PETS can now be registered with the social services in Madrid as 'immediate family members', meaning they are protected in the same way as their owners and every effort is made to keep them together.
This is especially vital in the case of social services cases – such as domestic violence victims, the elderly and infirm, and the homeless.
Numerous cases are documented of gender violence victims who refuse to go into women's shelters because they cannot take their cats or dogs, homeless people who turn down beds in council refuges because of these not allowing animals, and elderly people suffering extreme emotional trauma when they have to go into a home and are not permitted to take their pets with them.
“There are elderly residents in Madrid who are heavily dependent and cannot safely live in their own homes, but who refuse to go into a nursing home because these do not accept dogs and cats,” says councillor Javier Barbero.
“For abuse victims, homeless people and the elderly, the loving bonds they have with their animals are their lifeline – a basic need.”
Animal shelters, many of which survive largely through donations, say they usually have to deal with these heartbreaking situations by finding a space for pets who have to be given away for people to go into homes.
As well as 'dealing with what authorities ought to be doing instead', pet shelters' 'help' involves taking a beloved animal away from his or her owner, when 'on too many occasions, this should not be happening', and which is extremely distressing for dogs and cats as well as their humans.
“Our cats and dogs help us through difficult situations, especially extreme situations such as those the social services deal with,” says a spokesperson for a shelter in Madrid.
It was the leftist party Más Madrid, made up of current and former Podemos members which previously included the city's former mayoress Manuela Carmena, who tabled the motion for pets to be listed with social services as their charges' 'dependants'.
All parties – the socialists (PSOE), PP and Ciudadanos – voted in favour, with only the far-right Vox voting against.
A working party will be set up in the next two months to lay down procedures to follow, and experts – including animal shelter representatives – will be called in to join the discussions.
It is hoped the move will also extend to other towns and cities across the country, or eventually, become national law.
Already, last year, a law was passed which recognised animals as 'beings with feelings' rather than 'chattels', which automatically prevents their being embargoed as 'assets' in the event of debts.
Photograph by El Amigo Fiel animal shelter in Córdoba, Andalucía, showing two dogs seeking new homes
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