In the early hours of Christmas Day, Alberto and Isabel took their dog Lenny for a walk in Puerto Pollensa. It was a walk that ended in tragedy.
They went to the beach in Llenaire, an area known as the dog beach. It is regrettably an area where there have been cases of dogs being poisoned over the past three years. "I don't know how many dogs have died because of this son of a bitch," says Alberto.
The dog, a Labrador, played with a ball that he had found. The ball had a hole in it. When they examined the ball, they found some cotton inside that was stained red and was damp. "It was designed so that a dog would bite it and ingest the poison. We took him to a 24-hour vet in Inca. They told us that they had dealt with three other similar cases."
Given what they consider to be the inaction of Pollensa town hall and the local police, Alberto and Isabel have launched a campaign, 'Justicia para Lenny', to collect signatures and present these to the town hall.
On Thursday, police officers went to their home and said that they couldn't open an investigation because there had been no complaint.
Alberto and Isabel maintain that this is not true; similar recent cases had been reported. "Last week the same thing happened to a woman who did report it and the police did not close the beach." Also on Thursday, a group of 15 volunteers went to the beach to look for evidence. "The police said they had not found anything, yet we found the cotton in a ball."
They have contacted the Guardia Civil's Seprona division, which has opened an investigation to gather reports from all possible affected parties and try and find the person responsible.
Alberto is encouraging people to support the campaign. There is a Facebook page 'Justicia para Lenny'. "This has happened to many of us. But now, with the new animal welfare law, we are stronger.”