You may remember little podenca Lucy, recently rescued from beside a railway track. She was going through the process of having her EU passport prepared when she was the victim of a terrible attack by bigger dogs which nearly killed her. The second such incident I have reported recently.
She has umpteen wounds and stitches all over her body; she has a puncture wound almost on the jugular – a little bit closer and Lucy would not be with us. A miracle that she is.
This year’s Christmas Card has been designed by my friend Anji Ratcliffe, a self-taught artist and keen animal lover. The card features two Christmas Tree baubles with a galgo pup head and a podenco pup head. It is printed on 210gm white card and the inside message is ‘Merry Christmas’ in 7 languages. All proceeds from the sale of this card will help pay vet fees etc for rescued galgos and podencos.
Click on this link to purchase your cards.
BUY MY BOOK for a Christmas present to your friends too.
This is a little Podenca Andaluz, the smallest of the type and the same as my little Bebe. Little dogs with huge personalities. This little lady was rescued from a train track in Malaga and taken to 112carlotagalgos. Here’s her story.
‘Meet Little Lucy. Rescued from a train track last Wednesday. A tiny tiny figure of a podenca. She has erect ears and is the sweetest little dollop of sugar! She is minute, and full of love. Easy to scoop up in your arms and she loves being held like a baby.
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, Fuengirola, Costa del Sol. Shelter in crisis. The authorities have told them to get out and they desperately have to find somewhere for all their rescued animals to go. Read the story on Galgo News, together with links to their website. They have podencos wanting homes, including some in foster in the UK and Sweden, please contact them if you can help.
This little lady is Mandarina, a small Podenca Andaluz abandoned in Seville, like so many other dogs. Luckily she was rescued and taken to a refuge. Sadly after a few weeks, she had a bad idea! She got herself into an enclosure with several very large dogs, mastins, and was badly attacked. She is only 12 kilos, just the size of my little Bebe, and she was lucky not to be killed by the dogs.
Luckily the volunteers heard the commotion and rescued her, but you can see from the photos that little Mandarina suffered badly. She was rushed to the vet clinic, fearing that she had internal injuries but, happily, this was not the case, she simply needed her wounds treating and stitching. She is now recovering at the home of a volunteer, Beatriz.
This little lady is Luna, She’s a podenca bitch, blind in one eye. Here’s what Tina of Galgos del Sol says about her. She is approx 5 mths old, super friendly and I was told originally lived with gypsies, then somehow ended up in a perrera. One of my helpers found out and I went and picked her up.’
What a great opportunity to adopt a young dog, maybe train her for agility? Certainly the young podencos respond really well to training.
If you can help with her vet fees or, even better, offer her a forever home, contact Galgos del Sol.
Here’s a message from Sharon Reynolds, who raises funds for the Noah’s Arc refuge, Murcia.
‘Hi there, Whether we like it or not Christmas is fast approaching and I wanted to catch you before you bought, wrote and sent your Christmas cards!
This film has been especially put together for you as Christmas approaches. I hope you like it and the animated graphics all in the spirit of Christmas.
Look at this fabulous podenco, and no one has asked for him! He’s hoping he might have a forever home for his Christmas present. Here’s his story from Tina at Galgos del Sol.
Caramello, originally called Naranja, was living rough and very underweight. Local residents were feeding him until we could get to him. Although fairly easy to catch, getting him into the car to take to the vets was a different matter, he was so frightened.
L’Europe des Levriers is the French association from whom I adopted my galgas and with whom I have also travelled to Spain to help with rescues. At the beginning of October (when I was in the UK and unable to help) a team travelled to Spain to bring back 30 galgos and podencos from the perrera at Albacete. Most of the dogs had been there for over a year. And you will be impressed by the excellent conditions at this particular perrera, would that all of them achieved this standard.
Beatrice, President of the association, tells the tale, and you can see a film of the rescue here.
‘Alarmed by the incessant fighting of male dogs who were missing space in the crowded perrera of Albacete, EDL has decided to take out ALL galgos and podencos from there. 30 dogs (50% of them Podencos) were brought to France at the beginning of October, to host families. These pictures do not reflect the expression and beauty: Yuma, Sira, Yiyo, Chicote, Queco, Anko, Nevo, Zuzo, Kronos, Claudia, Aysha, Violetta, Belinda, Tiva, Gala, Mano for galgos! Half of them have already been adopted.
