Many of you kindly donated to Clare to help her pay for the surgery needed for Podenco Angel, badly injured in a road accident. Sadly he gave up his fight for life in the morning of 5th November, with Clare’s loving arms around him. Here Clare tells the story of the other canines in her life.

‘I have 33 dogs. Should I repeat that? Yes, 33 dogs! Don’t ask me how it happened, it just did!! It wasn’t a choice, it wasn’t planned, it just ‘is’.

I split up with my partner back in December 2011, and moved into a log cabin with my little Spanish mish-mash butterfly dog, Mama, and my large Siberian Husky, Blue. A nice little family group, don’t you think?! Then I had the bright idea of adopting a large dog for security, as I had loads of garden and a decent sized house, so no problem with space and I would feel more secure.

So off I trot to the rescue where I had been told there was a Great Dane…well there wasn’t. What there was though was a VERY shy Pointer cross with her not quite so shy daughter who were due to be PTS as they couldn’t find homes for of them, and also her daughter’s seven puppies. I immediately said I would take the two adults and one of the pups, as they had already found homes for the other pups. They came to me a couple of days later after a home check and paperwork, and with another pup in tow as they had been let down with this one!

So, there I am in my log cabin with 6 dogs…Mama, Blue, Thelma (grandma), Louise (mum) and Bubble and Squeak (pups), all ladies together!

A couple of days after they arrived a friend told me that she had been feeding a little Spaniel/Daschund cross, a beautiful little girl with red hair and a lovely temperament, but unfortunately she couldn’t keep her as her other dogs didn’t get on…so there we have no 7, Red, and what a god-send she was!! She took to the pups like a duck to water and looked after them, taught them manners, played with them, cleaned up after them and generally protected them from everything including me!! Louise, the pups’ mum, didn’t come in the house at this stage; her and her mum stayed as far away from the house as possible, and I only saw them at feeding time, so not much of a mum, was she?!

Another friend rang me shortly after about a dog on the road in the village nearby and I said of course she could bring her!! No 8, Sooty, a black street-wise girl with a limp and an attitude! She slotted in well, taking the role of boss-dog in the house, but they all bowed to Thelma in the garden.

The next one, Jess, was brought to me by a lady from another village. It seemed that people were now aware of my ‘situation’ and thought I was some sort of rescue LOL. So, come in no 9, a gorgeous Breton Spaniel with a heart of gold and the best cuddle ever!

My baby Tara came next, from next door where she was having a problem with the other dogs – fearful of both the little ones and the big ones so she didn’t fit in at all!! She soon learnt that life with my lot was much more relaxed!! It helps being a totally female environment, and she had dogs her own size to play with. There we have no 10.

I didn’t get any more for a while, until I had moved into a bigger place with more room for everyone. I got involved with a rescue organisation over the Internet, and here comes no 11, a beautiful caramel coloured cheeky Podenco called Linda adopted from them. She is now called Loopy Linda, for reasons that would be obvious if you met her!

No 12 was also from the same rescue organisation, a brindle Galgo Español called Diego, the most elegant dog I have ever seen! He was also the first male in the pack, so must have thought he’d died and gone to heaven amongst all those females!! Luckily, all mine are ‘done’ – it’s one of the first things that happens when they arrive, if possible.

Lucky 13 was another Galgo, this one found on the streets, with an unusable back leg, skinny as a rake and frightened to death! I named him Amber for his colouring, so beautiful, and he has turned into the most loyal, loving dog in my pack. He also has full use of his back leg, even though a vet told me that he had Leishmania and he would never be able to use it! The vet’s diagnosis was wrong on both counts…I don’t use that vet any more.

Mr Grey, my gorgeous Mastin cross, no 14, came to me from a rescue centre, scared, aggressive and unresponsive. It was obvious that this poor dog had been very badly treated – he would wet himself if anyone went near, and growled at any man, old or young. It took weeks to be able to get anywhere near him, but eventually he started trusting me. I got into the habit of singing to him and to this day, if he’s in a ‘bad place’, I sing the same song and he’s back, tail wagging and happy! He lets me do almost anything with him as long as I’m singing his song.

Nos 15 & 16 came as a pair, Maddie and Mia, the Spanish Sheepdog Sisters; so sweet, so happy! They had been at a rescue centre for a good while and were well adjusted and had no issues. Fitted in like hands in gloves.

Little Zorro, a beautiful teeny caramel coloured Podenco, was wandering on the road in my village, ‘in his bones’ as they say here in Spain, and pretty fearful. I managed to trap him in someone’s garden by using sausages, and there we have no 17! He’s still nervous but comes up for snuggles now, and the time he wants to stay in my arms is getting longer and longer.

No 18 turned up on a road, a lovely Dalmation I named Alma as she has the most soulful eyes. She is my constant companion, and hardly ever leaves my side xxx

I then moved again, this time to a finca with LOADS of land, stables, an orchard and a small house just the right size for me. Perfect for all of us!

My friend from a rescue kennel came to visit and reminded me of a promise I had made a while back, that if I got a bigger garden I would take a couple of their dogs out from the kennels to ‘freedom’. A couple turned into 5…how do you chose? How do you split up dogs that have been together in a kennel for years? I couldn’t! So…

Nos 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23! Bobby and Paddy, Pointer crosses; Boris, a mad ‘wolf’ with one blue eye and one brown; Coco (now Coco-Loco) a chocolate Pointer; and Tiny, the biggest of my crew, St. Bernard size but a mix of Mastin and goodness knows what! They all slotted in very nicely, if a bit ‘freedom crazy’, and still left plenty of room in the garden and house!

Which was a good job, as along came no 24, Hector, a sad Pointer with a broken tail and a broken spirit. He has been the most difficult to get to know as he was and is still fearful of certain movements. My love, my Hector.

A very sad thing happened then: a wonderful lady called Patricia Osbourne, who ran El Galgo Senior, was in a fatal accident, which meant that all the Galgos and Podencos she had at her centre needed homing. I took one, a giant of a Podenco, black and white and very funny, called Dama, no 25. I wish I could have taken more, but I know that they are all safe now.

Nos 26 & 27 came together from the builder’s merchant – two ginormous male Mastin pups around 4 months old, presented to me as a ‘gift’ as I was on the way out! So Yin and Yang joined the gang!

No 28 was a service station pick-up, in a place called Baza. I had gone to drop off another pup from a rescue to its new owner, and there was a little cream Corgi sized bundle of love who wouldn’t let me drive off without him; he is now Baron Baza and is living the high life with a permanent smile on his face!

Service stations seem to attract strays, as nos 29 & 30 were at a different service station on the way to Murcia. Treacle, a black fuzzy mish-mash, and Toffee, a gorgeous little Pod, similar to Zorro but chocolate coloured, were having stones thrown at them by some children, so into the car they went. They are the naughty ones of the pack, and fabulous they are too!

Nearly there now, with no 31, a gorgeous brindle Mastin/Podenco cross female called Uschi (German for bear I think), from the same rescue as the fabulous 5! She was so shy, but now is as large as life and a wonderful girl!!

Roni, the big squat Bull Mastin, no 32, came from the Perrera in Murcia. I had gone there with another rescue group to help sort out some equines they were picking up, and saw Roni being inspected by 2 young Spanish men. I had my suspicions that they were wanting her as a fighting dog, so I arranged to adopt her there and then! She’s a great guard dog – no-one would dare to approach her, she looks so fierce, but she’s really a pudding LOL

Finally, as I was driving along a service road near my home, I spotted this little bundle on the verge, a tiny thing with the saddest face you ever saw! She looked like a puppy, with a very large head and tiny body, but she was an adult dog and so thin that it took a stay at the vet’s to get her to start eating. She is now, after just 4 weeks, a chunky monkey, cheeky with it, and her name is Ali, after Mohammed Ali – she has a boxer face with a Podenco body! She’s in with the ‘in crowd’ and learning all the bad habits of Treacle and Toffee, but I do love her so!

I also bought a donkey at the Horse fair in Fuente Alamo this year, a special little man called Roberto, who was 4 months old and so cute you just had to cuddle him! Well, I have stables, so I should really use them!

So there we have it, 33 wonderful dogs and a donkey that I wouldn’t be without. Sadly my marvellous vet and his team were unable to save podenco Angel, who I rescued badly injured from a road accident. Thank you to everyone who has kindly donated to pay the vet fees, which run into 4 figures and which I couldn’t have paid without your help. Thank you.’