Amber and Kelly playing and cuddling with the cats….

On Saturdays it is easy to spot Amber and Kelly, both students and cat lovers, in the cats’ cage of the Shelter. As soon as the girls arrive, the cats gallop playfully toward them, and those who might have that special ear, are pretty sure they can hear a feline equivalent of ‘Yeah!! Play and Cuddle time!!’ Seriously though, cats are actually very social beings and need human company with which to interact, play and be loved. It certainly means a lot to them to spend some time with Amber and Kelly who also try to teach kittens that sharp little claws can hurt!

Students choose Shelter for trainee period…
Five students from the Vespucci College, a school for secondary education, chose the Shelter for their social trainee period. They learned of the Shelter’s main activities and other provisions to the community. They also spent a lot of time in ‘Zoë’s Puppy home’ where they could put their love for animals into practice. Naturally the puppies enjoyed being petted and cuddled. As an organization, the CSPA is a fervent supporter of schools which give their students the opportunity to seek information on animal welfare and students who demonstrate their love for animals. Such students invariably make better pet owners as their lives develop.

Youth for animals

On Friday afternoon and Saturday morning some students come to the shelter to play with the dogs on the field. They take the dogs from their kennels and allow them exercise on the field. Naturally there is a lot of playing, hugging and petting and the dogs love it. It is very positive that these youngsters spend some time with the homeless shelter dogs which certainly need some extra love and attention after being abandoned at the shelter.

Shelter dog Regie enjoys the company of Alejandro and Patrick

Timy loves Alejandro

More students interested in becoming volunteers!

Iris with Snowy and Fifi in “Zoë’s Puppy Home”

Max with Mery in the kennel of the bigger pups.

In the photo, two students who recently joined the group of shelter volunteers. The puppies and dogs enjoy the extra attention given by Iris (11 years) and her brother Max (9 years). Iris and Max pet them and play with them and thus tremendously contribute to their development into happy dogs.

Although Iris and Max live rather far from the shelter, their mother is kind enough to drive them to the shelter every Saturday and pick them up again afterwards. A sincere ‘thank you’ to this family of animal lovers.

Inge Schoggers, one of the dedicated shelter volunteers on the field with “Horse”, an enormous dog with a severe skin problem. The owner could no longer take care of him and brought him to the shelter. Several volunteers are trying to nurse this friendly big boy back to health.


Volunteers Inge Schoggers and Lydia Herdink on the field with Sambal, a young and energetic male

In Zoë’s Puppy Home we met Kim who was just bathing a little puppy that suffers from mange.
It was a pleasure to see how carefully and lovingly she dealt with the little animal.

Robin and Kim, posing in Zoë’s Puppy Home with two puppies that they had just bathed. Like children, the puppies love to be wrapped in a towel afterwards for a few minutes of love and cuddles, which help them feel secure and safe.

Jan Mooldijk
Volunteer Jan Mooldijk has some very special qualities: dogs who are very shy and frightened feel immediately at ease with him. Thanks to Jan’s therapy, problem dogs start improving socially and thus have a better chance of being re-homed. 
In the picture: Jan giving a shelter dog his "whispering" therapy.

Yvette Knol
Make acquaintance with Yvette Knol, one of our most dedicated volunteers. Yvette takes excellent care of the puppies and cleans and disinfects their kennels, located in “Zoë’s Puppy Home”. She also takes adult dogs for exercise on the field and takes sick foundlings and shelter animals home to nurse them back to health before they return to the shelter to be re-homed. The picture clearly shows Yvette’s unconditional love for animals.

The shelter desperately needs volunteers for Monday, Tuesday and Saturday and for all weekdays in the afternoons. Please call Tel. 465-4300 for info or an appointment.