OIPA Partanna | Day One

The moment Hugo and I arrived at Partanna, I saw Andrea. He gave me a hearty handshake and said “a gift” and as I looked down I saw two caps (for myself and Hugo) as well as two pens and a USB stick. Immediately I knew this man’s generosity did not stop at animals—he was just an all-round superstar. 

The OIPA Partanna team were all so passionate to get the word out there and speak about the horrors strays face in Sicily. So much so, that one girl took a day just to be there to translate. Speaking with her, I realised that she spoke three, if not four languages and it was evident that this team were intelligent, emotionally as well as intellectually. We stood in the building they had built themselves to care for stray cats. These cats had no refuge from life on the streets, so they took the initiative to create this safe space for them, away from the heat, the cars, the disease and the hunger that undoubtedly awaited them. It is decorated with colourful flowers to keep the people who work there happy as well as the cats. As we spoke, I heard about the challenges they face when working to educate the locals and change attitudes about what it means to care for a pet. We also discussed the cost of medical bills, vaccinations, microchips, spaying/neutering and emergency operations.

Later, I saw the kennels and the amount of dogs that were kept there, each one deserving of love and sure to make a brilliant pet. They jumped up at the fences and their barks rendered our audio captured from that day useless. One dog, helped out of the kennel by Andrea because his back legs were not working, will stay with me forever. As he hobbled out of the kennel, he fell into a drain, seeming weak. Andrea told me he had been fighting with the other dogs and had done irreparable damage to one of his legs. You could see the bone sticking out of his healed but still very scarred wound. 

Just as me and my videographer were feeling deflated and emotionally exhausted, but deeply inspired by the whole OIPA team, a boost of positivity came. At the right time, we were reminded that although this job is hard and unforgiving, there were small moments of relief. As we were in the waiting room, joined by two of the cutest puppies I’d seen in a long time, Andrea said “you can choose their names.” Hugo said jokingly, “what about Mollie?”, pointing to the puppy with dark blonde hair like mine. Andrea said “perfect!” A moment passed and—like a lightbulb had gone off in his head—he said “and Hugo! He is a boy and she is a girl.” I looked at Hugo and saw his eyes start to well up, “is that okay?” Andrea said. “It is an honour,” Hugo replied.

As though I wasn’t already overwhelmed by the strength of this team, I saw Andrea’s kennel, which he built himself with graduation money from his father. Also, their ability to keep with with the demands of social media is incredible. In a matter of days, those puppies (Hugo and Mollie!) had loving homes to go to, all because of their efforts on social media. They constantly reply to people, manage adoptions, keep up with every animal they rehome to make sure they are happy and safe. The operation is ongoing—at all times. Andrea’s kennel was a proud structure with well-built facilities, but it had a bittersweet feel as it was being knocked down. The woman whose land it was on had decided she no longer wanted the structure there, therefore the money invested and the dogs it kept safe all had to go. 

As I interviewed him about it, although I could not understand the Italian, I could see the disappointment in his eyes. At the end of the filming, I gave him a look and said “for the animals,” and once he heard the translation he laughed and replied: “we will never give up.”