Vera Retires as President
lead them to investigate these unusual creatures. If your pet
had the misfortune to sniff, lick or bite these caterpillars your
animal would likely suffer a severe allergic reaction or
anaphylactic shock, possibly causing airway closure and death.
The Costa Animal Society (CAS) committee would like to
express its gratitude to Vera for more than 20 years of service
helping animals in need. Vera started as a volunteer for CAS in
1999 and during her tenure she has been invaluable in caring
for rescued dogs and cats and planning and executing fund
raising events. She has served on the committee since joining
the CAS ranks and has held the key roles of Vice-President and
President for much of the last decade.
The symptoms of exposure to caterpillar hair are excessive
drooling or frothing at the mouth, difficulty in breathing
and/or white spots in the mouth or tongue. If you think your
pet is suffering from these symptoms, our vet recommends
you flush your animal’s mouth with as much water as possible
and immediately take your pet for emergency treatment.
Her contribution and dedication to CAS has been
immeasurable and she will continue to help the society in an
advisory role until a new President can be elected. Vera has
been instrumental in shaping CAS into the charitable
organisation it is today and has set a high standard we will
endeavour to continue in our effort help abused and
abandoned animals in our area.
A final warning: if you are thinking of taking a pre-emptive
strike against these nests you should bear in mind they too are
full of caterpillar hair, which can easily fall out when disturbed.
Exposure by humans has been known to cause a severe skin
irritation that can last up to three weeks, temporary blindness
and/or respiratory problems. Make sure you take appropriate
precautions or hire a professional.
Pine Processionary Caterpillars & Pests
It is that time of year again and CAS would like to inform you
that with the mild winter we are enjoying we can expect an
early visit from the annual Pine Processionary Caterpillars as
well as other pests.
If that was not enough to worry about the unusually warm
weather will likely bring an early return to other pests such as
fleas, ticks and mosquitoes. Therefore, in order to protect our
animals we need to remain vigilant with regular flea and tick
treatments and consider replacing anti-parasite collars if they
have been on your dog for any length of time.
Pine Processionary
Caterpillars usually start their
annual march from their pine
nest into underground
burrows in late winter to early
spring in this part of the
world. They get their name
because they undertake this
journey in single file lines and
follow one another much like
a religious procession.
Available for adoption!
Evie and Georgio have both been
placed in different foster homes in
Nerja where they will gain the
necessary skills to live in a house
setting. They are both living with
couples who take them for regular
walks on a lead where they interact
with others in town and learn to do
their business outside.
The danger for your pets, and
for humans, is this is when we
are most likely to come into
Credit: Jon Peatey
contact with these caterpillars
Pine Processionary Nest
and at this stage of their
lifecycle they possess an
unusual defence mechanism. That is, they are covered in fine
white poisonous hairs, which can cause reactions ranging from
an extremely itchy rash to very deadly anaphylactic shock
when they are touched or ingested.
Evie is a lovely one year-old female,
Alsatian cross, who was rescued from
the streets of Nerja as a young pup and
lived in kennels for six
months before she was
moved to a foster home.
She is a big dog but has a
lovely disposition and
gets along well with
other dogs and cats.
During the winter Pine Processionary Caterpillars make nests,
which resemble large cotton balls or white candyfloss, in our
local pine trees. If you live near pine trees, especially ones with
white nests, extreme care must be taken with your pets. You
should not let your dog roam free and you should try to keep
your cat indoors.
Georgio is a three to four
year-old male who lived
most of his life in a
rescue shelter in Mijas
before CAS took him on
and he has been with his
Unfortunately, the inherently curious nature of your pet may
48
Georgio
Evie