ISSUE NO. 1668
22 - 28 June 2017
A XARQUÍA - C OSTA T ROPICAL
YOUR PAPER, YOUR VOICE, YOUR OPINION
WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM
Lost and found
BRIAN HAYES: Went missing in Nerja.
RESCUED: Some of the dogs arrive at the Don Animal centre.
Hounded out Authorities seize 105 diseased dogs By Sally Underwood Over a hundred dogs from a tiny compound in Rincon de la Victoria must remain in a welfare centre, a judge has said. It comes after the animals were freed by Local Police and officers from the Guardia Civil’s nature branch, Seprona. They were allegedly being kept on a plot measuring less than 100 square metres in Arroyo de la Granadillas, with many suffering from scabies, leishmaniasis, fleas and other health problems. According to media reports, however, the owner of the site, Esmerelda Moreno, who lives in a caravan next to the land, is said to be outraged, claiming the dogs were wrongfully taken from her after a neighbour complained to police.
“I have all the papers in order,” she said, adding, “we are rescuing animals, everything is legal but it seems that there are various people who want to stop us rescuing abandoned and abused dogs.” She explained, “we have had all the paperwork in place with the Junta de Andalucia since October and have asked the council for help on many occasions but they have ignored us,” saying the dogs “are my life, like my children… I need help. Let me take care of them again, be-
cause if not they are going to be put down.” It is reported the dogs were taken from Ms Moreno after a neighbour complained, sparking a council probe which concluded that the compound failed to meet minimum hygiene standards. Head of the Don Animal rescue centre, Jose Antonio Villodres, said the charity was prepared to take the dogs in and would “take care of them, feed them and give them medication where necessary.”
The centre can be contacted on 952 971 663 from 9am-2pm and 4.30pm-8pm, via Facebook or the website www.donanimal.com should any readers be interested in adopting.
BRIAN HAYES, an 82-year-old holidaymaker from Liverpool, has been found alive after going missing in Nerja for over 30 hours. It is thought Mr Hayes, a retired BT senior manager who is now recovering from the ordeal in hospital, got lost and fell after going to put out the rubbish from his apartment in Capristrano. He and his wife Jean, who had visited the area five times before, were due to fly home from the two-week holiday just hours after he went missing. The Guardia Civil immediately put out a missing person’s appeal, describing Mr Hayes and the clothes he had been wearing and calling on members of the public for information. The pensioner was eventually found ‘disorientated, dehydrated’ and unable to move, lying by the side of the road to Maro without food or water by a passing van driver. The police have said Mr Hayes was “lucky” to be found, while his daughter Amanda Wilkins, who was on holiday with him, has thanked friends, the Guardia Civil and neighbours for their help, adding that her dad “is not ill, he’s just getting on.”