The Ripollès Animal Shelter in Ripoll (Girona) is almost at the limit of its capacity for the increase of dogs of potentially dangerous breeds.
During this year, twenty have arrived, which represents 50% more than in 2022. "With the legislative change, the obligations of dog owners have been tightened and this has caused an increase in abandonments, especially of these breeds. "explains the vice president of the Ripollès Regional Council, Enric Pérez, who admits that if they continue to arrive in the coming months there would be no response capacity.
The Ripollèss Animal Shelter, opened in 2010 on a 1,900 square meter property in the heart of nature, has seen its day-to-day life altered with the increase in abandoned dogs of potentially dangerous breeds.
"It is a new case, which had not occurred before; it conditions us and worries us," admits Pérez, who adds that until now few had arrived. This year, however, around twenty have entered. If the figure continues to grow in the coming weeks, "there will be difficulties in being able to respond because the facilities are quite stretched to their limit," he remarks.
Unlike the rest of the breeds, these specimens do not share the same cage with other dogs, which reduces the actual capacity of the shelter. The head of the Territory and Sustainability area of the Regional Council, Elisabet Muntadas, details that the measure is made thinking about the well-being of the animals: "They are more sensitive dogs, they are not dangerous and if any of them are dangerous because of the previous life they have had before; we have them in separate cages so they are calmer.
Another different aspect is that in order to walk them it is necessary to have authorization from the City Council where the dog is registered, an administrative license. This means that only workers can walk around the shelter because the majority of volunteers do not have this permit.
Faced with this new reality, the Regional Council has increased the shelter's budget by 10% and will reach 168,000 euros. The contribution of the tax paid by the town councils has also increased, which represents 30% of the total cost. Thus, the councils will pay 1.95 euros per inhabitant. Among the improvements, a reinforcement of the cages is also planned to better serve these animals.
