Meetthecitywomanwho rescues dogs from Spain
A GLASGOW woman has rescued hundreds of dogs by dedicating her free time to saving them from Spain’s notorious kill stations.
Amanda Docherty, from Simshill, has been helping pooches abandoned in the Costa Blanca and surrounding areas since 2015 after learning that unwanted pets are put to sleep in kill shelters, also known as Perreras.
These killing stations were established by the Spanish government to deal with the ‘nuisance’ of dogs, according to the charity Animal Care Espana.
Dogs are randomly caught on the streets and brought to a Perrera and, when nobody claims the dogs within 10 days, they will be killed.
Amanda, 48, who works for Slaters Menswear, said: “I often get asked why do I help dogs in Spain when there are dogs here. I usually show them a photograph of a Dog’s Trust pen and then I will show an image taken in a Perrera.
“If you can’t see the difference, there is something far wrong. The dogs are put in a Perrera without a bed.
“The food is scattered on the floor and if there are multiple dogs in a pen, they fight. The weaker dogs get killed. The pens also get power washed while the dogs are in them. They are left soaked and shivering.”
She added: “Doing this is like an emotional rollercoaster. I used to cry all the time but now I know my limits.
“There are some dogs who really get to me but I can’t help them all.
“If there was an unlimited amount of funds I would help them. But there is not and it is not cheap to rescue from Spain.”
Amanda, who has rescued her own three dogs - Dora 3, Buddy 3 and 11-month old Trixie - fundraises tirelessly to arrange the transport of the dogs from Spain to Glasgow.
In Glasgow, she then arranges for their pets to get their forever homes.
The mother-of-two, who has a son Callum, 12, and daughter Amy, 10, said: “I live next to Linn Park and whenever I walk in, I bump into lots of my rescue dogs.
“It is a lovely to see that especially from when I first saw them in the pen.”
She added: “People ask me all the time, ‘how many dogs have you res- cued?’ but I have absolutely no idea.”
Amanda, who is married to David, admits that she dedicates most of her free time to the cause which can be tough to juggle with work and family life.
She said: “If I don’t rescue the dogs, who else will? If I can save 50 a year, it is 50 more than not doing anything.
“I get lots of support for the Glasgow community and I am so grateful for that. I am not a registered charity, I do it myself.”
She added: “I keep saying I am going to take time out because I won’t lie, family life suffers.
“It does take up so much time but my kids do love helping out when the dogs come.
“And there is far worst things I can do with my spare time.”
Amanda said she will keep going with rescue as she admits she can’t stop.
She said: “Now I have started this it will never go away. There will always be a dog who needs help.”
If you want to help Amanda by offering a forever home, you can contact her on Facebook.