In 2016, the experience as volunteers and adopters brought together a small group of people to create the association VOLUNTARIOS ITINERANTES. We wanted to improve the quality of life of animals living in shelters and increase their chances of being adopted. Most shelters do not have the economic means or volunteers to carry out their work. Since its founding, we have been able to relieve some of their debts through donations, consulting and, most of all, volunteer hours.
Voluntarios Itinerantes is a multicultural, multigenerational and cosmopolitan association. The volunteers are of all ages, from retired people to children who, together with their mothers and fathers, have reached adolescence helping in the shelters and discovering the ethical and emotional bonds that are established with companion animals. In the association, more than a thousand volunteers have collaborated throughout these years, we have counted more than 30 nationalities, and in the conversations Catalan, English and all Spanish accents are mixed, but the will to help the animals waiting to be adopted is common to all of them.
We’ve all helped at shelters, whether it’s cleaning, building, walking, giving cuddles to the animals. We’ve organized concerts, fairs, fundraisers, food drives and company activities. All of this has led us to one conclusion: the best path towards clearing the shelters is to avoid animals ending up there in the first place, avoiding abandonment. This can be done with education and other actions like identification and control of reproduction.
