Espanyol’s players lined up with dogs instead of mascots for their La Liga match against Mallorca this weekend.
For a second successive season, the Spanish club took part in a campaign called ‘Los pericos no abandonado!’, which translates as, ‘The parakeets don’t abandon!’, which helps abandoned dogs find new homes.
Last year, the initiative saw 11 dogs rescued from the streets, while more than 2,000kg of food and materials such as towels and blankets was donated.
To raise awareness, every Espanyol player who started their game against Mallorca on Saturday walked out with a dog before the match began.
Fans were also encouraged to donate canned food and blankets at the stadium.
In a statement, Espanyol said: ‘With this action the club wants to impact society again and help raise awareness of this problem.’
Earlier this month, Espanyol midfielder Pol Lozano attended a press conference with his five-month-old dog Mango, who was rescued from the street, to highlight the cause.
‘We adopted him when he was practically a baby, he wasn’t even a month old,’ Lozano said.
‘We found him abandoned in some rubbish with his brothers. My best friend was left with a brother of his who is just like him, but brown. I got this one.
‘It’s one of the best things that has happened to me in life.
‘It is very important that we become aware of all this for them, who sometimes have more feelings than people. The truth is that it is important that we become aware that they can be a very important part of people’s lives.’
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