about us | mimodogs

TOGETHER FOR SUSTAINABLE ANIMAL WELFARE

THIS IS MIMO.DOGS

It all began with an animal-loving family who emigrated to Portugal at the end of 1999. They found a lot of animal misery there: abandoned dogs, chain dogs, the local state animal shelter was overcrowded and had no means of coming close to doing justice to the animals. At that time, the killing of found animals after 15 days was permitted by law and was practiced everywhere. Whenever possible, we took individual dogs into care and then placed them in new homes. Over the years, mimo.dogs has evolved from this small, private project and has been officially registered as an association in Portugal since 2022.

We work together in all our different areas of expertise to ensure the best possible care for our animals, look after their physical and mental well-being and restore their confidence. It is very difficult to make a statement about the temperament, social behavior and behavior in everyday situations of dogs living in large animal shelters. The dogs often live there under great stress and are usually in survival mode, which means that they adapt. This adaptation can take many forms, but is almost always accompanied by a suppression of their own needs. Only when the dog is taken out of this situation does it get the chance to show its true character.

We can then assess all the better which environment is best suited to ensure that the future dog-human constellation has a harmonious and carefree life.

ADOPTION PREPARATION AT THE MIMO.DOGS FARM

Our animal sanctuary is located in the heart of the Sintra region, not far from Lisbon. It is secluded and offers a large area of shelter for the animals. In addition to the individual sleeping areas, there is enough space for the animals to run around. In the farm's own veterinary practice, we can provide medical care directly on site and carry out neutering if this has not already been done.

In total, we can look after up to 20 animals on the farm and prepare them for adoption.

There are only ever a very limited number of dogs and cats in our care, each individual animal is looked after on our farm and prepared for adoption. In addition to our fosterlings, a permanent pack of 20 dogs, cats, horses, chickens and many other animals live on the farm. This allows us to directly explore compatibility and get to know the character of our fosterlings in the best possible way.

We give our dogs the chance to show all their different characteristics in order to carry out training and learning sequences adapted to them. In the quieter environment of our farm, the pack and in close contact with their caregivers, we expose our dogs to a wide variety of situations. This leads to learning and familiarization processes that prepare our dogs for their new life as family dogs. In this way, we can ensure a very accurate assessment of each individual dog and help them to strengthen their best sides and process what they have experienced.

The animals are also allowed to take their first steps in the home environment and get to know potential stimuli here too. All our dogs come into contact with a wide variety of situations and get to know many different things: starting with other pets such as cats, birds or rodents and various farmyard animals such as horses, chickens and sheep.

We continue with domestic situations, from climbing stairs to the vacuum cleaner and children playing. We test a wide variety of situations and all this allows us to assess the individual dog in the best possible way. Because only if we can correctly assess the personality of one of our dogs can we be sure of finding the right human-dog connection for adoption.

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OUR MODULES

We are able to welcome our dogs into our large stable pack on our mimo.dogs farm near Sintra in Portugal and cater to the individual needs of each dog.

A low stress environment with small, individualized groups of dogs is an important part of their stay with us. Every dog that comes to us has different needs due to their past.

Regardless of whether it is a dog that has only known kennels, a dog that has had bad or simply no experience with people, or a dog that comes to us from a family as a surrender dog, we adapt our handling, individual training and even socialization to the respective individual.

In 2023, we worked hard to complete our own small treatment center. An old pigeon loft on our farm became the realm of our tireless vet and founding member Dr. Catarina Morais.

Catarina worked for several years in a state animal shelter in Portugal and specializes in shelter medicine. Catarina usually spends one day a week on our farm. All vaccinations, registrations, check-ups and minor treatments are carried out on site. For all operations and major treatments, we rely on the cooperation of several local veterinary clinics. All the material needed for our major spay and neuter operations is stored and cataloged in our treatment house.

Our large stable pack of dogs, who always live with us, welcome each new arrival and help them to find their place in the pack.

This provides the perfect backdrop for learning through positive role models, giving an insecure dog confidence and balancing the individual energy of each new arrival. An extensive long walk on our securely fenced pastures with the main pack is part of our daily routine.

All new arrivals are slowly and carefully trained through positive reinforcement to accept the crate as their positive resting place. Through crate training, we can guarantee that each dog receives a meal that is individually optimized and tailored to their needs.

Through the process of crate training, the dogs learn to appreciate resting and sleeping routines, the crate becomes their safe place, so we guarantee a stress-free and safe journey for our protégés on their transport to Germany.