Tiny Shelter

Tiny Shelter is an animal rescue organisation based in Albufeira, Portugal, dedicated to finding loving homes for abandoned and mistreated dogs. At the heart of the charity is founder Isabel Searle, who has spent decades helping dogs in need. The organisation has been active for more than ten years and officially became a registered association, Associação Tiny Shelter, in March 2022. Tiny Shelter has rehomed more than 1,274 dogs and saved over 1,352 in total, along with 3 donkeys, 25 cats and 5 horses along the way. Every month the charity supports between 100 and 140 dogs, both inside the shelter and out in the community, as well as a few colonies of cats, which between them get through around 160 bags of dry food, 400 large cans of wet food and 500 medicated pâtés. Every dog that comes into its care is vaccinated, microchipped and sterilised where possible, with regular parasite prevention and deworming. The charity also works in the wider community, helping owners who are struggling financially to keep their pets fed and treated, educating people on their dogs' needs, and donating materials like fencing and roofing when families cannot afford to improve conditions for a chained or under-sheltered dog. Tiny Shelter charges no adoption fee and runs entirely on donations, whether one-off gifts, sponsorship of an individual dog from EUR 10 a month, or its EUR 1 a month teaming group, since it receives no support from the Portuguese government.