http://www.starmountainanimalsanctuary.org/

Star Mountain Animal Sanctuary, Quinta Nova, Melo (2026)

28/09/2026

This is Sophie. She is not for adoption. She is a permanent resident, due to her difficulties regulating her emotions.
I am going to start doing more videos about the permanent residence and their behaviour issues. Most of the permanent dogs are here because their behaviour makes them unsafe for adoption. That may be unsafe for an adopter or moving from here would be unsafe for the dog. Like our nervous houdini dogs that can escape from everywhere including being able to open doors and windows and being able to escape over 2 m high fencing. Some of our permanent dogs are to old or sick for adoption. There are lots of reasons. My permanent group of dogs is a motley crew and often super frustrating and time consuming. But somehow we have become a family, a dysfunctional family but a family none the less.

In the coming month we will be launching a new look website and on it will be the ability to sponsor one of our permanent residents.

27/09/2026

3 big baby's making me late for work!
The wild boars keep breaking the fence. Today Sunny, Tyson and Sophie escaped through a new hole the boar made.
Luckily Sunny had a tracker on so I could follow their movements. Eventually after alot of calling all 3 came back. But its always worrying , especially as these 3 are all nervous around strangers and wouldn't let a stranger approach them to read their tags.
Sunny the white dog has been with us 4 years, with only one person in all that time considering him for adoption.
Sophie the grey dog was adopted about a year ago, at the time we knew it might not work out due to her personality being so nervous, but it was worth a try, the adopters are fabulous and have 2 of my other dogs but unfortunately Sophie had to come back due to aggressive behaviour causing a lot of stress in what was a peaceful home.. Sophie is probably on the spectrum. She has difficulties interacting with both humans and other adult dogs. But is great with puppies. She is now one of our permanent dogs.
Tyson our big baby already 40 kg and not fully grown. He is a goofy guy. He is for adoption and is looking for a fun family with fenced land or garden.

With this many animals at the sanctuary there is always someone up to something and that's my excuse for my terrible time keeping 😃

27/09/2026

Sometimes an adoption doesn’t work out — and that’s okay. Brewster is back with us.

Our little Brewster, who I bottle-raised from just three days old, recently went off to what we hoped would be his forever home with a really lovely family.
Unfortunately, it didn’t work out.
It was heartbreaking for them to return him, but it was the best choice for Brewster and i am thankful they could see the bigger picture. There were tears when he came home because they genuinely loved him and desperately wanted it to work. But they were also incredibly conscientious and able to put their own feelings aside and ask the most important question: Was this the right home for Brewster?
From the beginning, Brewster didn't really take to their other dog and was bullying him. Before the adoption, I personally went with Brewster to meet the children because I wanted to make sure he was comfortable with them. He was absolutely lovely with them at that first meeting.
But living with three young children turned out to be different.
Over time, Brewster began snapping at members of the family. Interestingly, the one person he didn't snap at was the youngest little girl. But it became clear that the busy environment of a home with three young children was simply too much for him.
The family listened to all the advice, communicated openly with me and genuinely tried to understand what Brewster was telling us.
We made the decision together that it was better for him to come back sooner rather than later.
My concern was that if everyone kept trying to make a situation work that wasn't right for him, Brewster could eventually learn that snapping or biting was the only way to communicate that he was uncomfortable. None of us wanted that.
Since coming home, I've spent time assessing him again. During his first week back, there were two occasions when I picked him up and he growled and snapped at me. Both times his head was facing away from me. As soon as he turned his head, realised it was me, he immediately changed — almost laughing and smiling in that funny doggy way and trying to kiss my face.
On both occasions, rather than immediately putting him down, I simply readjusted the way I was holding him to make sure he was comfortable. I didn't want him to learn that snapping was the way to get himself put down, but equally I wanted to listen to what he was communicating and change what I was doing so that he felt comfortable and safe.
I also noticed that his back seemed a little uncomfortable around that time, so it's possible there was some pain involved, or simply that the way he was being picked up was uncomfortable for him. He hasn't done it again since.
Apart from that, he's back to being the Brewster we know — a friendly, loving little dog who enjoys people and normally really enjoys the company of other dogs.
But we've learned something important from this adoption, and we will listen to what Brewster has shown us.
So Brewster will now be looking for a home without young children. I would consider a family with children aged around 14+ who are able to understand a dog's body language, boundaries and consent.
Any future home with another dog will also need to be carefully assessed. Brewster normally loves other dogs, but just because two dogs are friendly doesn't mean they are necessarily compatible living together.
And his next adoption will have a trial period.
I don't think there is anything wrong with trial periods. In fact, I think they can be incredibly important. You can ask every question, do home checks and introductions and try your absolute best — but sometimes you only discover whether a dog and a family truly fit when they actually live together.
An adoption coming to an end doesn't automatically mean somebody failed.
Sometimes recognising that something isn't working — and making the difficult decision to change it before the situation becomes worse — is the most responsible and loving thing you can do.
Brewster's family loved him enough to do exactly that. ❤️
So our beautiful bottle baby is home again, safe, happy and very much loved.
And now we wait for the home that is right for Brewster. I send the family a big hug , they are amazing kind and loving people with a fabulous home for a dog. Unfortunately it just didnt suit Brewster. 🐾❤️
Brewster left Binky his sister right

22/09/2026

IN MEMORY OF OUR BEAUTIFUL GIRL — PLEASE READ & SHARE
First, please — no hate or unkind comments towards her adopters, they are devastated.

I am telling this story for one reason: to educate other animal guardians, in the hope that another unnecessary death can be prevented.
Our beautiful girl, who I bottle-reared from a 2 week old puppy and she lived happily here until she was nearly a year old, died on Sunday night.
She had been adopted from us two months ago and was travelling with her adopters, who are not from Portugal and are currently travelling around the country in a campervan.
On Saturday, she became very ill with vomiting and bloody diarrhoea.
Her adopters were told that there were no vets open on Saturdays or Sundays. Sadly, they believed this information and eventually found someone with veterinary knowledge to help.
But by then it was too late.
Our beautiful, loving, funny, goofy girl died.
What makes this even harder is that there were at least three 24-hour veterinary hospitals, with vets physically present, less than an hour from where they were camping.
Had she reached one of those hospitals when she first became seriously ill, she would at least have had the chance of receiving emergency treatment.
We still don't know exactly what happened. She may have contracted a virus, she may have been poisoned, or there may have been another cause. We may never know.
But this is the message I desperately want people to remember:
ANIMALS CAN DETERIORATE INCREDIBLY QUICKLY.

Please don't wait until tomorrow.
Please don't "wait and see" when an animal is seriously unwell.
Repeated vomiting, bloody diarrhoea, breathing difficulties, collapse, seizures, suspected poisoning, severe pain or an animal becoming suddenly extremely weak or unresponsive should be treated as an emergency.
Go to a veterinary hospital.
Yes, emergency veterinary care can be expensive. But I would rather face a veterinary bill than lose an animal who might have been saved.
If money is the problem, tell the veterinary hospital and ask what options are available.
And for any animal adopted from Star Mountain, please contact me. If you genuinely cannot pay for emergency treatment immediately, I will pay it and we can sort it out between ourselves afterwards.
I never want somebody to delay taking one of our animals to a vet because they are frightened about how they will pay.
My phone is on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for emergencies.
And that offer isn't only for people who have adopted from me. If you are worried about an animal and don't know what to do or where the nearest emergency hospital is, contact me. If I can help, I will.
I have had more than a thousand animals pass through my care over the years and have experienced many different emergencies. I have also made mistakes myself. Unfortunately, sometimes that is how we learn. The important thing is that we share what we learn so that another animal might be saved.
Had I received a phone call saying:
"She's vomiting and has bloody diarrhoea. What should I do?"
My answer would have been immediate:
Get in the car. Start driving. I will find the nearest 24-hour veterinary hospital while you are on your way.
Because of what has happened, our adoption agreement will now also require adopters to inform me when one of our animals becomes seriously unwell.
Maybe the outcome would still have been the same. We cannot know.
But she deserved the opportunity to receive emergency treatment.
And perhaps by telling her story, another animal will get that opportunity.

24-HOUR EMERGENCY VETS IN PORTUGAL
Below I am sharing a list of emergency veterinary hospitals that we have identified as operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with veterinary emergency care available overnight.
If it is an emergency, don't waste precious time trying to find a normal clinic that might open the following morning.
Call the emergency hospital and start travelling.
My own emergency hospital is around an hour from the sanctuary. When an animal is critically ill, an hour feels terrifyingly long.
That is exactly why there is no time to hesitate.
If you are seriously worried, go.
I would much rather drive an hour and discover that it was a false alarm than stay at home and realise too late that it wasn't.
I am still missing some districts because I will not put a veterinary clinic on this list unless I am confident that it genuinely provides 24-hour emergency care.
👉 If you know of a veterinary hospital in Portugal that is genuinely open 24/7 and isn't on the list, please comment or message me with the name, town and telephone number.
I will verify it and keep updating the list.
Once we have made it as comprehensive as possible, I will make it a pinned post and add it to the Star Mountain Animal Sanctuary website, so people travelling or living anywhere in Portugal have somewhere to look immediately in an emergency.
Please save this list.
Please share it.
You may never need it.
But one day, knowing where the nearest 24-hour vet is could save an animal's life.

In memory of my beautiful, loving, laughing, goofy girl.
I am so sorry we couldn't save you.
If sharing your story saves even one other animal, then something important will have come from losing you. ❤️🐾

24-HOUR EMERGENCY VETERINARY HOSPITALS – PORTUGAL 🇵🇹
The following veterinary hospitals/centres provide 24-hour emergency care. In an emergency, phone while you are travelling if possible.

AVEIRO DISTRICT

AVEIRO
AniCura Aveiro Hospital Veterinário
Av. da Universidade 215, Aveiro
Tel: 234 386 427
24 hours / 7 days

BRAGA DISTRICT

BRAGA
Hospital Veterinário de Braga
Rua de Abraão 63, Maximinos, Braga
Tel: 253 693 121
24 hours / 7 days

Hospital Veterinário Bom Jesus
Av. General Carrilho da Silva Pinto 52, Braga
Tel: 253 691 297
24 hours / 7 days

GUIMARÃES
Evidensia Guimarães Hospital Veterinário
Rua Dadores Benévolos de Sangue 194, Guimarães
Tel: 210 310 806
24 hours / 7 days

COIMBRA DISTRICT
COIMBRA

OneVet Hospital Veterinário Universitário de Coimbra
Av. José R. Sousa Fernandes 197, Coimbra
Tel: 239 499 160
24 hours / 7 days

Hospital Veterinário de Coimbra
Rua O Conimbricense, Coimbra
Tel: 239 099 777
24 hours / 7 days

Hospital Veterinário do Centro
Rua Dr. Luís de Freitas Morna 47, Coimbra
Tel: 962 518 494
24 hours / 7 days
ÉVORA DISTRICT
ÉVORA

Hospital Veterinário da Universidade de Évora
Universidade de Évora
24-hour emergency service and hospitalisation
FARO DISTRICT
FARO

AniCura Algarve Hospital Veterinário
Urb. Calouste Gulbenkian 66, Loja C, Faro
Tel: 289 806 057
24 hours / 7 days

PORTIMÃO
Hospital Veterinário de Portimão
Av. Afonso Henriques 28, Portimão
Tel: 282 418 260
24 hours / 7 days

GUARDA DISTRICT
GUARDA

Animalvet – Hospital Veterinário
Av. Cidade de Salamanca 54, 6300-538 Guarda
Tel: 271 238 902
24 hours / 7 days

Hospital Veterinário da Guarda – MaisVida
Av. Variante 9, R/C Esq., 6300-875 Guarda
Tel: 271 227 108
24 hours / 7 days

LEIRIA DISTRICT
LEIRIA

Hospital Veterinário de Leiria
Travessa Cidade de Rheine, 2410-270 Leiria
Tel: 244 833 073
Emergency: 968 151 166
24 hours / 7 days

Hospital Veterinário das Cortes
Quinta da Bela Vista, Lote 6 R/C, Moinho Novo, Leiria
Tel: 919 110 070
24 hours / 7 days

LISBON DISTRICT
LISBON
Hospital Veterinário de Lisboa
Rua Manuel Rodrigues da Silva 2 B/C, Lisboa
Tel: 217 168 548
24 hours / 7 days

AniCura Restelo Hospital Veterinário
Rua Gregório Lopes 1513, Loja E, Lisboa
Tel: 213 032 119
24 hours / 7 days

AniCura Vasco da Gama Hospital Veterinário
Rotunda das Oliveiras 1-A, Parque das Nações, Lisboa
Tel: 214 073 002
24 hours / 7 days

AniCura Arco do Cego Hospital Veterinário
Rua Dona Filipa de Vilhena 4 E-F, Lisboa
Tel: 213 156 207
24 hours / 7 days

VetLuz Hospital Veterinário
Rua São Tomás de Aquino 10-D, Lisboa
Tel: 217 270 945
24 hours / 7 days

Hospital Veterinário de São Bento
Rua de São Bento 358-A, Lisboa
Tel: 213 972 997
24 hours / 7 days

Hospital Veterinário Berna
Av. de Berna 35A, Lisboa
Tel: 218 299 810
24 hours / 7 days

Hospital do Gato
Rua Fernão Mendes Pinto 56, Lisboa
Tel: 213 017 360
CATS ONLY
24 hours / 7 days

CACÉM
AniCura Alma Veterinária Hospital Veterinário
Estrada das Ligeiras 5, Cacém
Tel: 214 263 919
24 hours / 7 days

MAFRA
AniCura Atlântico Hospital Veterinário
Rua Quintino António Gomes 12, Mafra
Tel: 261 810 060
24 hours / 7 days

PORTO DISTRICT
PORTO

AniCura CHV Porto Hospital Veterinário
Rua Manuel Pinto de Azevedo 118, Porto
Tel: 226 155 158
24 hours / 7 days
UPVet – Hospital Veterinário da Universidade do Porto
Rua Jorge de Viterbo Ferreira 132, Porto
Tel: 220 428 400
24 hours / 7 days

MAIA / SÃO PEDRO DE FINS

AniCura +Ani+ Hospital Veterinário
Rua dos Milheirados 21, São Pedro de Fins
Tel: 229 690 408
24 hours / 7 days

Hospital Veterinário da Maia
Rua Mosteiro 680, Maia
Tel: 229 721 251
24 hours / 7 days

VILA NOVA DE GAIA
AniCura Santa Marinha Hospital Veterinário
Rua Dom Henrique de Cernache 183, Vila Nova de Gaia
Tel: 223 752 375
24 hours / 7 days

SANTARÉM DISTRICT
SANTARÉM
Hospital Veterinário de Santarém
Largo do Chafariz, Santarém
Tel: 910 638 555
24 hours / 7 days

SETÚBAL DISTRICT
ALMADA
Hospital Veterinário SOSVET
Av. Bento Gonçalves 31C, Almada
Tel: 212 723 338
24 hours / 7 days

PALMELA
OneVet Hospital Veterinário de Palmela / VetSet
Rua Dr. Bernardo Teixeira Botelho 68, Palmela
Tel: 212 330 197
24 hours / 7 days

SEIXAL
OneVet Hospital Veterinário do Seixal
Av. Vasco da Gama, Seixal
Tel: 212 270 073
24 hours / 7 days

AZEITÃO / SÃO LOURENÇO
Hospital Veterinário da Arrábida
Rua José Augusto Coelho 12A, São Lourenço
Tel: 212 181 441
24 hours / 7 days

VILA REAL DISTRICT
VILA REAL
OneVet Hospital Veterinário de Trás-os-Montes
Rua de La Lys 7, Vila Real
Tel: 259 328 918
24 hours / 7 days

VISEU DISTRICT
VISEU

Hospital Veterinário de Viseu – HVV
Praça Carlos Lopes, Ed. Tojal & Tojal 7, Viseu
Tel: 917 040 829
24-hour emergencies

SOS Animal – Hospital Veterinário de Viseu
Av. Cidade de Aveiro 15, Viseu
Tel: 232 092 140
24 hours / 7 days

Hospital Veterinário MaisVida – Viseu
Av. Alberto Sampaio 85, 3510-031 Viseu
Tel: 232 458 304
24 hours / 7 days

MADEIRA
FUNCHAL
Hospital Veterinário da Madeira
Caminho de Santo António 202, Funchal
Tel: 291 143 760
24 hours / 7 days

DISTRICTS WHERE I HAVE NOT YET BEEN ABLE TO CONFIRM A FULL 24-HOUR VETERINARY HOSPITAL
Beja
Bragança
Castelo Branco
Portalegre
Viana do Castelo
Azores

22/09/2026

Binkys Tractive Tracker arrived this morning.
She is excited to be running free on exciting walks around the sanctuary and in the big wide world.

Binky stays close to me. But that's not a reason not to put a tracker on your dog. She knows as do my other dogs with trackers, the area. But even a dog that knows the area can still fall in a well, get caught in a trap, chase something until they are lost.

I love Binky and I have a responsibility to keep her safe, so I have bought her a tracker.

I took out a 5 year subscription which costs €240

And now I can have peace of mind out on walks and the sanctuary. Binky deserves that safety, as do all dogs.

She also has a tag from Peter Martyn with my phone number.

This is great and easy for people that might find her to get in contact. Especially as trackers do sometimes run out of battery.

We cant protect them from everything, but we can do our best to make them as safe as possible whilst living an awesome life full of fun and adventures

Hi! I'm using Tractive to always know where my pet is. Use my link below to get 40% off a Tractive GPS tracker.
https://tractive.com/r/vGFKc5

Tractive
Star Mountain Animal Sanctuary

16/09/2026

Good night hay for Chico, Edgar and Donnie

08/09/2026

Hi all my lovely adopters in the uk
I am arranging a adopted dogs party for my birthday at Ross and Friends dog park in Berkhamstead Hertfordshire.
We will have a private fenced field the size of a football field with woods and ponds and fun things to sniff plus a seating area for the humans . There is also the opportunity to adventure in the safari area of the dog park which is 35 acres of fenced fun.
I know its a really long way for some of you. But it would be fabulous to see all the pups again if you can make it.
I will be coming over with my dogs Alinda, who knows all the dogs adopted in the past 7 years, Eddie who knows all the dogs adopted in the past 2 years and Binky who only knows 2 of our uk adopted dogs but is super fun!

Let me know if you can join so I can confirm numbers with the dog park and make sure there will be enough cake!

https://www.rossandfriends.uk/

08/09/2026

The best news
Stella was Rockie, the puppy abandoned by the bins at Rio Torto cemetery, has been adopted and will travel to her new family at the end of September.
She is going to live with a lovely family . She will have a doggy brother, Marley adopted from us 3 years ago and doggy cousins Genie , Marley's sister and Tiny adopted from us 2 years ago.
We are so excited for Stella to be joining such a lovely family.
Be happy little one. We love you

07/09/2026

What a lovely cosy way to spend the evening

06/09/2026

Our lovely Finote was the latest emergency vet participant. I got home on Friday to find bloody p**p all over the kitchen floor. It was from Finote.
My fear that the sickness Binky had was a virus rose again and off we went back to the vet.
Finote is fine. He also had eggshells in his colon. But what the xray showed was a tumour on his prostate.
I didnt castrate Finote becuase of his age .
Finotes microchip says he is 22. I knew he wasn't that old. But still it seemed maybe dangerous to castrate him. But as the microchip was only put in 5 years ago there is plenty of space for mistakes.

We also did blood work and everything is good
The xray showed his joints are also good.
So Finote will be castrated to remove the tumour . If we left it, it will mean feaces cant leave.
From the look of his joints in the xray the vet predicted 12.
So Finote will also be for adoption once he has recovered from his operation.
This is one of the many reasons it important to castrate your dog.

Star Mountain Animal Sanctuary

28/09/2026

27/09/2026

27/09/2026

22/09/2026

22/09/2026

16/09/2026

08/09/2026

08/09/2026

07/09/2026

06/09/2026

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