Podenca Alma – from campo in Spain to comfort in the UK

I spotted some lovely photos of a happy little podenca on one of my facebook pages and contacted her adoptant to ask if she would write the story of how she came to acquire a podenco. Jane is very happy to tell you Alma’s story……..

I was teaching at Molino Del Rey (a yoga retreat in the Andalucian mountains in Spain) in July this year, and one morning, one of the students told me she hadn’t slept well the previous night…..a couple of them had found three puppies dumped at the end of a field, with no food or water, just left in a box, abandoned. So, off we went, just a short walk up the road from the retreat and found them. We only had cows milk given to us very kindly by the retreat owners so we fed them where they were and they drank immediately.

Alma looked very different from the other two (who turned out to be mastadors, a cross between mastiff and lab), and from the moment I picked her up in my arms, she started to suckle on my neck (she was about 12 inches in length, so very small, and very young). I don’t have children, and this little mite felt like the baby I never had. I was immediately attached to her.

It transpired that a nomadic/homeless girl, Paloma, had found all three in the street, Alma being from a different litter, and that there had been threats to poison or drown them. Paloma was trying to convince the woman who owned the mastaors’ mother to spay her, but it seems they were just left to fend for themselves, or worse, die a slow death in the scorching heat. Paloma had tried her best to feed them on what little money she had. To be honest, if it weren’t for this girl, Paloma, I don’t think any of the puppies would have survived.

We took all three puppies back to the retreat and called a few shelters. It’s quite tricky to find shelter for puppies unless there is one within a 5 or 10 mile radius. I was by this point a sobbing mess (hormonal and emotionally already committed!). I rang my husband and told him I wanted to bring one back (I would have loved to bring all three), and he agreed to my surprise! I felt a little crazy, after all, I didn’t know anything about dogs and we already have a 14 year old cat at home who I was sure wouldn’t be too happy with the prospect of living with a puppy!

The retreat owner Lidiya took us and the three little puppies that night to a local vet, Joaquin, who charged virtually nothing to worm all three, inoculate them and provide flea spray. Ultimately, I was at the retreat to work, so I was very aware that all my focus was now on the fate of these little lives. Lidiya suggested we call her Alma (which in Spanish means “soul”).

At the end of the retreat I had to leave her in Spain until she was old enough to travel to the UK. Once home I did all the research required to understand how to get her here. In the meantime, the other two puppies were driven to a fantastic shelter in Marbella by the students who had found them. The owners of the retreat agreed to look after Alma until I returned which was a godsend! With quarantine no longer required, all DEFRA requirements met (microchip, passport, rabies, tapeworm), my husband and I flew together to Spain in early September to collect our little baby! I called a freight services company at Gatwick who booked her flight on the same one coming back to the UK. We flew over one day, spending the night with the wonderful retreat owners, Lidiya and Anthony, and flew back the next day – Alma in cargo! Malaga to Gatwick.

In case you’re wondering, the other two puppies we discovered were adopted from the shelter together by an English family in Marbella so all three had a happy start. All I could think about between July and September was our little puppy and if she would make it. So she is very special to us, and I’d always said to Craig that if we were to have a dog, it should be a rescue. Florence, our lovely tortoise shell cat, is becoming more and more tolerant, and Alma is a delightful puppy, who is confident, playful and just so much fun. I’m sorry this is such a long message, I have photos and short videos if you want some media to go with her story, just let me know. I would be delighted to share her story, and would’t think twice about rescuing again. It is hugely rewarding, and in many ways, it feels like she rescued me.

Thank you for sharing Alma’s story. I think I should point out that podencos come with a health warning – you can never have only one, they are very addictive!!