our next biggest contribution was to pioneer an ongoing sterilisation programme which we believe to be the ONLY HUMANE WAY to cut down the number of unwanted animals. The past 20 years have shown an increasing awareness of the benefits of sterilisation amongst Portuguese and foreigners alike.

For 15 years we have tried to prevent the yearly advent of travelling circuses, but much to our deep regret they continue to bring their suffering animals to exhibit in the Algarve, invariably in the hottest months. It seems incredible that in this year 2004 animals can still be transported in small inadequate cages for thousands of miles. (Here we would like to convey our thanks to the many people who telephoned in the cruelties they had witnessed & helped to interest international newspapers in their plight.)

We seem to be the only people in this area who will take responsibility for cats and are therefore looking for those who love cats to set up a shelter, financed by us, where the female cats can be nursed for a 3-day period after sterilisation before being returned to her habitat.

We have for the last 10 years had a cat colony in Lagos where cats are fed daily, sterilised and homed (the one exception being an old ginger tom with a broken jaw and broken back who had to be put to sleep), and the numbers have reduced from over 40 to 14. This has been achieved through the dedication of Rhona who made this project completely her own. For whom we give grateful thanks.

It is now, 24 years on, impossible to continue this work without a partnership. 3 years ago we appealed for help in the form of finding a partner, the situation is more urgent and we appeal once again to anyone who would like to share in a sanctuary with expansion in mind, instead of closure.

NOW WE NEED YOUR HELP by coming into partnership, sharing the existing sanctuary, coming to work for us..................... contact us if you love animals.