March Newsletter

27th March 2023

Dear Members, Friends, Volunteers & Supporters,

Herewith the February/March newsletter which I trust finds you well as we move into the spring months.

It’s been a busy few weeks at the shelter with more animals arriving sadly - particularly puppies. Please help us by spreading the word about the importance of castration & neutering. Many people still do not understand that it takes a very short time for unwanted pregnancies to occur (sometimes unknown to an owner) and we are left with litters of kittens and puppies desperately fighting for life having been heartlessly discarded.

On a happier note so far this year 63 cats, 2 ferrets and 70 dogs have been adopted to their forever homes. To follow the progress of adoptions, (home and abroad) please take a look at the Happy Endings page from long standing volunteer Paula Read who also heads up our Virtual Sponsorship programme. Virtual Sponsorship is a wonderful way to support the shelter, particularly if you are not in a position to own an animal physically. Sponsoring an animal is not only rewarding (you can visit your virtual pet, spend time with them, follow their progress and receive updates) but also of huge benefit to the animals. Each sponsored animal has their costs covered (or partially covered depending on the level of sponsorship) for food and medical care. As you can imagine with over 500 animals in our care, this initiative is much appreciated. Please help us by spreading the word - or perhaps you might like to “gift” a virtual sponsorship to a friend or relative for a special occasion. To find out more please contact Paula by emailing virtual-adoption@tripleamarbella.org.

As many of you may have noticed, the building of the new shelter at our old site is progressing at pace. The current board are working hard with the Town Hall to ensure crucial details are put in place for the new facility. The original planning of this project commenced some years ago; however the requirements we need in this present day are significantly different. As you can imagine there are many important factors to consider and I would like to take this opportunity to thank my colleagues Susi Berman and Lily Van Tongeren who are official liaison & spokespersons for this project. I would also like to thank our "in house" Dog Trainer and behaviourist Therese Bjork who attended the site with me and Susi last week to discuss requirements for our canines. Susi is working very hard on making much needed adjustments for our Triple A Cats. The site we have currently is insufficient to house the number of cats we have, so it is of paramount importance that all elements of the build are correct. Susi is liaising with Rosa Cancio to make sure the Town Hall are fully informed and updated on the needs of the cats. Rosa has been with Triple A for over 12 years and knows the cats extremely well. I hope that with her expertise we can make the much needed changes required to make the new shelter as comfortable and spacious as possible. I would like to thank those who have contributed ideas that we can put forward to make things better, these are so much appreciated. If anyone would like to know more or make suggestions please contact Susi at susibtriplea@gmail.com. We realise that it’s a frustrating time, particularly as we are dealing with a project that we have inherited mid-way rather than from the very beginning. As with much of “shelter life” things will not be perfect but the board are doing their best to work together with the Town Hall to make the most out of the project and we thank alcaldesa Angela Muñoz and her team for giving our animals the opportunity to move into a brand new facility while they wait for their forever home, a position we appreciate that many shelters would wish for.

In fundraising news we had two superb events recently. Valentine’s night at Bo Banus was a lovely event at a new venue and “Yellow Mellow” night at Garum was a great night out with a wonderful turnout, raising much needed money for our medical costs. Many thanks go to Susi & Lily who organised both. If you would like to host a fundraiser, join the team or suggest new ideas please contact Lily by emailing lily4triplea@gmail.com.Our next event will the Triple A Fitness Festival “body, mind & soul 2023” on Sunday 23rd April; this year, we will be hosted by Puente Romano Hotel in the Salon Andalucia. Many of our participants from last year have already booked a space - please do come along and support the shelter. If you would like to have a stand, do a demonstration or are connected to the fitness and wellness industry please get in touch with Luke by contacting fitnessfestivalmarbella@gmail.com. The shelter is currently in need of some medical treatment with the summer months looming. We desperately need to treat the whole shelter with Bravecto to prevent serious problems with ticks and other pests. This is a costly exercise and we welcome any contribution you can make. If you can help - even by donating a very small amount please use bank transfer (using the reference BRAVECTO):

Asoc. de Amigos de Animales Abandonados “TRIPLE A” Banco Sabadell IBAN: ES20 0081 7460 6300 0101 0211 BIC/SWIFT: BSABESBB

We also continue to welcome contributions to “Sponsor a Spa”, this is a super initiative and very helpful for the shelter especially as the temporary facility we are in now, is extremely dusty and exceptionally hard to keep clean. A fresh spa or bath not only helps to keep our dogs fresh and clean but gives them added human contact and in some cases, experience being washed for the very first time whilst also helping them get used to an aspect of life outside of Triple A. If you would like to sponsor a spa for a dog you can do so by donating €25 to the account above (using the reference SPA + DOG´S NAME) please book with Lauren by contacting info@tripleamarbella.org. Anyone with grooming and/or bathing experience is welcome to come and volunteer in the well-being house!

On behalf of the board and all at Triple A, I would like to thank supporters and volunteers for the many wonderful contributions and donations they make to the shelter. This month in particular many thanks go to Fernando, Vicente, Carlos and Gabriel for creating an amazing climbing wall in the cat house, assisted by Javier and Fatima who do so much for the cats at Triple A. The building of some fantastic scratch and climbing posts generously donated by Fernaz one of our regular cat house volunteers is particularly appreciated by our energetic felines. Visitors to the cat house will see just how much of a difference this makes to the lives of the cats. Huge thanks also go to Mascota Planet, Mercadona, ElCorte Ingles and Alcampo for the collections they have made for us recently and those volunteers who have helped with the stalls and bringing items to the shelter.

In staff news this month, we said farewell to Diana Luchies and we thank her for the work she did at Triple A. We have had several new much needed “kennel cleaners” starting with Triple A, but in order to have a good rotation schedule we welcome applications from anyone looking for part-time cleaning work. This is a very physical job and incredibly important for the shelter, particularly in our challenging provisional site. Any applicants should only consider this position if they have adequate experience and are confident with all dog breeds including more challenging canines. For more information please contact Christophby emailing info@tripleamarbella.org. We are delighted that Kay Millington is now full-time Head of the Cat House. Kay has many years of experience working with all types of animals and has a highly acclaimed degree in Animal Welfare & Behaviour. We are delighted that the cats of Triple A will benefit from her experience and knowledge. Kay will also be working alongside Rosa assisting with cat adoptions.

Finally, a very warm welcome to all of our new volunteers - we are delighted there are so many fresh faces particularly joining our weekend walking groups - we hope you are enjoying the experience and share our news with your friends and family, great work by Steffi, Chris, Anna and the team! It’s heart-warming to see every single dog going out so regularly, enjoying the countryside and forming bonds with you all. We are also very happy to see that so many of you have signed up for our “Dog for the Day” initiative. Many of our dogs are now experiencing beach trips, special outings and mountain hikes with trusted volunteers - this really makes such a difference to their lives - thank you! If you would like to know more please contact Ines by phone call or WhatsApp on +34 651 43 53 72.

That’s all for now - thank you for taking the time to read our news. Wishing you all a Happy & peaceful Easter, we look forward to seeing you at the shelter very soon.

Warm regards, Elise Emanuelle Dunweber Presidenta