However hard the rehoming associations work to fit the right dog with the right home, sometimes situations change and that happened for this stunning Podenco Canario from Lanzarote in the Canary Islands. Here’s what Rick says.
‘This stunning boy has been returned to us after only 5 months in his ‘forever’ home – and not because of anything HE did wrong! The reason given by the family is ‘we couldn’t spend enough time with him as we have started extra duties at church.’
Podencos come in various sizes – read about the different types on Podenco Post – and coat colours – chestnut, chestnut and white, smooth haired, rough haired. But whatever size and coat type, they are all fabulous hounds who suffer at the hands of the hunters, just as the galgos do.
Podencos are more active dogs, many with training will make agility dogs – a Spanish association on Ibiza uses them as PAT dogs (Pets as Therapy) visiting hospitals, homes for handicapped…..
Here are just two lovely one looking for forever homes
SARA Protectora shelter on Lanzarote in the Canary Islands work very hard to help abandoned dogs and cats, especially podencos. Here is a list of some more of these fabulous dogs, desperately waiting for homes on mainland Europe, which is their only hope of a life outside of the shelter. As I keep saying, these dogs make fabulous companions, Pets as Therapy dogs, agility dogs – if adopted young. And are extremely loyal. Please give them a chance.
FITO – Submissive and nervous, very kind. Needs somebody who gives him security and love. He doesn’t pull on the lead and is now beginning slowly to become more confident when outside.
How many of you travel to the Canary Islands in search of sunshine, sand and sea. But do you know what goes on behind the scenes, everyday life for the people and animals who live on these islands year in and year out?
It’s extremely difficult for the podencos on the Spanish islands to find forever homes. Their only chance is on mainland Europe. Some of them are adopted in Germany, a few in the UK. Here are some of the beauties at the SARA Protectora shelter on Lanzarote in the Canary Islands.
Judy Kleinbongardt is passionate about podencos. She has her own website and she has also written a book about the Podencos, which concentrates on the podencos from Spain – from the organisations and the perreras. It has received very favourable reviews. If there is anyone fluent Dutch/English who would be willing to translate it, please get in touch with either Judy or me.
SARA Lanzarote, Canary Islands. The only hope for podencos in their shelter is for them to be adopted in mainland Europe. These are beautiful dogs who deserve a life in a forever home. Please take a look at them. If they are not adopted, they will spend the rest of their lives in the shelter. The dogs are listed in alphabetical order, and their photos run in the same way. I would add that the descriptions say that they may hunt – but then again, what type of dog would not ‘hunt’ if a cat or deer ran past its nose?!
Cachorro Braile: He has been handed into our shelter by his owner on the 29th of november 2008, when he was only 2 months old. He is a very friendly dog with everybody, but in the same time very shy. If you take him out for a walk you need to force him at the start, but after a while he relaxes and enjoys it and is always looking out for the person with him. He is not interested in hunting.
Podencos suffer severe maltreatment at the hands of the Spanish hunters – abandoned, starving, caught in snares, ends of their noses chopped off to make them look like a pig, chained through the mouth to a wall, stoned to death……………..some have even had 'shot' still inside them, where they have been hit as well as the rabbits!Here's a few examples.
I make no apologies for posting all these pictures together, let's start off Podenco Post by showing some of the horrors perpetrated against these loving and affectionate dogs, some of whom found loving homes eventually, one who sadly did not, murdered at the hands of a 16 year-old thug.
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.
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.
