Alex Trelinski
VOLUNTEER vets have gone to flood-hit Paiporta to treat pets at a pop-up veterinary surgery using donated medicines and equipment.
Meanwhile a football club pitch in Benimaclet has been turned into a reception centre to treat animals as well as reuniting owners with their lost pets or to find a foster home.
These are just two examples in flood-hit areas of Valencia province where people are trying to help animals of all shapes and sizes.
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Paiporta’s roads have been full of a mix of mud and refuse, meaning they are dangerous for dogs as they could catch bacteria like Leptospira.
Some pet owners have had to resort to carrying their dogs to prevent them from drinking polluted water.
“Animals that aren’t adequately vaccinated are at high risk, which is why we stress that it’s almost better to take them out for walks on rooftops rather than outside,” said Marian Sancho, one of the vets manning the pop-up clinic inside a former shop.
Pets are treated free of charge at the pop-up facility and those needing comprehensive care are referred to a university clinic in Valencia following triage.
The damaged premises cannot be locked, so the drugs and supplies are removed after dark.
Similar care centres have been set up in surrounding areas, manned by professionals and students from around the country.
A major example is at the Sporting Benimaclet football club where the soccer pitch has been transformed into a logistics centre.
Volunteers based there have rescued 400 pets and farm animals in a week that were lost due to the floods.
The ‘makeshift camp’ offers care by vets and animal experts who open a file on each animal.
Their behaviour is analysed and then to try to match the pet with a temporary foster family.
The centre houses farm animals, wild boars, turtles, ferrets and even horses, as well as cats and dogs.
Many of them have been micro-chipped which the volunteers check so that their owners can welcome back their pets as soon as possible or be reassured that they are safe.
