Colino Valley, the sanctuary for abandoned animals in the metropolitan region of Tenerife, has issued a “critical alert”. Via their Facebook page, they reveal that a man, approximately thirty years old, “with a scruffy appearance and a police record,” has been seen on the road leading to their facilities, “pretending to be an employee” of the shelter, stopping vehicles, claiming he can care for the dogs or cats, takes money from them, and then leaves. Consequently, he abandons the animals.
In a post shared on social media this Thursday, Valle Colino provides details about this individual’s activities: “We received another report about him today… We were informed that, realising the predicament we are in regarding our inability to take in dogs, he was seen this very morning on the road before the ascent, stopping individuals arriving by car to hand over a dog. He told them he would take it, asserting that we were closed, but he would do them the courtesy of collecting it. He charged them 55 euros.”
Colino Valley, which operates out of La Laguna, specifies that their staff “wear uniforms”. They further clarify that the shelter “does not charge for taking in animals from owners.” “Our staff remain within the centre unless they are called out for a specific task. None of our team will ever request food or money from anyone, especially outside of our premises,” they explain.
The shelter also emphasises that this young man accused of deceiving visitors to the shelter is not an employee there: “Please do not give him anything. He attempts to deceive people by claiming he works for the centre. He poses a danger, and we are concerned about what he may do with the animals. Neighbours have alerted us multiple times as they have seen him collect them, only for them to mysteriously vanish. He does not keep them at home (he resides at the start of the road). Who knows what he does with them,” states Valle Colino.
In a post on Friday, further details are shared regarding the fate of animals involved. “He 112 informed us about a dog wandering in the Ofra area, suffering from hunger and thirst. Our guard managed to rescue it. The following day, we used the chip reader and contacted the owner to inform them we had their dog. To our surprise, he revealed that he had given it to this man on the road, thinking he was a worker,” except the young man was identified as a suspected scammer.
“This individual has already been reported to the police. The dog was fortunate to end up safe, but it might have been hit by a vehicle or faced a worse fate,” Valle Colino concludes on their Facebook profile.
This presents an additional challenge alongside the critical need for improvements at these facilities and the fact they are rapidly running out of space to accommodate more animals. Recently, they issued an urgent plea as their food supplies for the animals are critically low, prompting the team to turn to social media in search of community support.