Virginie Labat lives in Bayonne on the French/Spanish border, and speaks Spanish as well as her native French. It makes her ideal for working to help the galgos. She explains why she got involved:
‘A couple of years ago, I saw on TV a programme about the Spanish galgos. It showed the conditions in which they were kept by the galgueros and also the horrendous mutilations and death inflicted on them.
At that time I didn’t have a computer, so I couldn’t check the story on any websites, but then, in December 2006, my brother gave me his computer, and I was able to read about the galgos.
And I could not believe that this went on just a 30 minute drive from my home!
As I speak Spanish, I decided to join an association and Passion Levriers was the first one I found. I contacted the volunteer who lives in my area, and she transmitted my proposal to the association president, who telephoned me. That is how I became involved with them.
6 months later I went with another Spanish-speaking volunteer to Ibiza to rescue 10 podencos. It was hard, but we managed it and those dogs are now adopted and happily rehomed.
I began to collaborate with just one refuge in Ibiza, and now we have divided Spain in 2 parts, one part for Fabienne, who is French and living in Spain, and the other one for me. It means hours on the Internet, and on the telephone, but I have never regretted it, even if sometimes I almost cannot bear to watch the horrendous photos of the poor dogs.
We get a lot of help from people collecting things, and publicising our rescue dogs, looking for homes etc., people from the UK, USA and elsewhere.
I feel very happy to be part of Passion Levriers and several of the French volunteers are now very great friends of mine.’