The "Walk your dog" program is increasingly popular

In the year 2022, 1103 people participated in this program of the Official Animal Shelter of Matosinhos that promotes animal welfare and allows contact with the animals available for adoption

Last year, 766 abandoned animals were collected. The Municipality of Matosinhos has been investing in campaigns both to raise awareness against abandonment and to promote responsible adoption. In 2022, 235 animals were adopted at the CROAM (Official Animal Collection Center of Matosinhos), of which 142 were dogs and 93 were cats.

See the animals available for adoption at https://www.cm-matosinhos.pt/servicos-municipais/ambiente/centro-de-recolha-oficial-de-matosinhos/adocao and learn what you have to do to adopt a pet.

If you are not yet able to go ahead with the adoption of an animal, you can participate in the "Walk the dog" program. This volunteer and active citizenship program allows you to walk outdoors, for a morning or an afternoon, one of the animals waiting at CROAM for a family to adopt them.

Applications for the walks can be made on the City Hall website, at https://www.cm-matosinhos.pt/servicos-municipais/ambiente/centro-de-recolha-oficial-de-matosinhos/termo-responsabilidade-programa-va-passear-o-cao. The tour has a maximum duration of 2h and takes place from CROAM, through the Science Park, to the Monte de São Brás Ecological Park.

Last year, 1103 people participated in this program.

Another of the supports that the municipality has been implementing is the "Veterinary Check" program. This is an incentive to promote the control of pet reproduction by supporting the surgical sterilization of dogs and cats over 6 months old, belonging to the residents of Matosinhos.

The application can be made through the Municipality's website, by filling out a specific form, mandatorily instructed with all the requested documents (https://www.cm-matosinhos.pt/servicos-municipais/ambiente/centro-de-recolha-oficial-de-matosinhos/apoio-a-esterilizacao-de-animais-de-companhia). This is followed by a socio-economic analysis of each household, to then obtain the percentage of support in each specific case. After the voucher has been assigned and delivered by the municipal veterinary services, it can be used at the Veterinary Medical Care Center with which the municipality has an agreement.

Last year, 52 families benefited from this support.

One of the main advantages of sterilizing animals is population control and the consequent reduction of stray animals in the municipality. In 2022, 1200 animal sterilizations were performed (1013 in cats, 187 in dogs).