Voluntarios Itinerantes numbers in 2021
Hours of volunteering invested in shelters and protectors
Kilos of feed collected for dogs and cats
Volunteer trips to shelters
For animals welfare in shelters
What we do
“For animal welfare in shelters” is our motto, and that is exactly what we work for. The needs are similar at every shelter, but the priorities are not. Some need the dogs to be walked and socialized, others need us to clean and organize their facilities, some reach out to us because they need medication or food, and several times we’ve been asked to build fences or create spaces where the animals can live in better conditions.
What our volunteers do
The functions of our volunteers are many and difficult to classify because the list would be immense. One example of the activities we carry out at the shelters is: walks, cleaning, spending time with the dogs, helping them to socialize, building new areas and/or houses for the dogs, excursions, fundraising, among others. To learn more, read the Collaborate section.
How we are funded
Voluntarios Itinerantes is funded by its members as well as donations received at the activities we carry out: concerts, fairs, calendar sales, etc. We do not receive any public help from institutions or businesses. Our management is transparent and our members can always know where the money collected is being invested.
Our mission is to improve the lives of animals that live in shelters and protectors. We have a great team of people involved. Hit play and get to know the experiences of our Volunteers
The reality of the shelters in Catalonia 2021
We share the study carried out by our team “This is how the protectors of Catalonia are 2021”, which has the participation of 111 entities from Catalonia.
Discovering the unknown
When the state of alarm was declared on March 14th, 2020, most of the country stopped. This included any activity at animal shelters. Suddenly, the shelters could no longer count on their volunteers to clean, help with rescues, walk dogs, manage adoptions, collect donations of food or whatever was needed. From one day to the next, the lack of monetary and human resources that almost all shelters need grew exponentially. Voluntarios Itinerantes brainstormed about what to do during confinement to continue helping shelters. We used our savings to help those who needed it most and we decided to contact the people who had the power to really help animal shelters: public administrations. We had a government with brand new leaders, including a General Director of Animal Rights, to whom we sent our manifest, which explains the situation shelters were facing. We asked for economic help to alleviate the disaster of confinement. Over 200 entities all over Spain supported our manifest and, at the end of April, we were able to present our proposal to Sergio García Torres, General Director of Animal Rights, by video call. One thing was clear in this meeting: not even the Department of Animal Rights knows the exact number of entities in Spain dedicated to animal protection and what characteristics they share. It’s difficult to allot resources to something when you don’t really know who the recipients are, and this knowledge will surely be the first step in facing animal abandonment and abuse. Voluntarios Itinerantes set out to clear up this unknown. And this is the result.
Adopting senior dogs
Text: Verónica G. Kaufman (@vero_g_kaufman)Photos: Voluntarios Itinerantes Archive Marta Morera: «Accompanying them in their old age and giving them a quality of life they may have never had...
Adopt a dog in Spain. The story of Robin and Mojito.
Robin: «There are so many abandoned animals in Spain. One way to combat the situation is by adopting dogs from shelters.»
Volunteering is a big step against capitalism and in favor of collective responsibility. Know the Walter’s story.
Know the Walter’s story and his adoption. “It wasn’t love at first sight. We did not have a maximum connection but it was evident that we would be family.»
