This Christmas, give the gift of life.

This time we bring you a different article. We're not going to talk about how to look after the dog or cat you live with, nor are we going to tell you about the wonderful properties of VeggieAnimals feed.

We want to continue saving lives.

With this article we want to continue saving lives. We want to tell you that 6 years ago we went crazy and took out 14 cats that were living in a kennel in a cage outdoors. That one 24th of December Sonia went from Madrid to Zaragoza and from there to Álava and took out 14 cats that were living in a cage in the street, with temperatures below zero, wind, sick, with parasites, and with a lot of fear of humans. Today, 6 years later, 10 of our mañicos are still living in La vida colour Frambuesa. They have never known cold or fear again and if they get sick they are looked after.

Pilar, Manoli and Trini always in our hearts.

Pilar, Manoli and Trini are no more. They were three little sisters with calicivirus who left us over the last 6 years. The calicivirus, as well as damaging their mouths, attacked their kidneys. You don't know how much we miss them and how much we fought by their side.

The story of the 10 mañicos.

Happier is the story of the other 10 mañicos, who are no longer afraid and whom we have not given up for adoption due to a lack of group adopters. Is it too much to ask to adopt all 10 together?

Let me tell you. They love each other so much that if someone wants to adopt Alfonsito they would also have to adopt Yeti and Luke who are brothers and inseparable from Algon. But Luke loves Doña Fina, Cris and Luisa, and well, there are more cats at home, so Yeti can't be separated from Lur either, who would go in a pack with his brother Haizea. Luisa is close to Lori and Leia, and Camel could not be separated from Mara (the first cat without leukaemia of La vida colour Frambuesa, who is not a mañico but has the approval of all the maños who kiss his head when passing by, they, like me, know that Mara is Mr. Wonderful and they adore him).

The loose wire has always been Anita, who arrived when she was only 10 months old and is crazy, but of course, Ana gives you a caress as well as a bite. And that hasn't convinced anyone to share life with her, but here we find her hilarious. Especially when the volunteers confuse her with Luisa or Mara who don't bite and discover that it's her, jijiji.

We did manage to do it with Lina's "deaf" cat, who, while sharing the space with the other cats, pretended to be deaf so as not to pay any attention to us or to them. Until when she was adopted they discovered that neither deaf nor surly, Lina is a cuddly, curious and friendly cat who simply doesn't like cats. Lina is now the queen of a house with three humans and a galga, she is the one who runs the show and who always makes us smile with her pictures of a happy and not deaf lady.

14 reasons to adopt and not buy.

Here we have given you 14 reasons to adopt and not buy. But there are millions and millions more. There are more reasons than grains of sand in the desert, every kennel is full of hundreds of reasons, hundreds of lives looking for a family, the streets are also full of homeless dogs and cats.

But wait, do you want to adopt, are you ready to adopt, or are you doing it on impulse, to give a surprise to a child or a joy to a family member?

Please, animals are not toys. Saving their lives requires a lifelong commitment, hopefully for many, many years, more than 10 years in the case of dogs and cats, with high expenses for care, food, veterinary care, accessories, etc.

So adopting should never be a spontaneous decision, but the result of deep reflection and assessment of one's personal situation. In the same way, when the decision to adopt is made because we have the time, the financial means and the stability to do so, we cannot choose a life partner at random. This is the next step, choosing the perfect life partner, we have to fit in and live together for many years.

Personally we will tell you to get advice from the association you have approached, but unless you have a lot of time and experience, do not choose puppies. There is no better companion than an adult or an elderly person who already knows what it is like to go through hardship and who will make living together much easier.

If someone wants to buy, explain to them what it means to have mothers giving birth and babies being born without proper controls. When someone is considered a product their life and welfare is not the priority, but their survival and sales. That the kennels are full of puppies and kittens of all breeds, colours and sizes waiting for a home.

Sponsorship what?

If some little one or some relative this Christmas asks you to adopt an animal but you think it is not a good decision or a good moment, we leave you the best option, give them a sponsorship. 

In La vida colour Frambuesa we also call them amordrinamientos, because it is the way in which you can die of love being part of this immense multispecies family, in our web you can find dozens of stories and in our social networks the last inhabitants to arrive.

Do you want to surprise the grandparents by sponsoring a donkey? Rober, Maite and Montse already preside over several senior citizens' salons, some of them have even come to bring them carrots, and we die of tenderness when they tell us how they remind them of the donkeys they lived with in their childhood. 

Among the little ones, ducks like Patata, Calabaza or Cúrcuma are the most popular, but also goat babies like Martina, Silvia or Manolito, or the little lambs Otto, BamBam, Berta or Astrid. 

If you are interested in sponsoring but you have any doubts about how it works, the payments, the species, the stories, whatever, you can write to info@lavidacolorframbuesa.org