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Since becoming President in July after the death of Richard Brotherston-Barnett, I have continued the good work he started.The shelter land is now registered in the name of PAWS-PATAS and we are in the process of legalising all the buildings.The old van that was still registered in the name of PAWS-PATAS has now been rectified, this means there will be no more fines for PAWS-PATAS to pay.The Kim Halliwell case has now concluded and the verdict is Guilty with a €200 fine and a total ban on having anything to do with animals, animal rescue or owning any animals for one year.PAWS-PATAS has and never has had any say in what happens to the animals. In a last-ditch attempt, I have been in contact with Kim, via email, asking her to please transfer ownership of all the animals to PAWS-PATAS, in order that we may start to find them loving homes. As of today’s date, I have not received a positive answer. There are 20 working days from the date of sentencing for Kim to appeal. If she does not sign the animals over to PAWS-PATAS, we will have to pursue Antas Ayuntamiento to grant PAWS-PATAS ownership, this could be a difficult and lengthy process. If Kim appeals, the animals will be left in limbo, with an uncertain future.Some of Kim’s dogs will not be easy to home, due to their traumatic lives before they came into our care and there have been many discussions on a way to move forward as our shelter is nearly always full and we are unable to help the many local dogs that we would normally help.By far the best solution would be to increase the number of kennels in our shelter, but this is not possible as due to the land to building ratio, we are currently near maximum. So, at great deliberation within the Executive Committee, it has been decided to try to purchase the adjacent land. We are currently in negotiations with a local estate agent. So be prepared, we will have to have a massive fundraising drive to do this.In the meantime, our current financial position is stable and we are holding our own, considering all the extra costs of Kim’s dogs for the last year. Our volunteers have gone over and above the call of duty, looking after all the extra animals and making sure they all get the much needed care and attention they desperately need and for this we are eternally grateful, because without them we could not continue.I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your continued support and wish you all a happy and prosperous New Year.Very best regards.