Official Animal Collection Center opens its doors to show how it cares for our four-legged friends

Three years ago, the Municipality of Porto built a totally equipped space to care for the animals of the city who do not have owners. For three years, cats and dogs have got daily attention and are being prepared for the day where they find owners that ensure their adoptions responsibly. During these three years of activity, the Official Animal Collection Center (CROA, in Portuguese) opened its doors this last Saturday to show the lives of those who are responsible for caretaking and those who wait for a new home.

The vice-mayor of the Porto City Hall considers this “an important day”. “It has been three years of operations for a big foster and adoption space”, Filipe Araújo, that considers the latter to be “the main goal” of the work that has been developed by the team at CROA, states.

Also responsible for the Environment and Climate Transition, the councillor emphasises how everyone there works so that “the people who come here have the ability to adopt animals that wait for a new family”.

Filipe Araújo remembers how CROA, “a state-of-the-art equipment”, “had its origins in a strategic plan for animal well-being, beginning in 2015”. “Resulting from the great work from a vast team, today we have an equipment that has had tremendous acceptance: we have had more than 850 adoptions throughout these three years”, the vice-mayor highlights.

The space has doubled the foster capacity that the Municipality of Porto had and is equipped with veterinarian and nursing rooms, shearing and bath zones, where veterinarians and caretakers, who the vice-mayor adds “can provide for these animals every condition for them to have a space to go for walks, to be well taken care of” work every day.

CROA’s website page is updated daily so that the people know which animals “are waiting for a family”. “The policies that we have come to adopt tend towards our greatest wish, which is animal well-being”, Filipe Araújo emphasises, proud of “a city that, today, looks at animals in a different light”.

In order to apply for the possibility of being a new family to these four-legged friends, simply contact the Official Animal Collection Center, and let a dog or cat choose you as a responsible adopter.