Some 4 years ago I was contacted by a vet in the UK who had come across podencos and wanted to buy a copy of my book From Pyramid to Perrera to learn more. Her name was Susannah Stacey and she became hooked on podencos and helping them, especially the Gran Canaria pods. She set up a page Saving the Gran Canaria podencos and worked with rescuers on the Island and Irene & Steve Allen of Hope for Podencos. She died suddenly last week. Here’s what Irene writes.

‘SUZANNAH STACEY …… what can I say that many of you have not already said .The podencos have lost one of their shining stars . I became friends with Suzannah in 2015 when she adopted Lucy. Then in 2016 she asked me if I could foster any podencos from Gran Canaria and we said no as at the time we didn’t really have the space. But watching the group that Suzannah had started,Saving the Gran Canaria Podenco, I then could see the despair of these dozens of pods in the kill shelter, so I decided to help with taking two at a time.

In a short time I flew to GC to see for myself and Suzannah and I chatted and we decided together we would get as many out as we could.

There was no stopping Suzannah and im sure if she had had her way we would have had every podenco on the island of Gran Canaria to the mainland.

Suzannah moved to Spain November 2017 to help set up a podenco centre and for the last two months we have experienced one of the coldest winters where we are and the Canarios hate the cold most of all.

Suzannah showed no signs of illness and was constantly making plans.

On Tuesday afternoon we had friends from Air Europa who brought a pod to us from Majorca and that evening Suzannah had arranged to go out to meet some friends who were arranging a handy man to do some work for us. She had a lovely time they said laughing.joking and planning.

Sadly Suzannah never made it home that night. She died suddenly in her car minutes after she got in it. The autopsy results show Suzannah had a Aneurysm and died quickly and would have not suffered.

There is a lot of paperwork to fix out to do with the centre and when I know more I will let you know .
We will continue with Suzannahs dream if we can .

R.I.P my friend you are badly missed and I can’t believe you have gone.

Another star in the sky keeping our 6 babies and Hector company taken too soon when you had so much do do …..Oliver .Lucy .Elsa and Eleanor send huge woofs xx’

Susannah had her critics – that’s the reality of animal rescue – but she helped save many podencos and her loss is a serious blow.