Saving Galgos In Spain

Rescuing Abandoned Galgos and Podencos.

After I wrote my last post, about our ever-growing household of dogs – all in some way ‘abandonados’, I almost immediately found a blog where a group of people are actually trying to do something about all the abandoned dogs in spain – mainly galgos and podencos, but I would imagine they wouldn’t turn any abandoned dog away.

Betty - rescued and now in her new home

The pictures in this post are taken from their blog and I’m sure you’ll agree with me when I say, these are beautiful animals.

These people feel like us. They cannot comprehend how certain breeds of dogs can be treated not as pets, but as easily-discarded hunters.

But unlike us (we just ‘go with the flow’ and try to do our best to care for them), they have coordinated a rescue centre called Galgos Del Sol.

Their blog (which has regular updates of the latest galgos they have rescued) is called Saving Galgos In Spain, a must!

And yes, it is a must. Galgos (and Podencos) are hounds. They are, essentially, a hunting breed, but that does not mean they cannot be pets.  In fact, with care and the right attitude, anyone can have a galgo for a pet. You just need to understand them first.  And that doesn’t take long, because they are friendly, intelligent dogs.

Skye is a beautiful galgo typical of the breed.

Galgos look like thinner versions of the English greyhound. They are swift on their feet, with keen eyes and a keen sense of smell – all the essentials for a hunter.

And that’s their downfall.

Like in certain circles in the UK, hunting is a big sport in Spain, especially hare coursing. And every hunter prides themselves on having a pack of galgos (or sometimes podencos) to catch their prey.

The problem arises when the hunting season ends. Does the hunter keep the galgo until next year’s hunting season, or abandon it?

If the galgo is a bitch, at least she is ‘breeding material’ and she will be kept to breed, but often then abandoned as she has done her ‘work’.

If her puppies are all males, only those deemed to be ‘the best’ will be kept. The rest will be abandoned somewhere. If they are females, they will most likely be kept…until after they have had their first set of pups.

This is not to say that everyone who keeps (or breeds) galgos is so calous. but many still are.

Because galgos are not seen as ‘pets’.

Jenny an abandoned Galgo now rescued by Galgos Del Sol, brought back to health and on her way to her new home

In Andalucia, where we live, there are at least as many Podencas as Galgos. They are a very popular breed here.

Podencos can have many of the same ‘essential hunting traits’ as the Galgo. They also have even keener hearing.

The one advantage that the podenco has over the galgo is that they are smaller dogs. And this makes them  slightly more likely to become house pets. But there are still many abandoned podencos.

Our village appears to be a ‘stop place’ for abandoned galgos and podencos. It is the last village on the route before a large town, and it seems as if these dogs slowly make their way through the different villages and settle in ours (perhaps because there is ‘a mad English couple’ willing to feed them…).  So we see a lot of these dogs, often arriving in a pitiful state, covered in tics, virtually starving, and in need of a home.

We can only do so much.

Many of these ‘abandonados’ will either starve to death, die of disease, be run over by a car, or just as bad, be picked up and taken to a ‘perrera’ (basically a killing station for abandoned dogs), where ‘humane’ does not really come into the way these poor dogs are put down.

Tina a three month old Podenca is looking for someone to care for her

So, when someone has the tenacity to set up a rescue centre for Galgos it is only right to give it all the publicity it deserves. And hopefully do something to help them.

It is not easy caring for abandoned dogs (as we have found out). Most abandonados need urgent health care, including vetinary treatment and a diet to bring them back to good health. And, in the case of a rescue centre like Galgos Del Sol, there is paperwork, finding homes for their dogs (and making sure they go to good homes), plus constant advertising costs to ensure that every dog in their centre finds the home it deseves.

Those who run Galgos Del Sol have no idea I’m writing this post. I literally found their blog as a matter of chance. But once I read it, I knew I had to do something to help, however small.

So for anyone reading this post, you can visit the blog here for the latest news, or their website Galgos Del Sol, or, if you want to help straight away, contact galgosdelsol @ hotmail.com (take out the gaps).

Saving Galgos in Spain is a must, so please take a look at the website and the blog and see if there is anything you can do to help.