About AAGC


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AAGC is a new organization trying to improve the lot of abandoned animals in Gran Canaria. Our main aim is to promote the adoption of abandoned animals locally. Our name, Adopta un amigo en Gran Canaria, literally means Adopt a friend in Gran Canaria and aims to reflect a more caring attitude towards animals.

We're a locally registered organization, with registry number: G1/S1/14872-08/GC

Our activities include:

  • Rescuing animals from the streets, or from the shelter if they need special attention, to place in foster homes and seek good forever homes for them.
  • Cooperating with the local shelters. Our volunteers help clean the cages, assess potential adopters and try to give the animals some of the attention and love they need
  • Trying to build a stronger, larger community locally that cares about animal welfare issues, particularly the abandonment and mistreatment of pets. We do this mainly through our Spanish-language forum, that helps volunteers, adopters and other interested parties keep in touch, ask for help, etc.

Join us!

You're very welcome to become a member of AAGC. If you live in Gran Canaria maybe you can join us as a volunteeer, or foster home, or adopt through us. If you live elsewhere, maybe you can consider sponsoring an animal under our care. We'll have more information available on these options soon. In the meantime, please write to us.

AAGC outside Gran Canaria

For the time being there is little we can do beyond the island, as we lack the contacts to seek adopters or check for good homes elsewhere. We do send some animals to Madrid, where we have some volunteers we can trust in dealing with adopters and in taking care of the animals on reception. So, if you're flying from Gran Canaria to Madrid, you may be able to help by taking a pet to its new home.

Of course we're open to new contacts elsewhere, and to cooperate with other groups with similar aims. Please get in touch if you have any ideas for collaboration.

We also welcome donations, both of material (food, medicines, beds, collars, toys,...) if they can be brought to Gran Canaria, or money donations, as we have many expenses.


Contact

Adoptions


To adopt an animal, please email us:

Or call us: +34 633 274 373 / +34 633 274 374

Different ways to help To become a member, to help us someway or to get more information about us, write us an email:

Problems contacting us? People who answer your emails are volunteers with their own jobs and families. In spite of that, it is strange you do not receive an answer. Please, if you do not get any feedback, check if:

  • Your email account is working properly.
  • Our answer is in your spam inbox.

If after that, you have not received an answer, please, contact us again to the following email: web@adoptaunamigoengrancanaria.org.

Our Postal Address Asociación Protectora de Animales “Adopta un Amigo en Gran Canaria”. Apartado de Correos nº38 C.P.: 35002 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria – Gran Canaria – (Spain)


Before adopting an animal

To fall in love with a little animal is such an easy thing….they are so cute! Sharing your home with your little friend, could be one of the best pleasures you have ever felt. Cats and Dogs give us unconditional love and acceptance, companionship, and even they contribute to calm us after a hard-working day. If you are thinking in adopting a deserted animal, it means you are a responsible and humanitarian person. To have a dog or cat should be a good experience for both, pet and owner. You must be 100% sure before adopting, deserted animals are the victims of bad-taken decisions.

Before adopting, you should reflect about the following issues:

Will I assume a commitment with an animal for the rest of my life?

To adopt an animal because this is what people do or because your children have asked you for a puppy, used to have not a happy ending. You must know that pets can live along 10 to 18 years… Do not adopt impulsively!! Make sure first that all the members of the family agree about adopting a little friend. If you want to adopt a puppy, think in how it could be when it becomes an adult, and if you will still like it. It is also important to check if someone is allergic or asthmatic at home, these are the most frequent illnesses why people decide to abandon their animals. Pets are members of your family; if you are not going to look after it during your whole life, do not adopt it, it will be possible you will abandon it or even worse.

Do I have time enough to look after my new friend? Dogs, cats and other pets cannot be ignored because you are a busy person. They need to be feed, doing some sport and not to be alone every day of every year. Puppies need more attention than the adults, it will depend on this if in the future it will be a trained pet or not. Both, cats and dogs need our attention and cares. If you think your pet is going to be alone most of the time, maybe you could adopt 2 pets instead!! In that way, they will play together and they will not destroy your home because they are bored! A lot of animals arrive at the shelter because their owners did not think in how much time is necessary to look after them. Do I have enough economic resources to provide my pet with everything it will need?

Just put together: food, vaccines, hygiene and cleaning products, toys and veterinary cares and emergencies. And these are not all. Your pet deserves a good life quality, providing it with proper nutritional balanced food and with the necessary veterinary cares. Without all this, your pet could get ill what in a future could mean that you must to assume very high cost veterinary treatments.

Are you ready enough to face the inconveniences of having a pet? Fleas, scratched furniture, hair everywhere…could be some of the problems you could find when having an animal at home.


Is it allowed where you live to have an animal? Many landlords and neighborhoods don´t allow you to have animals, and some impose hard restrictions. Make sure of the conditions of your neighborhoods before adopting.

Is there any possibility you move from your house in the next years? “We're moving” is one of the main reasons why a lot of people take their pets to the shelters. If you consider that in a future you will move, think if you will be willing to look for a house where to have animals is allowed? When you must face a crisis, a divorce or a death, will you be willing or able to continue taking care of your little friend?

Have I consider if I have space enough for a pet?

The size and the breed must depend on the size of your house. For big dogs, big spaces where exercise themselves and have a proper growth will be required.

We also recommend to keep cats inside our home, because on the streets they must face different risked situation such as being attacked by another animal, to be run over by a car, to be poisoned by the neighbors or to fall ill.



Is your life-style compatible with having an animal? The size is not the only point to take into account. For example, some dog breeds are very active. They need to do a lot of exercise to calm down, and they bark to everything. Another big dog breeds are very quiet and are more than happy of laying down on the sofa the whole day. Before adopting, get as much information as you can about the dog/cat breed you want to adopt, thus you will make sure which is the most suitable animal for you.

Who will take care of it while you are not at home or on holidays? You will need someone you trust in or consider the option of paying a shelter or a pets hostel. Will you be a responsible owner? Sterilize or castrate your cat or dog, to follow the community law or licenses, to hang a tag from its neck or to chip it, are some of the responsibilities of the owner of an animal. Of course, giving your friend love, companionship, exercise, a balanced diet and all the veterinary cares it needs is also essential.

Aditional tips 1. You must take your pet to a veterinary center for a medical general checkup. This visit will be the first step to start a veterinary periodical control. We recommend starting it fifteen days after the adoption. 2. Don´t give animals as a present. Your “present” could be not very welcome and being abandoned. To have a pet, is a very personal and important decision. 3. If it is a child who chose the animal, help him to select the one which is more suitable for your life style and your family. 4. You must also consider to adopt an adult cat or dog. They are more quiet, trainable and very loyal. Once you have answered all these questions…are you ready to take care of a pet during the rest of your life?

Many of the shelters homeless animals are puppies and kittens, victims of irresponsible people who allowed their pets to breed. But there are a large number of dogs and cats in shelters that had been adopted by people who did not think the responsibilities that owning an animal before taking him home. Please do not make the same mistake. Think before you adopt. Sharing your life with a dog or cat can bring you incredible rewards, but only if you're willing to devote the necessary time, money, responsibility and love for the rest of his life.


To adopt one of our animals

If you want to adopt one of our animals are some steps to follow to ensure that the animal will be well cared for and that the effort done by the volunteers and contributors of the association will be rewarded. Think first if you are really able to give a decent life to an animal. The adoption process begins when you fill out the following questionnaires (in Word format) for dogs or cats and sent to gatos@adoptaunamigoengrancanaria.org (for cats) perros@adoptaunamigoengrancanaria.org (for dogs).

In any case the person who wants to adopt a dog should help with 110 € for donation that will cover a small portion of minimum veterinary costs, such as its internal and external parasite control, vaccinations up to date, tests of filaria (heartworm, when appropriate due to age) and its updated preventative vaccination, rabies, microchip and castration / sterilization.

In the case of a cat, the minimum amount is € 70 and covers part of the veterinary costs resulting from internal and external parasite, completion of the test of feline immunodeficiency and leukemia (where appropriate by age), vaccination and castration / sterilization .

These donations are essential to continue our labor because we have no subsidies or help from any official institutions. The puppies (dog and cat) will be given at least with two months old. For further information contact us, you'll be very welcome.

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