Your support is needed. Here’s the storyfrom Levriers sans Frontieres, translated by Danielle Hart, who translated my galgo book into French.
A French woman has 2 galgos and a Dogue argentin (not sure what they are called in English, Mastiffs maybe?) named Elias? She wanted to adopt a third galgo and decided to have Elias euthanized to make room for the new galgo! He was only 6 years old and she had had him since he was a puppy.
Scooby Medina del Campo shelter is probably the largest one and also one of the first ones. They have hundreds of dogs, dozens of horses, goats, poultry, ferrets. They rely totally on donations. Please read these words from Fermin, and help if you can.
More than 50 galgos have been rescued, including two litters of puppies, living in a garbage dump in Ontigola, Madrid province, covered in wounds, scabies and terrified. Thanks to a neighbour who denounced the situation, 6 rescue associations have taken the dogs. It took all afternoon to catch them and transport them to safety. They all need vet care, medication, blood analyses, castrations. Then they have to be rehabilitated in preparation for adoption.
Associations involved ALBA. SOS GALGOS. ACURN. NOAH’S ARK. SPAPS. RIVAANIMAL
Contact is carolalbaasociacion@gmail.com or hocicosyhuellas@live.com
David did his jump – glorious day over La Rochelle, clear skies. Here are some photos of Christophe and Francois (the two professional parachutists at Altitudes) going through the briefing with David and a French guy doing his first jump as a birthday present. There’s also a short video here but please, it’s not very good…the sun was bright, I couldn’t see what was in my tablet screen, so I just pointed and hoped! You can see from the windsock the wind speed was about 24 kmh. Please sponsor him – 10,000 feet is a long way to fall out of a little plane over La Rochelle when the wind is blowing!
I’ve been asked how Polar is progressing. Where do I start?! He’s been with me a year now and he continues to collect asbos (anti social behaviour orders) – a ball of white knitting wool was unravelled around the courtyard today! He’s digging up my plants, scattering soil all over the terrasse; a paperback book stolen and chewed, the hose for the outlet on my tumble dryer squashed…and he’s STILL only 16 months old! The caption for this photo is ‘I’m knackered with all this being naughty!’
He is thoroughly enjoying dog obedience classes where he is a popular personality. He is good with his response to commands – sit, down, stay, heel – his recall is also excellent – except the exercise where he is supposed to sit and stay whilst I walk a distance away. I only need to take two or three strides and he’s already straining at the lead to follow me!
There is no love like a dog’s love – unconditional – no human can match it. This is the story of Zara, a beautiful white galga with blue eyes who, after living with her galguero for 6 years, was taken by him to Scooby Valladolid as he didn’t want her any more. She was heartbroken; Cobie couldn’t comfort her. Here’s Zara’s story as told by Cobie.
Poor Zara, the beautiful white galga with her bleu eyes, who cried so much after her owner left her here abandoned in a kennel. She kept on crying and crying, even got very angry with me. I managed to put her in a kennel with 3 galga friends which she liked very much but she kept on crying and biting the fence to try to escape and find her owner.
So I called him and asked him to come and see her, and he did, the same day, with his wife and child. And what happened then is almost unbelievable. She was so happy, it brought me to tears. She was the happiest dog in the world and even let me touch her without any problem which before was impossible! She also let me put an anti flea and tick collar round her neck. They stayed almost an hour and have promised to come back to help her adjust to being somewhere else, they did not offer to take her back of course which also was expected…!
But since that visit, Zara changed rapidly, I can touch her as much as I want, she takes treats from my hand, does not cry or try to escape anymore, it´s amazing. So, sometimes we´ll have to collaborate with the galgueros for the wellbeing of the dogs, even that he had not noticed her biggest problem to adapt in a strange surrounding during the 6 years that Zara belonged to him, namely that she is deaf…!!! He didn´t know!
A FEW DAYS LATER
Amazing Zara. She jumped over a fence from 2.30 mtr. high with sharp points without having a scratch. We made a new piece on it so it´s impossible, we hope, to jump over it again.
She was seen at 10 o´clock in the evening in La Victoria, a busy part of Valladolid with a lot of traffic, people, bars etc. At 12.30 in the night she was seen walking in the middle of the highway direction Zaratán where she was born and happy with her galguero. This person tried to catch her but did not succeed.
In the morning she was at the place of the galguero’s father who caught her and called the phone number on her collar which was mine, and he called his son who also came to see her. The rest is known. I went to collect her and bring her back to Scooby Residencia where I live.
How special is it when a dog after 7 weeks here, escapes and finds her way to a village some 10 km. further. A way she had never walked or travelled before. How did she know to go right or left on whatever point? Is this true love, dedication? She risked her life to find her loved ones but she found them! She must have walked almost all night because after coming back here, she slept the rest of the day and the night and also this whole morning without opening her eyes, so tired…!!
I think she deserves a statue in honour of all abandoned dogs because Zara showed us how much they suffer and how it hurts…!’
If you can give Zara that special home for the rest of her life please contact Scooby.
These two videos are of Ebro, an example of the incredible will to live which lies within the galgos in Spain. Two broken front legs, put back together by vet Paco, nursed and cared for by the del Rio family. this is why we help the galgos, and why 112carlotagalgos needs your help – without your donations they couldn’t keep helping these galgos regain the will to live and become family pets. Paypal to comdelrio@hotmail.com – weblink to dogs for adoption
112carlotagalgos was recently asked to take 8 galgos in a poor state from a gypsy camp. There were also podencos there, which Bev Farmer in Murcia has taken in. Charl’s thoughts as she prepared the night before husband Dioni set off to collect the galgos. Duke, to whom she refers, was saved by Portugal Dog Rescue and is with Charl for rehabilitation and learning that life can be good.
This week Scooby added 3 more galgos to the hundreds they have waiting for forever homes. Here’s what Cobie writes.
‘Cobie Steketee
So, at last all the surviving dogs from the shit hole perrera from Mairena have been taken out of that hell. From what I understand it was a big chaos, somebody opened doors from cages and with an open gate at that time, some 30 dogs escaped, it seems that still some galgos are running free there in the neighbourhood.
