Adoro Mimos, Animal Protection Association
We are a non-profit association, founded in 2013 and based in Igreja Nova, Mafra. Close to 100 animals live at our shelter on Rua do Murtal, dogs, cats and two goats: animals that came to us after abandonment or mistreatment, or simply because they were left with no one to care for them.
Everything that exists here was built by volunteers and by people who believed in us.
Every life matters
Each one arrives with a story. Some arrive scared. Others arrive sick. Some need to recover physically, others above all need to learn to trust people again. And that is where our work begins. Every day there are dogs to treat, feed, walk and pamper. There are cats to care for, spaces to clean, treatments to follow, vet appointments to arrange and so many other tasks that often go unseen, but are part of life at a shelter. None of this would be possible without a large network of people: volunteers, sponsors, foster families, adopters, partners and people who help us keep going through their donations. Every bit of help, however small it may seem, can make an enormous difference in an animal's life. But our mission does not end when an animal arrives at the shelter. Our goal is for the shelter to be just one stage of the journey. We want to care, heal, protect and, above all, find the right family for every pup. A family where they will be loved, respected and cared for, for the rest of their life.
Because we believe every animal deserves a chance. And because, at Adoromimos, we keep believing that every life matters.
How Adoromimos was born
In the words of Anna, founder and one of the people running the shelter
Adoromimos was born from a dream. A dream that began long before there was an association, because a love for animals has always been part of my life.
It all started with food
Ever since I was a child I have felt a very special connection to animals. When I moved to Mafra, in 2009, I was already part of an animal aid group that distributed food. That is when I created, in Mafra, the Projeto Ajuda Alimentar Animal de Mafra (PAAA Mafra). Back then, I collected food from supermarkets and distributed it to associations and families who cared for several animals. It was a simple way to help but, little by little, more and more requests for help began to arrive: for animals that were abandoned, lost or in need. And that is how the story began to grow.
From group to association
Along that path I met extraordinary people, people who opened the doors of their homes and their hearts and became temporary foster families (FAT). Thanks to them, many animals with nowhere to go found a safe place while we looked for a permanent solution. As time went on, it became clear that a bigger step was needed. And so, on 16 September 2013, my husband Paulo and I officially founded Adoromimos, Associação de Defesa e Proteção Animal, a non-profit association. At that time we still had no shelter. We worked only through temporary foster families, but the dream of having a place where we could take animals in never went away.
A yes that changed everything
For years I searched for a space. I searched, I asked, I insisted, I knocked on many doors and, many times, I heard "no". But I did not give up. Until, on 10 April 2017, the opportunity that would change the history of Adoromimos finally appeared: the Mafra City Council, in the person of then-mayor Hélder Sousa Silva, signed a loan-for-use agreement with Adoromimos that allowed us to occupy the land where our shelter stands today.
Rolling up our sleeves
From there, a new chapter began. It was time to get to work: building, adapting, improving and, many times, starting over. Every space was earned with a lot of hard work, dedication and the help of many people who believed in us.
And we keep growing
Not just in space, but above all in responsibility, in stories, in animals saved and in the people who join us to make this journey possible.
The Adoromimos that exists today is the result of many years of struggle, of many yeses after so many nos, of many joined hands and, above all, of an enormous will to never give up.
Come and meet us
Visit the shelter on Saturdays and Sundays, from 10:30 to 12:30, at Rua do Murtal, Igreja Nova, Mafra. The shelter is right next to another shelter: after parking, walk to the rear entrance door with the name "Adoro Mimos" on it. The pups are waiting for you.