Podenco Post

Category: Profiles

  • SARA Lanzarote – rescuing podencos in the Canary Islands

    Cristina 2 (SARA shelter) 250 Through my passion for greyhounds/galgos and subsequent involvement in publicising the plight of the galgos in Spain, I was introduced to the Podenco,  used in Spain and the Spanish Islands for hunting rabbit.  Whilst they are not abandoned each year in such huge numbers as the galgos, the life of a podenco runs parallel in many ways and they too suffer indescribable cruelty at the hands of the unforgiving hunters.

    Through Galgo News I have met a couple of British volunteers who live on Lanzarote and are very involved with the SARA Lanzarote animal shelter and raising awareness of the problems faced by the podencos there.  What you will read here also applies to the life of a podenco on mainland Spain too.

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  • Podencoworld – Profile of its founder, Edwin

    Ed edenlili 250  Podencoworld is a marvellous website dedicated to publicising this much maltreated breed of Spanish and Portuguese hunting hound.  Like the Spanish galgo espanol, they suffer horrendous cruelty and maltreatment at the hands of the Spanish hunters, who show no mercy towards these loyal and affectionate hounds.  Here's Edwin's story.

    I first came into contact with podencos around five years ago.  My cousin's dog was deceased so she was looking for another dog. To help her, I went looking for a puppy over the Internet. I was already searching for quite a while when I found a website from a foundation with Spanish adoption dogs.  Soon I got a smile on my face because I saw a dog with disproportionate ears, this was Chica. I liked her instantly, I thought she was totally awesome, every time again was I drawn to her picture and I became happy looking at that crazy little head with floppy ears.

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  • Rick Beauchamp – Podencos from Lanzarote part 1

     Rick and Lesley Beauchamp are based in Leicester in the UK and for the past few years have worked in co-operation with the SARA Lanzarote animal shelter in the Canary Islands, rehoming podenco canarios, whose only hope of a life outside the shelter is to be adopted on mainland Europe.

    Rick tells the story of his trips to collect the dogs in three parts, here is the first one.

    'Well I went over to Germany the Saturday before last and returned with 4 dogs, 2 of which have already gone to their new homes a 3rd hopefully will be on his way once his ear infection is cleared up! The 4th is a real poppet Papel the Pod x Bardino and we are fairly confident of finding him a home pretty quickly.

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  • Rick Beauchamp – Podencos from SARA Lanzarote part 2

    Rick B pods runway 250 Here's the story of Rick's trip from the UK to Lanzarote in April 2010.

    'Well, we all got back safe and sound around 6am yesterday morning.

    The trip was pretty uneventful really, we got to Cologne around 8pm on Monday evening and stayed in a very pleasant little hotel near the station. ( The rooms were on the 4th floor so it’s a good job that the Poddys were’nt being picked up until the next day) The lovely people in the hotel looked after us very well indeed, finding us a free parking space for the night and extending it through the following day until we were ready to leave.

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  • Rick Beauchamp – Podencos from SARA Lanzarote part 3.

    Rick B pods beds 2 home 250 Rick and Lesley Beauchamp are based in Leicestershire in the UK, and each year they travel to Lanzarote in the Canary Islands to bring home som Podenco Canarios, whose only hope of a forever life outside the SARA Lanzarote shelter is to be adopted on mainland Europe.

    Here Rick talks about the project and the 3 trips he has made so far.  What is hidden is the true International co-operation which goes on to bring the dogs to the UK; from them choosing the dogs in Lanzarote to arranging flight partners to take the dogs to Europe; to enlisting help from the German population to meet the dogs at the airports; to the absolute exhaustion that Rick and his friend Daryl submot themselves to over a couple of  days.

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  • BEBE – a Podenca Andaluz – rescued injured from a Seville motorway

    Family animals 2010 040 210 Bebe is my miniature Podenca Andaluz.  Here is her story.

    Bebe was found, traumatised with fear, starving and dumped on a Seville autoroute.  She had been badly injured by a vehicle and her left hind leg damaged to such an extent that she could not walk on it.  She was rescued by a volunteer from an animal refuge and taken to her home.  The following day, a vet at the refuge clinic diagnosed a badly dislocated hip and other wounds to her body from the accident.  Her age was put at between 3-6 years old.

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  • Animal Medical Care Foundation – helping dogs around the world

    AMCF Robbie Rescue logo The Animal Medical Care Foundation supports worldwide more than 80 animal shelthers in over 30 countries with medical and other care products.  It was founded by Betty Heideman.  This is the story.

    Betty Heideman was born in Utrecht in 1962, into a home already inhabited by dogs and cats.  This love of animals continued and Betty became a volunteer as a dog walker in the Hilversum shelter, as well as a foster home for birds.  Hamsters, turtles, gerbils, mice and rats also moved in!  After marriage, Quincy, a 7 yr old crossbreed from the Breda shelter became the first in a long line of adopted dogs.

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  • Podencos – life in the hands of Spanish ‘thugs’

    Paloma Maestud 250 Whilst the plight of the podencos does not have the same high profile as that of the galgos, they suffer a similar life at the hands of the Spanish hunters, especially on the Spanish Islands, the Canary Islands near Africa and the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean.

    Here,  one podenco passionata writes about them.

    'The reality is that the life of a podenco is in the hands of "thugs", this is the same as the life of the Galgos, adding to his miserable life also by suffering abandonment by the vast majority of Spanish society. Increasingly they share the same hardships, are also exploited for the same purposes, are just as abused, scraping by in hideouts dark, damp, crowded together, no light, no ventilation, the floor covered with dog dirt, being walk on, and occasionally being thrown a loaf of bread in order to "eat."

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  • Moxie May – a little podenca with her home in paradise

    Moxie May 1 Meryl Marsh 04 2010 250 I am from the U.S. and live most of the year in Belgium because my boyfriend works here. Last spring I started researching adoption agencies on the internet and learned that there are several in Belgium that place dogs from Spain, this lead to me learning about what a sad, desperate situation many dogs face in Spain. Before that, I had no idea. Every country has it's issues with animal cruelty, but I was really shocked to learn how bad Spain is with the hunting practices and such.

    This was also the first time I had ever seen a Podenco. I fell in love with their athletic build and of course the big ears. I was searching for a dog that would be a running companion for me and maybe provide a little protection when I am out by myself on a trail (although Moxie ended up being a relatively small podenco.)

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  • Podencos – not a fashion accessory but a member of the family

    Jane Lanes thoughts 01 2011 190 Jane Lanes is a Podenco passionata and here she talks about her feelings towards this much maligned breed and her special canine family member, Dana.

    Within the world of dogs, there is a race that moves me. Yes, the podencos (all and each of them, andaluces, ibicencos, pharaoh hound, canarios, crossbreeds… all!!). And I know I'm not objective, since Dana is a podenco and a greyhound crossbreed. But everything has its explanation.

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