Helping animals and building a better society

Raquel Sanchez’ passion for volunteering

Animals have been important to Raquel Sanchez (manager, clinical programs, EMEA, Vascular) since she was a kid. After returning to Spain from Denmark, after spending several years at Cook Bjaeverskov, she knew that it was time to do something concrete about this passion. Over the last few years, Raquel has been dedicating her free time to three animal shelters in the Valladolid area of central Spain: Scooby, Abandonos Toro, and 113 Motivoanimales.

“I thought, ‘I have a job and I live in my home city. I do not have any more excuses not to be involved and give something back to our local community,’” Raquel said. “Therefore, I started these collaborations, and they have made me so happy. I feel good after being at the shelter or helping with food collections.”

Raquel realized that there are a lot of little things she could do to make a difference. Animals can be traumatized after being abused or mistreated by their owners for years. Furthermore, dogs are often adopted or bought because they are cute little puppies, but they then become big animals with many needs, and instead of being a companion, they can be treated like a problem.

“Not everybody cares or understands these complexities, but everyone can do so much, depending on where they are in their life,” she said. “I think that by helping animals, we can build a better society.”

Working with animal shelters

Raquel began her work with animal shelters three years ago by joining Scooby. She had just moved back to Valladolid, which is located in the autonomus community of Castile and León in central Spain. She knew of Scooby, the biggest animal shelter in Spain, because it had previously been on the news in a story regarding the mistreatment of Spanish greyhounds.

“It was a time when just a few people would care and talk about dogs’ rights, especially breeds that were used for hunting,” Raquel said.

According to Raquel, these dogs are used for trapping hares in the very flat areas of Spain. However, when they do not perform their tasks anymore, they are often discarded. As a result, there are hundreds of Spanish greyhounds at shelters. She recalled a time when an owner of one of these dogs threw it over the wall of the shelter, ensuring that they cut the dog’s microchip out first with a knife.

“Apparently, the poor animal could not run as fast as he used to anymore,” she said.

Abandonos Toro and 113 Motivoanimales

Raquel has also been involved with Abandonos Toro and 113 Motivoanimales, which are also located near Valladolid. She found out about them on the internet, after the COVID-19 pandemic hit Spain. These organizations are much smaller than Scooby and look after just a few dogs and cats until they find proper homes for them.

Nowadays, Raquel is more committed to the activities organized by 113 Motivoanimales, such as charity markets, food collections, and dog walking, because they are closest to her home. However, she is still a member of Abandonos Toro and Scooby and often sends them food for the animals.

Fostering, learning, and trying to make a difference

In addition, Raquel has previously fostered a cat, Lia, until it could be adopted by one of her friends. She also helps share news about available animals and creates social media posts to promote their adoptions. She has even ended up adopting a little cat from Scooby named Noche (which means “night” in Spanish), and a dog named Coco from Abandonos Toro.

People who volunteer at animal shelters can be confronted with harsh realities. Many big pedigree dogs, such as pit bulls and German shepherds, are often abandoned after only a couple of years because their owners cannot deal with them anymore. As a matter of fact, when they adopt or buy these animals, people do not always realistically evaluate whether they can cover the dog’s needs.

Being an animal shelter volunteer has been good for Raquel’s emotional balance and mental health. She said it has allowed her to meet very different people and helped her to empathize with and listen to others who may have different views and principles. It has also taught her to become more respectful of others.

“In my charity work, I have met people that have changed their lives in order to assist and support animals,” Raquel said. “For instance, I met this woman from the Netherlands who came to my city when she retired, and that is what she has been doing for a while now: She works in the shelter day and night.”

“Volunteering, I have met all kinds of human beings: very well-educated and not so well-educated, old and young, from various paths of life,” she said, but the one thing that they all have in common, “They are all there to try to make a difference, to do something to help.”

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