SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 25 April. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Authorities from the Local Police department in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, from the Urban Environment Protection service (PROTEU), have filed a case for abandonment under the Animal Welfare Law (Law 7/2023 of 28 March) concerning a dog named ‘Iron’, who was discovered by an off-duty National Police officer in the parking lots of Las Teresitas beach.
The rightful owner of the pet, a 28-year-old lady, persistently neglected to address the situation, resulting in the dog being lodged temporarily for more than five months at the Valle Colino regional shelter.
‘Iron’, a white pit bull, was rescued by shelter personnel last November, after being found taking refuge on a steep slope near Las Teresitas beach. The national police played an active role in the rescue operation.
Due to the challenging terrain and the agitated state of the dog, it had to be sedated partially to ensure a safe rescue. Following this, the dog was transferred to the shelter where its microchip was scanned to identify its owner. Moreover, no reports had been made of it being lost or missing to any relevant authorities.
The shelter team contacted the owner, who claimed to be unaware of the pet’s disappearance and expressed intentions to retrieve it. However, this plan fell through as the lady lacked the mandatory license required for owning a potentially hazardous dog. Following this development, the Valle Colino hostel staff made repeated attempts to locate the owner without success, to help her sort out the necessary paperwork and acquire the mandatory license.
Disregarding these communications led to further outreach via the National Police to warn about potential consequences should the situation remain unresolved.
Presently, the dog’s fate hangs in the balance, with PROTEU agents of the Local Police having initiated the appropriate paperwork based on the revised Animal Welfare Law, potentially resulting in a fine ranging between 10,000 and 50,000 euros for the owner. An unintended repercussion of this scenario is that the dog remains in the interim section of the shelter, unable to be adopted by another family until the case is settled, preventing ‘Iron’ from finding a new home.
