JULY 2021

It was hot in July, even at Finca Noah. That's when everyone enjoys a siesta.

NEW ARRIVALS

JOHNBOY

Johnboy is a small Dachshund mix (according to our Manuela Rapp, there might be some Papillon in him too), about two years old, 30 cm tall and weighs approximately five kilograms.

Johnboy was rescued in a miserable condition by a Spanish woman from his bleak surroundings and brought to us after he had to spend a night at the veterinarian. His little body was completely covered in fleas and flea dirt. A matted bundle of misery. Johnboy lived, or rather vegetated, in a hoarded apartment among garbage, dog feces, newspapers, boxes, spoiled food, rats and cockroaches.

When Johnboy arrived at us, he was frightened and insecure. The little guy had barely seen daylight and had never been outdoors. People, other dogs and cats were foreign to him. But Johnboy fell head over heels for Farah at first contact. She gave him the support he needed and he could trust her. Ever since, Johnboy follows Farah constantly. Wherever Farah is, so is he. And when he foolishly loses sight of her, he starts searching for her. Johnboy slipped straight into Farah's heart from that first moment of eye contact. He was also the one who got Farah to break her principle of "no dog in bed" (hehe).

Johnboy has been with us for about two weeks now. In the meantime, he has increasingly joined the dog pack and has become a cheerful, curious and open-minded dog. Farah is still his most important attachment figure, but when she's not around the yard, Johnboy can now wait without searching for her or howling. He gets along excellently with the other dogs and with cats. He also seems to be building more and more trust with people.

MURTA

Murta is a Pastor Mallorquin female dog, about ten years old, 66 cm tall and weighs approximately 32 kilograms.

Murta was abused her entire life as a chained guard dog and breeding machine. The Swiss woman who brought Murta to Finca Noah told us that a Mallorcan sold his finca with various animals, but the new owners didn't want to take them with him. Murta would almost certainly have ended up at the killing station if this courageous animal welfare advocate hadn't been there and wasn't willing to stand by and do nothing. During the handover, she summed it up perfectly:

"I'm speechless! Murta's story clearly shows what kind of relationship some Mallorcans have with animals, which many still consider as merchandise. First you give them a life that isn't really a life, and when there's no more need and no more profit to be made, nobody cares what happens to the animal. That's so typical!"

Murta is a wonderful, cuddly, sweet female dog. She is very balanced, calm, likes people (including children) and gets along great with other dogs. Murta loves being petted and pampered. Walks are a highlight for her. We still need to test how she is with cats, but she ignores poultry and hoofed animals. Murta is very alert and obeys well, but she can't stand bicycle and motorcycle riders.
We are looking for a quiet home for this lovely female dog. Murta should spend the years she has left living with a family that loves her, cares for her, gives her security and a beautiful home.

[[youtube:mP4xnhnrjuw]]

ANNIE

Annie, a Kangal mix female from Swiss origins, was born in 2015 and currently lives in a private foster home. She is extremely friendly, people-oriented and open-minded. Annie gets along well with dogs of her own kind, likes most cats and finds children wonderful. She enjoys car rides but can also be left alone. This dear lady is intelligent, loves to learn and learns quickly, and knows the dog ABCs well.

We are looking for a home in Switzerland for Annie, where she can begin a new chapter of her life as a full-fledged family member. Annie is looking for caring people who will give her a beautiful and active life and where, as a family dog, she can give back the love shown to her. She needs a home with a garden.

Annie is already in Switzerland and is looking forward to your visit if you're interested.

Please contact Nadja Wüthrich at Mobile 0041 76 342 78 63 or Email help@animalpolice.ch

THE STREET PUPPIES ON SANTORINI (Greece)

Update: In the coming days, Farah will fly to Santorini to bring the Labrador mix puppies back to Mallorca.

Animal Police knows no borders when it comes to animal rescue. We're willing to fly halfway around the world for those poor souls.

ALSO…

LUZ

Luz, our Pastor Mallorquin cuddly mix female dog, is about ten years old, 67 cm tall and weighs approximately 28 kilograms.

Luz is especially close to our hearts because she has now been at Finca Noah for over four months. She too unfortunately had to spend her entire life on a short chain. Alone, forgotten on a property with no contact whatsoever.

But one day her life seemed to be taking a turn for the better. A Spanish man who drove past the property every day had so much pity for the "cute" female dog that he spontaneously took her with him without thinking twice. The problem at that moment, though, was that he couldn't take the dog home with him. So there he was, with a dog in his car who desperately needed a place to sleep. I don't remember exactly how he got Farah's phone number. In any case, one day a desperate, crying man called asking for quick help. At the time, the stay with us was supposed to be temporary, just three or four weeks. The man told of an aunt in Barcelona who runs an animal welfare organization there. That's where he wanted to bring Luz personally. The first few days the man came regularly to Finca Noah and visited "his" Luz. He brought her treats and toys and often just sat with her in the enclosure. But then the visits became increasingly rare and now the man doesn't come anymore. When Farah asked him what was happening regarding Luz, she got no clear answer.

Luz has now been with us for over four months. Essentially from a chain straight into an enclosure. Is that supposed to be her new life? Doesn't Luz deserve a life of dignity too? A life like other family dogs? Should her life begin on a chain and end in an enclosure?

We really wish that dear Luz can spend the time she has left with a family. A family where she gets love, security, trust, attention and cuddles. Surely that exists!

Luz is a cuddly female dog who loves being around people, but she doesn't like dogs and cats. On the other hand, she's indifferent to chickens and horses. She loves searching for treats or just sniffing around. A family with a garden where Luz can go in and out as she pleases would be ideal. Luz is already older, but when she sets her mind to something, wants to follow a scent, or has had enough of a walk, she can be really stubborn – and really put a lot of effort into following the scent or getting home as quickly as possible. Otherwise, she's more of a slow, leisurely walker who likes to sniff around.

[[youtube:nv9fW9JYDr4]]

OUR ONE-YEAR-OLD CATS

As every year, Mallorca is flooded with countless kittens in spring and autumn (we don't want to comment on the topic of missing cat neutering here). So at the moment we have many, many baby cats of all sizes, colors and ages at Finca Noah. Baby kittens are usually reserved in no time and are gladly adopted. But this month we consciously want to direct attention to our "one-year-olds," i.e., cats that are now more or less a year old. Because these sweet kitties were once babies too, but because we couldn't find homes for them a year ago, they are now uninteresting to most cat seekers.

The problem with "no longer baby cats" is that the longer they stay in an animal welfare organization, the more difficult it becomes for them to regain trust in people. We see that daily here. We currently have over 100 animals on the grounds and unfortunately always too few volunteer helpers. By the time we've fed all the four- and two-legged creatures, cleaned the enclosures, completed other daily tasks and taken the dogs for walks, it's almost time for the evening round again… Someone who spends hours every day in the cat enclosure and can build trust with the cats is something we unfortunately lack – like all other animal welfare organizations. That's exactly what spells disaster for most "older" cats: their new families want trusting kittens that are cuddly, playful and always show up when they come home.

Of our nine cats from last year, at least half are "tame" so to speak. Does that mean the others will never find a family? Just because we people around them every day don't have time for each individual?

For our cats, we're looking for families who have patience. Families for whom it doesn't matter if the cat spends the first few weeks hiding somewhere under the bed because she's afraid, uncertain, and needs to get used to the new situation. Families who don't mind that their cat doesn't greet every visitor with excitement.

Trust in our cats can be built, but it takes time!

UPDATE: KING AND QUEENI

Good news: Both have made great progress! Mike can now distribute treats through the enclosure bars and I (Nadia) can enter the enclosure without both immediately fleeing to their wooden box. During meals, it has also happened increasingly that they, like all the other dogs, wait eagerly for food. In the past, they immediately ran back to their box and only came out again after the enclosure was empty. (Except with Farah. With her, this started a few weeks ago – they now stay when she enters the enclosure.)

Because they were making such good progress, one day we decided to move the two into the 300-square-meter outdoor enclosure so they could really get some exercise. Farah wants to eventually take them for walks, so this would be a small step into the big, wide world. On that particular day, wolf expert Anne was visiting with her husband (a dog trainer) and their children. But before we could move the two dogs to the outdoor enclosure, we had to put a safety harness on them. That's when the problems started. Both dogs had never worn a harness in their lives! Since both dogs were in their wooden box and we couldn't move them out, we had to put the harnesses on them in the box. That was "fun". Farah and I pulled, pushed, lifted, tugged – and eventually the two of them actually got the harnesses on. I should mention that before we put the harnesses on them, we had fitted them with muzzles. King let it happen, but Queeni didn't find it funny at all. She got very wild and tried to rip off the muzzle, which she kept succeeding at.

Now we had to "just" get them out of the box, out of the enclosure, across the yard and into the outdoor enclosure (hehe). It all turned out to be not quite so simple. Farah and I were ready, the dogs had harnesses, muzzles (King) and leashes on – we could go. I will never forget that. Both dogs resisted, and I mean really resisted. Queeni even started twisting around and the more we pulled, the more the dogs fought back. But Farah and I couldn't give up. I don't know what it looked like for Farah because I had to focus completely on my task. In any case, I pulled King with all my strength on the leash across the yard. And believe me, I really had to pull hard. Farah probably did the same and eventually we made it – we had both dogs in the new enclosure. Farah and I were overjoyed. Finally they could move around, play, sniff, mark territory and – if only for a short time – live a normal dog life. We let them off the leash. Queeni was the first to lie down in a corner of the enclosure, right next to the fence, and stayed there. King followed her and lay down next to her. The dogs stayed in the same corner the whole time. King eventually started lifting his head and looking around; Queeni didn't. King eventually drank; Queeni didn't. Had we made a mistake?

Farah and I alternated staying in the enclosure with the two dogs for about two hours. When we finally wanted to leash them again to move them back, they were still lying exactly where they had lain hours before. The return trip to "their" enclosure went just like the move out: they resisted and fought back and Farah and I had to pull like crazy and couldn't let up. But suddenly, halfway back, the two of them understood – especially visible with Queeni – that they were allowed back to their home. Both dogs stopped resisting and ran as fast as they could back into "their" enclosure. The moment they were inside, they were King and Queeni again, just as we experience them every day.

The whole operation didn't really go the way Farah and I normally do things. Everything in us rebelled against this method. But our wolf specialist and her husband, a dog trainer as mentioned, felt that this move should be practiced once so the dogs would understand that they were leaving their familiar enclosure, going into a new enclosure and coming back.
Without the "coaching" from our wolf and dog experts, Farah and I probably wouldn't have done it. But it worked out and the two animal experts are convinced that with regular moves to the outdoor enclosure and back, the dogs will get used to it and it will get better and better. We'll see and report back.

[[youtube:jCR4YBv1suo]]

Meet…

NADJA WÜTHRICH

Nadja Wüthrich is a passionate animal welfare advocate and dog lover. She has been volunteering with the Animal Welfare Association Basel for 15 years at the regional level, has been its president for ten years and heads the dogs and animal welfare cases department. Farah and Nadja met and came to appreciate each other three years ago. Animal Police is the only organization with dogs that Nadja Wüthrich works with. She describes it as friendly, trustworthy, passionate but not amateurish, honest and open.

We look forward to further good cooperation!

Impressions from Finca Noah