Perros | Synopsis
Perros is a dog documentary about people — the people who turn up every day to look after the dogs that have been abandoned in the street.
Perros centres around the Los Barrios municipal dog pound in Andalusia, Spain, which is home to more than 300 dogs. We get to meet Edu, Richard, Rosalia and a committed team of volunteers holding the place together through grit, humour, and care. Inside the kennels we see the full reality: constant arrivals, illness and recovery, fear and trust, and the small wins that make the hard days worth it.
More than a rescue story, Perros is a hopeful, clear-eyed insight into life inside a Spanish dog pound and the wider culture surrounding dog ownership — love and loyalty alongside neglect, abandonment, and change. As the volunteers fight for adoptions and better conditions, the film becomes a portrait of compassion under pressure and of dogs still hoping for a new home.
Runtime: 1 hour 35 minutes.
Languages : English + Spanish.
Subtitles : French, German, Swedish.
Filmed In : Andalusia, Spain + The UK.
The Volunteers
-
![]()
Edu | Volunteer
-
![Black and white close-up photo of a man with short hair looking to his left.]()
Richard | Pound Worker
-
![A black and white photo of an elderly woman with curly hair, sitting on a striped couch, making a hand gesture, wearing a patterned top and a pendant necklace.]()
Rosalia | Volunteer
-
![A woman sitting at a table with a coffee mug, smiling, in a room with framed pictures on the wall and a curtain.]()
Harriet | Dog Rescuer
-
![Black and white close-up of a middle-aged man with short hair, wearing a collared shirt, a necklace with a cross pendant, and earphones, against a plain background.]()
Jorge | Dog Walker
-
![A middle-aged man with glasses, a beard, and mustache, wearing a collared shirt, speaking or explaining something.]()
Jesus | Dog Warden
-
![Black and white photo of a middle-aged man with a mustache and receding hairline, outdoors with trees and foliage in the background.]()
Antonio | Dog Feeder
-
![A woman with dark hair wearing medical scrubs, sitting in a clinical environment with a microscope and medical supplies in the background.]()
Sara | The Vet
-
![Black and white photo of a middle-aged woman with shoulder-length hair, looking slightly to the side, with a serious expression.]()
Natalie | Volunteer
-
![Close-up black and white photograph of a middle-aged man with gray hair and beard, looking slightly to the right.]()
Miguel | Policeman
Ryan’s Story
Perros began with a small dog called Ryan.
Ryan was living on the streets around Los Barrios when an urgent appeal was shared by Spanish Stray Dogs. He was very sick and unable to travel to the UK in a rescue van. So instead, I drove down to southern Spain and brought him home myself.
That 3,000-mile journey placed me face to face with the reality of the Los Barrios municipal pound — constant arrivals, pressure on volunteers, and the scale of the problem day after day.
And Perros began.
Director
My name is Paul Murphy. I’m a London-based photographer and filmmaker. For over 30 years I worked in the world of advertising.
Over time that world began to feel increasingly hollow, and I found myself drawn instead to animals — their resilience, their vulnerability, and the people who fight for them.
Now I use my film and photography to support animals of all kinds, rescuing wildlife including foxes and birds, and shining a light on stories that are too often overlooked.
I share my home with three rescue dogs and two rescue cats, and everything I make is guided by a simple belief: animals deserve care, dignity, and a voice.