Monday, 1 December 2025, 18:17
Animal abandonment remains a big problem in Malaga province and despite stricter fines and penalties included in the country’s new animal welfare law, hundreds of dogs and cats find themselves in animal shelters each year. The province’s shelters work tirelessly to care for rescued animals and find them homes, often abroad in countries including Germany and the UK.
However, volunteers frequently encounter extreme situations: animals in such a bad condition that they cannot be adopted immediately, or at all. Among these cases is Luna, a 14-year-old Podenco recently rescued in Torre del Mar on the eastern Costa del Sol, by El Refugio de Leo animal shelter which operates in the Axarquía.
Apart from her serious injuries – a large, bleeding mammary tumour, a cataract in one eye and a deep fear of human contact – when her microchip was scanned, she was officially registered as having died 13 years ago.
“According to the vet who examined her, her owner, a local hunter, justified it by saying that the dog had escaped and that’s why he registered her as dead. He even admitted that he didn’t even remember her anymore,” explains Lourdes Peláez, founder and head of the animal shelter.
Peláez believes that both the owner’s actions and those of the vet who certified her death constitute a crime and is considering reporting the case to Seprona (nature protection service of the Guardia Civil). “Luna is alive; she’s been with us for over a month. When we found her, she was wandering alone, injured and scared. She arrived terrified,” Lourdes recalls.
Now Luna is at the shelter in a donated bed which she shares with other dogs and is receiving treatment for leishmaniasis, as well as medication for parasites. “She eats twice a day, she roams freely around the property and she has found the affection she was missing,” explains Lourdes. The operation to remove the tumour cost around 350 euros, which is still needs to be paid.
According to the animal shelter her former family renounced all responsibility. “They said they didn’t care. Luna is a true survivor, but she probably won’t be adopted. She will probably stay with us forever,” laments Peláez, who is asking for sponsors to help cover her treatment and care.
The case, Peláez says, highlights the lack of resources with which animal shelters operate: “Sometimes people ask us why they have to pay for vaccinations when they adopt. The reality is that we don’t have large sponsors to cover the expenses. Every month we fight for the shelter’s survival so they can be as comfortable as possible. We have average monthly expenses of 2,500 euros and receive just 5,000 a year in government funding,” she explains.
El Refugio de Leo has around ten volunteers spread throughout the Axarquía and averages 20 adoptions per month. So far this year, they have already surpassed 220, mainly dogs. Currently, they care for around 50 rescued animals in Benamocarra, Algarrobo, Arenas, Rincón de la Victoria and Vélez-Málaga. Different stories, different wounds… and the same hope: that more Lunas will learn to trust again and fewer lives will be erased from a registry.