Rocío Cochón visits the Kennels Center, in Combarro, for its tenth anniversary and thanks its founders for “a decade helping our Council to be a benchmark in combining tourist quality with solid values such as animal care.”

The council of Poio continues to consolidate its tourism model, based on an offer of the highest quality, international and de-seasonalized, but also committed and with solid values, such as animal care.

The Councilor for Tourism, Rocío Cochón, visited the Kennels Center in Combarro this week, on the occasion of its tenth anniversary, to recognize the work of this establishment and highlight the potential of responsible tourism committed to animal welfare.

During the visit, Cochón was accompanied by those in charge, Manuel Lorenzo and Melanie Standing, who explained the concept of the center, a pioneer in canine accommodation and care, and its evolution since its opening in July 2015 on the grounds of the old football field of the parish. Two ‘lifelong’ guests, the furry Charlotte and Chica, also joined the visit, with whom they toured the facilities.

The mayor highlighted the synergies with the rest of the Council’s tourism sector: “We know that there are many visitors who come to Poio or the region to spend their holidays specifically because they know that they also have an extraordinary place to accommodate their pets.” In addition, hourly accommodation or daycare service allows the rest of the family to visit places where animals are not allowed, such as Tambo or the Atlantic Islands.

She also highlighted the pioneering nature of the establishment since its creation, with a model far from other pet accommodations. The complex, with more than 10,000 m² of surface area, has 30 kennels, or individual ‘rooms’ with differentiated spaces and a common area for play and socialization, and different adapted services.

In this sense, those responsible explained that, in addition to Tourism with pets, which represents the majority of users, the Center also covers other needs, such as hospitalizations or work reasons. In fact, they recalled that in these 10 years there have been moments such as the Covid pandemic, when they were one of the few tourist establishments that remained open to care for, among others, the pets of healthcare personnel and other essential services.

Finally, Cochón highlighted the potential of responsible tourism committed to animal welfare, since this center is “one of the few in Poio and in the region with close to 100% occupancy throughout the year, and also contributes to other establishments being able to have more reservations or clients.” For this reason, she ended by thanking the owners and staff of the Center for “a decade helping our Council to be a benchmark in combining tourist quality with solid values such as animal care.”