Laurence Dollimore
AN expat-run dog shelter is in a race against time to save the lives of dozens of animals after being handed an eviction order.
Some 50 dogs are facing death after the APA charity in Nerja was forced to close this week.
It came after the charity received a notice from its landlord earlier this month saying it had just 15 days to vacate the rented property.
President Laura Downes, 37, told the Olive Press: “We are in a desperate situation and at the moment we are concentrating on getting all of the dogs to safety.
“All our rehomers over Europe are backing us and helping us find homes for the dogs in need. “We are being pressurised daily to leave but we will not do this until we know our dogs
are in safe hands.
“They are our family and we will not let them end up in the hands of the killing stations who have no qualms about putting dogs down.”
In a desperate plea to expats and locals, the charity said: “Our landlord has been pressured himself and threatened to evict us, as there is no other choice, after three years of working so hard to save the animals of our town, we have to close.
“The dog hotels are full, so are our foster homes, we can’t even afford to pay the hotels if there were spaces.”
It comes two years after the charity first faced closure after being overwhelmed by the sheer volume of abandoned animals and the fact that the land could not be concreted, undermining the shelter’s hygiene.
It managed to survive and has rehomed hundreds of dogs since.
The charity is holding a demonstration outside Nerja town hall this Saturday to fight for its survival.
Downes added: “We are gathering at 11am and need as many people as possible to show their support, the dogs need you.”
