It’s a sad fact of life that a lot of senior dogs are dumped in shelters and perreras when their owners either can’t afford the vet fees for medical care, or in the case of hunters because the dogs have served their purpose and they no longer want them!
This article explains how to care for an older dog, although I’m sure my readers are already well experienced in caring for their senior dog.
This photo takes me back 10 years to a time when three special Podencos came into our care late in 2014.
Each of these boys, Juan, Raine, and Zeus, arrived with a story of sadness but also filled us with determination to help them.
Juan was found near our finca, @@abandoned in the sweltering heat of summer. Dehydrated and confused, he was lucky to have been spotted by friends who brought him to safety.
I didn’t realised it was so long ago – 2016 apparently. Readers may remember a podenco being rescued which had lost its lower jaw. I’ve searched before to find out how he got on and now I’m delighted to report below. I hope you can see this video of him, looking a little grey round the face now.
‘Sure we don’t even need to say his name because many of you will know who he is just by looking at that special look.
Spirit is another super wrestler who has lived for years in the Santuario La Candela. In 2016 he was shot in the mouth causing him to lose the entire lower jaw and causing injuries and infections that almost ended his life.
Spirit was the first dog in the world to have a jaw-drawn prosthesis integrated, it was in 2016 and in addition to the best veterinary professionals, human doctors were present in the operation.
Read the full article on this weblink.
I’ve recently been reading a few posts on a facebook page by people who have adopted podencos, and seem surprised that after a month or so the dog is still nervous. It saddens me because it would seem they expect far too much too soon from a dog which has probably lived most of its life in a shed on a chain in the hands of a Spanish galguero. It’s now been in a shelter, then on a transport and into a home environment where people speak a different language. Instead of leaving the dog alone to adjust to all these changes, they insist on invading its space to pat it, stroke it…
Those of us experienced in homing a nervous dog know it can take months before the dog settles – it took my galga Carmela over 2 years before she finally became a ‘normal’ dog. It is nearly 3 years since I adopted Rosely, who spent the first 6 or 7 years with a Spanish hunter and she is still very nervous of my husband, strangers and sudden noises. I don’t think she will improve any more.
Here’s a weblink to an article on calming a nervous dog.
If you can’t afford to adopt but have room for a podenco in your home, why not consider fostering.
Hope for Podencos have some which are available for foster till they find their forever homes.
‘We need your help!
On our recent trip to Spain, we forged a partnership with the wonderful SOS Animales Salobrena and have taken a number of podencos in their care under our wing as HFP dogs. Sadly, our new partners have been met with several sets of tragic circumstances including the death of one of their founders, a situation very close to our own hearts, and need to drastically reduce the number of dogs in their care in order to be able to continue their fight.
Read the story on this weblink.
We have always had more than one dog so we’ve been lucky that we have never had to deal with the problem of separation anxiety. But galgos and podencos are used to living in packs, so it is something which could be a problem if a rescue is adopted as an only dog. Having said that, some – notably ex racing greyhounds – have to live as an only dog.
This article from the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals PDSA explores the problem.
From Bev Farmer of Podenco Friends – yet another reason why anyone adopting a podenco should have an enclosed garden of at least 2m high.
