Cacela Dog Haven
.....every dog deserves a loving home!
Email: info@caceladoghaven.com
Tel: 926 767 544
Association No/NIF: 515905569
ABOUT CACELA DOG HAVEN
About the founders.....
Here they are.... Treve and Sharron, undertaking the task of building the first kennels!
Sharron is originally from Whitby, Yorkshire and was born and raised on a farm where she developed a lifelong passion for the wellbeing of animals. Her amibition from her earliest recollections, was to have a shelter for stray, abandoned and abused dogs.
With her husband, Treve who is also dedicated to the success of CDH, Sharron moved to Portugal in 2010 and starting informally, managed to move forward with her dream of sheltering and rehoming dogs on the Algarve. Official status for CDH was achieved in June 2020.
For the few years after rescue operations commenced, Treve, who has always shared Sharron's passion for the work they do, worked away and did not have much time but since early 2024, he's been permanently at the haven.... and working very hard!
CDH rescues a dog, he/she is vaccinated, chipped, sterilised and of course, well-nourished before being offered for rehoming. As of November 2019, CDH has assisted with many adoptions (note our Adoption Count on the home page). The rescue operation itself can be back-breaking, dangerous and enormously time consuming..... it can take literally days to trap a dog that is traumatised, terrified and in many instances, protecting puppies.
Within Portugal, the stray population of dogs has increased beyond any point that is acceptable..... municipal kennels are overflowing, as are private shelters. With the introduction of a "no-kill" policy in 2017, it was wonderful to see Portugal aspiring to this ideal but without a comprehensive sterilisation strategy in place, this has arguably resulted in more cruelty and suffering.
Some of the dogs arriving at CDH have ongoing medical problems in the form of chronic conditions, trauma and/or injuries, that preclude them from being rehomed. These dogs will be our "Honoured Residents" and will always have a home at our haven. Please look at our sponsorship options for these dogs.
About the Official Start..... October 2015
With planning and organising underway, on 24 December 2015 we saw a post on Facebook asking for help to extract a litter of puppies from a storm drain in Santa Catarina..... the mother had left and had not returned after several hours.
Of course, we immediately went out to see if we could help and so it began!!!! We found six little puppies...... scared, wet and so cold. We only managed to rescue two of them and returned on Christmas day to collect the other four. After Vet checks and vaccinations, those four pups were sent to 5* homes in Germany.
We decided to keep the other two pups and BESS, the lighter one, went to live with Sharron's parents and when they left Portugal, BESS went to our wonderful CDH friend, Jill Graper-Dos Anjos. The other pup we called HOLLY and she remained with us, as our own pet, at CDH..... the sweetest girl and a total nutter, but loved so very
much. In July 2025, HOLLY became ill and then in December 2025, she crossed the Rainbow Bridge, leaving this world knowing that "her people" loved her..... until we meet again baby girl, watch over us!
About our Registration - June 2020 ......
Although not complex, the process of gaining status as an association becomes difficult because of the language issue and the time that it takes. After approval, which took some time, the agreement was finally lodged by the Notary in Vila Real Santo Antonio.
At a cost of around €500.00, the benefits include:
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CDH haven is now a registered, non-profit association able to enjoy reduced rates for veterinary services and food.
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Private dog owners are restricted to the number of dogs, whereas our status affords us the opportunity to offer more dogs a place in our Haven.
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We have a fiscal number dedicated to the Haven which assists with annual tax returns and the associated allowances.
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A dedicated bank account.
Our Haven......
It took some time to build kennels which we've had to expand over the years, since starting and together with Treve, many friends and volunteers stepped in to help build our doggy homes, create a garden and tailor a unit for puppy nursery and newly arrived dogs or those that were ill, as a quarantine area. For the Kitty Home, we must thank our lovely volunteer, Romy who is our very own "Bob the Builder"....... she even has a pink drill!
