Some 40% of Spanish households have a dog or cat and for 37% they are “the most important thing in their lives”. But not everyone treats their dog with care. To draw attention to this, Madrid hosted the ‘Perrotón’ on Sunday, a real running race for dogs and their owners.
It is the biggest event for dog lovers in Spain and Europe where the most important thing is to convey the message of adoption and responsible dog ownership.
More than 5,000 dogs and their owners marched with the Perrotón in Madrid on Sunday. This year’s edition was a tribute to police dogs of the National Police, which celebrates its bicentenary this year. The race, which started at 10.00 am in Madrid’s Plaza de Colón, ran along Paseo de la Castellana, Plaza de Emilio Castelar, Plaza de Gregorio Marañón and Calle Goya.
Barking as a starting gun
Led by Kayax, a dog from the canine unit, several national police officers with their pets and a lot of barking have given the starting signal for the thirteenth edition of the race. Moreover, it´s a competition that aims to make people think about the responsible ownership of pets, encourage adoption and combat neglect and abuse.
Dogs and their owners from all over Spain
Speaking to EFE, Alejandra Botto, ambassador of Perrotón, welcomed the participants “from all over Spain” to the event that dedicates 30% of the proceeds to finance animal shelters with limited economic resources.
“It is a luxury to see the whole of Spain coming together, all the political parties, all the people of Madrid, and the rest of the country. But also people from abroad have come here to support us and that’s great,” said the organiser of the event. She also had a call for those “who don’t like dogs” and asked them to have “respect” for the animals.
Tribute to the National Police
On the occasion of its 200th anniversary, the National Police received the Perrotón Madrid 2024 Honorary Award. In addition, the institution also received a sculpture.
“Dogs are very important within the National Police, because we take advantage of their abilities to be able to work with them in the different specialties that exist for detecting explosives, locating people and animal species”, the spokeswoman for the National Police, Ana Ramón, told the media. On behalf of the police, she expressed her gratitude for the recognition of 200 years of the National Police, in such an “important year” for the police force.