ARA Newsletter May 2025

🐾 ARA Monthly Update – May Highlights 🌿
May was another active and emotional month at ARA, packed with adoptions, rescues, school visits, and community partnerships. Here’s a round-up of everything we’ve accomplished together!
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🐶 ADOPTED
Malva – Pocoyo – Milho
This month, three elderly dogs with health conditions were adopted by members of the team: Malva, who has cancer; Pocoyo, who is blind; and Milho, who has a skin condition. This truly shows the incredible compassion of our team, who love animals deeply and are willing to do whatever it takes to give them a better life.
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🐾 RESCUED
23 Puppies Saved
We’ve gone beyond our normal rescue limits this month—over the past few weeks, 23 puppies have arrived at the shelter. Some were found in bins, others were abandoned in fields, and many came from situations where they would not have survived without intervention.
Despite being full, it’s incredibly hard for our team to turn away helpless babies. Thankfully, with the support of our amazing volunteers, staff, and foster families, these puppies are now safe, loved, and on the path to finding forever homes.
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📍 KIWOKO – Portimão
3rd May
Kiwoko continues to be an important partner. We are in the shop every month collecting essential donations that help support the animals in our care.
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🏫 LOULÉ HIGH SCHOOL – Loulé
8th May
João Ferreira, ARA’s manager, was invited to speak at a community evaluation session at Loulé Secondary School. This session, attended by the Mayor of Loulé, Vítor Aleixo, councillors, and headteachers, assessed the school’s involvement with local organisations.
We were delighted that ARA was recognised by many of the other six community partners present—and, of course, our two-legged ambassador, Allegra, stole the show.
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🎒 BLOOM HUB SCHOOL – ARA
9th May
Bloom Hub, another Loulé-based school, has expressed interest in working with ARA. They made their first visit with a small group of children, who brought donations and enjoyed meeting the animals. It was a lively and joyful visit, and we hope it helped them learn more about kindness and care towards animals.
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📚 D. DINIS SCHOOL – Quarteira
14th May
Author Susana Jorge visited D. Dinis School to share her book Gota & Pingo, a portion of whose proceeds go to ARA. We were once again invited along and brought a few dogs with us—much to the delight of the children. It was a wonderful opportunity to talk to them about animal welfare.
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🐕 TIBI DOG WALK – Loulé
24th May
TIBI Pet Shops organised a dog walk at the municipal park in Loulé. It was a relaxed and enjoyable morning, and ARA was invited to attend with merchandise and donation boxes. We were thrilled to be a part of this community event.
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🛍️ GUIA SHOPPING – Albufeira
24th May
Another successful day at Algarve Shopping in Guia! We collected generous donations, and one of our kittens even found a family interested in adopting him.
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🎂 WOOFF SHOP – Troto (1st Birthday)
We celebrated the first anniversary of the WOOFF shop in Troto—what a fantastic year it’s been! Together with the Almancil and Loulé shops, it remains one of ARA’s most important sources of income.
A heartfelt thank you to all the volunteers; your work is vital to our mission!
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🧘 TIVOLI HOTEL – Vilamoura
Yoga with Puppies
A yoga class at the Tivoli Hotel turned into a joyous event, thanks to our four-legged guests. Participants loved interacting with the puppies, and all registration fees were donated to ARA. One lucky pup even found a new home after stealing the heart of a couple attending the session.
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🎈 EVENT – Children’s Day
31st May
Once again, the Almancil School Group has invited us to take part in their Children’s Day celebration. We’ll be at the Almancil Community Garden with some of our dogs and fundraising items. Come and say hello!
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🚗 DONATIONS – VW Club Algarve
The Algarve Volkswagen Club held its first event at the Algarve International Autodrome and chose ARA as the beneficiary of their donation drive. We’re incredibly grateful to everyone who took part and donated so generously.
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🎓 DONATIONS – UALG (Algarve University)
A group of students from the University of the Algarve visited our shelter to deliver donations they had collected. They loved the visit and were impressed by the facilities and the work done daily to care for our animals.
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🩺 WOOFF SHOP – Loulé
Diabetes & Hypertension Screening
The WOOFF shop in Loulé recently hosted a free screening for diabetes and hypertension, carried out by Nurse Sílvia, daughter of one of our volunteers. Medical supplies were kindly donated by a rep who wanted to help. In exchange for the service, customers made cash donations to ARA. It was a well-received initiative and a fantastic day of community support and fundraising.
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📅 Events Recap – May at a Glance
• 3rd – Kiwoko Pet Store Event, Portimão
• 8th – Loulé High School Visit
• 9th – Bloom Hub School Visit, ARA Shelter
• 14th – D. Dinis School Visit, Quarteira
• 24th – TIBI Dog Walk, Loulé Municipal Park
• 24th – Guia Shopping Centre Event, Albufeira
• 25th – WOOFF Troto 1st Anniversary Celebration
• 26th – Yoga with Puppies, Tivoli Hotel, Vilamoura
• 31st – Children’s Day Event, Almancil
🐾 Thank you to everyone who supported us this May, from adopters and donors to volunteers and event partners. Together, we’re changing lives.