Let’s not forget the shelters on the islands where so many people spend holidays in the sun…Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Mallorca, Ibiza…….behind the glitz, abandoned dogs and cats struggle to survive. It’s only thanks to the few shelters and volunteers that some of them are saved. But they still need to find forever homes, mostly on the European mainland.
Here’s the latest news on Gran Canaria
A while ago, animal volunteers in Burgos area, which I have travelled through and is a mass of half finished apartment blocks and huge cranes – a building site – heard that it is difficult to adopt out of the Burgos perrera. Immense ignorance, lack of information, lack of compliance with the law, the carelessness…. on 9th November this galga arrived, starving, normal for a dog abandoned on the street.
But Galgos del Norte got in there and this is what they found….(click on Lee Mas under the Salva story
The diagnosis of the vet, words cannot describe her suffering – BURNED by acid…. and this dog was just left in the kennels in the municipal kennels without treatment.
In previous years I’ve featured galgos and podencos dumped in the Mairena killing station (obviously there are thousands of other types of dogs dumped there too which suffer the same horrendous end to their lives). Because of the bad publicity, volunteers were banned from going in to photo the dogs.
There is now an on-line petition to close the place down. This is the link. The petition is in Spanish and a translation is below. You have to register with the petition website, here are the instructions by on-line translator:
Emails coming in about the hunters dumping their galgos in Jerez, Gesser, Albacete, Hellin perreras, as well at shelters. Here are some of the 15 taken to death row in Jerez perrera this week, including this one with raw wounds on his body. Anyone wanting to save any, contact Maribel maribeljerezsos2@gmail.com 605637101 Maribel www.perreras.org en perrera 1
As some of you may know, Cesar Millan adopted a galgo from Galgos 112. At the same time, he worked on a series of television programmes to highlight the plight of abandoned dogs in Spain. This is the link to see the article, and below is a translation.
The famous trainer of dogs César Millán, known in Spain for his dog programmes, will return next Friday (2 December 2011) to the prime time on Channel 4 with the release of the Leader of the Pack.
This is the Galgo News/Podenco Post Christmas Card 2011, a watercolour by my friend and animal lover Anji Ratcliffe; it’s a galgo and podenco pup on a Christmas Tree bauble. Printed on 210gm white card, it retails at 5,00 euros per pack of 6 inc envelopes plus postage. All proceeds will go towards vet fees for injured galgos and podencos.
Spanish shelters and refuges rely on donations towards the cost of caring for their rescued dogs. Why not Sponsor a dog/kennel/stable as a Christmas or birthday present. The following are small refuges which will be very grateful for any help.
SOS Animals is being evicted – they have until Friday to find somewhere else for all their rescued dogs. This is one of the pieces of news which always enrages me…the authorities are supposed to be responsible for all abandoned animals – we all know they turn a blind eye much of the time. And they penalise and make life difficult for the wonderful people who run refuges, fundraise, volunteers. Ohhhh, it makes me sooooo angry! Please put your hands together to pray that all these dogs and cats find room somewhere. SOS Animals, near Fuengirola on the Costa del Sol. Donate here to their relocation fund.
UPDATE
Remember Esperanza, badly beaten and dumped for dead in a rubbish skip. She is now walking unaided! What a miracle. See the latest videos here and walking down steps, and along the pavement! Everyone involved in saving her life and her recuperation is a miracle worker.
