Troya the Survivor

I want to say that this rescue business is full of ups and downs. One minute you are crying, as in the case of little Jade who just passed away,  the next I am jumping for joy because I have a way for Troya to come to the USA! Do you remember Troya? She had bee...n thrown between two walls, left to die...was skin and bones, huge skin leisons all over her body apparently from her struggle to free herself, cold, hungry, dehydrated, all alone, stiff from not being able to move..Who would find her in this unimaginable situation? Well Troya had some angels looking after her..she was found and taken out of that hell.

She came to Silvia of Galgo Connecton Spain, the vets worked hard to help her and they honestly thought she might not make it. But Troya had a will to live. And now she is recovering from what was supposed to be the end for her, no thanks to some hunters who left her for dead..anyway there are some dogs I just can't get out of my mind..Troya was one..I hoped for a great opportunity  for her and my prayers were answered this week. I am so happy to say that Troya will be coming to the US in April being taken in by our friends Grateful Greyhounds of NY..Thank you Lisa Sallie and supporters for reaching out to make it happen..Troya will now live the life every galgo deserves and her little scarred body will be a constant reminder of how hard life is in Spain for the galgos and podencos. Thank you Silvia and GGS...and Troya we send you all our love until you come. GRIN.

Please check out this You Tube that was shown on Spanish Tele about Troya and Galgo Connection Spain..It is in Spanish but the images tell the story of the care given to the worse cases taken on by Silvia and Team GCS in Valencia. Dr. Cesar Lara is the attending Vet and works along with GCS to save these deserving dogs and help them onto new lives..

 http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dq0hN_oy-nNk&h=ZAQEbN7Ke

GRIN 2012 FALL TRANSPORTS & AID TO SHELTERS CONTINUE!

GRIN NEWS FOR FALL 2012

SHELTER AID AND FALL TRANSPORTS CONTINUE!

GRIN has had a busy Fall Season coordinating 21 transports from October through December. At this writing 19 transports have been completed with happily homed hounds. Our last four will come on home during the next two months.

We are also happy to announce that your support of GRIN has allowed us to help the following shelters this fall with EAF (Emergency Assistance Fund) grants and Loly’s Fund Grants.  LFGs specifically helps shelters in need and is the thrust of what GRIN is focused on doing. The following shelters we have helped are:

1)  112Carlota Galgos. Char del Rio received a grant to help with their transition to their new finca/shelter in Malaga. The funds have helped them purchase building materials for their quarantine kennel. We are so happy to be part of their work!

2)  Galgo Connection Spain. A grant was donated to Silvia Bordetas Gil for ongoing support of medical cases she is overseeing with dogs such as Troya and Suri. The cost of the pensione/boarding facility comes quickly every month and the upkeep of the dogs is constant until their adoption. We are glad we could help Silvia with her vet bills this month!

3)  Galgos en Familia. A grant was given to Vera Thorenaar for her shelter and a portion for an emergency hip surgery for a Galgo named Payaso that is in her care as well as two others that need surgery. Without our contribution for major vet emergency help, other needs could not be covered. We thank you all for your support!

4)  Ibizan Hound Rescue received a grant to help with boarding fees for three Podencos that they have taken in at GRIN’s request. One in particular was saved because they now had the funds for the pensione. We are so happy to help the Podencos in their care!

OUR FALL TRANSPORTS CONTINUE!!

For all of you who follow GRIN’S placements  of our Spanish Galgos and Podencos, we would like you to all feel that you are a part of these happy endings! The time involved and the effort by many people to bring these “Ambassadogs” to forever homes is huge. However, the result of this labor is that more people learn about the plight of these wonderful dogs and in turn donate and help promote those shelters that continue the hard work of rescue, rehabilitation, and homing. Your support is essential and we thank you all!

Thanks also to our international transporters and volunteers for helping GRIN! This year the following people took on the airports and travel with dogs, which is no small task and we want to say a special thanks to all of them.  Starting in October, Marylou Hecht, Telma Shaw, Beatriz  Sanchez Elvira, Terrianne and John Basch,  Dr. Jason Cordiero, Chris Plaskett, Jeff Wehrwein, Ron Dillard, and still to come, Amy Kahn, Linda Sheffield and Tracy-Ann Reading.

Also we want to mention all the people involved in transporting other peoples dogs once in the states. Ms. Michael Owen VA, Fast Friends NH and Grateful Greyhounds NY, who, with their friends, helped tremendously as well as Pam Rende and Ty Montgomery of  PA and friends of the galgos Don and Elaine Irving who greeted GRIN at the LAX airport just to help and support us!  We could not have done it without all of our friends who embraced this labor of love including and most importantly our wonderful adopters! Thank You from GRIN and the Galgos and Podencos thank you too!!

2012 Fall Rescue Trip Part Two - Murcia Spain

2012 GRIN FALL RESCUE TRIP

PART TWO

MURCIA SPAIN

GRIN Board Members Telma Shaw and Marylou Hecht continued on the second half of their rescue trip to Spain.

Sept 2012.  Leaving Malaga behind our friend Dioni del Rio of 112carlotagalgos drove us north towards Granada  half way to Puerto Lumbreras.  We took advantage of our trip to transport a young 6 month old Mastin pup who Char del Rio had rescued from the kill station and had found a home for her close to where we were headed. Tigger rode with us that day on her way to her forever home! A great way to start week two!

Once we reached Puerto Lumbreras, we met up with Tigger’s mom and did the happy exchange and visited with Diane and Brian Hughes of Ibizan Hound Rescue over a cup of coffee at the local hotel.  Marylou and I then drove to Murcia to meet up with our friend Tina Solera of Galgos del Sol.  We stayed at the 525 Hotel in Murcia which is a nice hotel and very convenient within walking distance to the beach with a promenade next to the hotel with lots of restaurants, banks, and coffee shops all  the necessary conveniences!  Murcia is an English expat haven and I was surprised by all the English pubs, fish and chips shops  and Indian restaurants in Spain!

Tina met up with us at the hotel, and it was nonstop from there.. visiting at her new finca (small ranch) with all her dogs, meeting  her  friend  Zoe at her vets who rescued a galga the night before,  trying to catch abandoned galgos in fields and industrial areas,  sharing lunch with her friends, meeting a galguero who was handing over a little girl to us that Tina named Marylou,  meeting Andrea of Andreas Animal Rescue and Barbara Galloway,  at her home. We also met another stray galga that Tina picked up on her way to meet us at the hotel.  She happened to be the easiest rescue she had encountered. Little Telma walked up to her and got in the car!  We were so happy to see Tina beaming when she met us at the hotel entrance with Telma in the car! Another “normal” day of rescue with Tina!

As fate would have it, the day after we reached Murcia, on a Friday, we experienced the worst storm of the year.  The day before we had driven on the road from Puerto Lumbreras,   across a bridge on our way to Murcia. The rain didn’t stop for 24 hours and the conditions deteriorated rapidly and it became the storm of the season, with flooding and loss of 10 lives and hundreds of animals. The bridge we had crossed the day before had collapsed and the roads were in ruins. Little did we know that one of the podencos, Chico, we were bringing back a few days later would be stranded at his foster home.  We were so sad that he would have to be left behind, but with some quick work on Tina’s side with one of our GRIN adopters in the states, we were able to give another podenca a chance at her new life. I would then be bringing little Janet the podenca to California instead.  Side note, we did bring Chico the podenco to the U.S. a few weeks later.

On Sunday, the day before we left Murcia, we enjoyed a final sunny day on the beach with some of our GRIN dogs who would be traveling in the coming weeks.  Izzy, Henry and Janet enjoyed their “holiday” at the beach and their photo shoot for our GRIN 2013 calendar. A great day was spent with Tina and her family as well. We enjoyed a delicious paella at the beach that day with the doggies sitting under our table!

The night of departure arrived and we geared up for our midnight goodbyes with Tina and we left from Murcia  with  podenca Janet and with our friends from Ibizan Hound Rescue,  who took us on the five hour trip to the Madrid airport. Everything went smoothly thanks to Diane and Brian who calmly helped us at the airport with everything, putting crates together, adding the buckets, holding the dogs and even taking care of some doggie mishaps right in the middle of all the bustling travelers!

We also met up with dear friend Silvia Bordetas Gil of Galgo Connection Spain with her three dogs, Dartacan, Electra and Copo (now Amigo) and as usual it was a hectic and exciting  to meet our GRIN dogs at the airport and we quickly got  everything in order  and  Marylou left for her flight to NY with two dogs and I left for my flight to Los Angeles with the other two. Happy to say we both arrived at our destinations safely but probably more tired and worn out than the dogs!! It is amazing how well they do on the flights..they walk out of their crates pretty unscathed and wagging tails!

The level of commitment by our friends in Spain is what this whole story is about. These ladies, all of them mentioned in these two accounts, from Vera and her volunteers of Galgos en Familia in Malaga,  Char del Rio and her family of 112Carlotagalos also in Malaga, Silvia of Galgo Connection Spain Valencia,    Diane and Brian Ibizan Hound Rescue in Puerto Lumbreras and of course Miss Tina of Galgos del Sol in Murcia, are the heart of the rescues GRIN is able to help. We thank them for their tireless work, their commitment, their enthusiasm, their tenacity  their tears and their triumphs to keep on when it is so hard. Nothing is easy about what they do, nothing. They deserve our respect and our help. We are humbled by how hard they work, and are so grateful that we have supporters that help us help them .

Thank you everyone who is a part of this story, whether I named you or not, every person who has helped GRIN, who has donated in any way with your time, talents, your financial help, or by adopting a needy dog,  all of you have helped these great friends to continue doing what they are passionate about, saving the dogs.

Yes, it is all about the dogs, always has been always will be…

Telma Shaw

SPAIN 2012 FALL RESCUE TRIP IN A NUTSHELL!

G.R.I.N. FALL 2012 RESCUE TRIP

PART I

How do you begin to share a two week rescue trip to the south of Spain? We met with so many amazing rescue people and dogs that each one is a story in itself.  I would have to write a book , but for now I will try a summary as I am sure our GRIN readers like to hear a bit about what it is like to visit Spain and bring Galgos and Podencos back to loving homes in the U.S. This is my second trip to Spain and it was a whirlwind as was the first!! Survived on great Spanish coffee, passionate conversations and the excitement  of the work involved.

It is exhausting, and it hits you once you are home!  I think anyone who has done this trip will say the same thing, but it is also exhilarating, fun, exciting, touching, educational, heart rendering and amazing! So let me quickly run down the highlights.

 First week I spent in Malaga. I thank Vera and Antonio for their hospitality! Felt like home, with their two galgas, a shepherd and two small doggies welcoming me at every step! Vera is the founder of Galgos en Familia and runs a “small” shelter with up to 24 dogs at any given time. She has a wonderful group of volunteers to help her do kennel shifts but the work never ends and Vera is a whirlwind of energy..running the kennel, making runs to the vet, to the kill station, arranging adoptions, hours on emails, planning events as well overseeing the care of all her dogs..I jumped on her wagon and we were off running every day!! No resting here!

In the next few days we took time to go up the coast near Nerja and visit another really beautiful shelter named Canta Lobos newly built but unfortunately sitting empty due to government hang ups..a sad situation with so many dogs in need. It can hold about 150 dogs. Karin the founder and daughter Yaiza have a dream of helping many dogs but for now it is on hold, but there may be some interest brewing for the future..fingers crossed. I met two amazing galgas there and a cute Podenco named Cappucino..I hope he has been homed by now.

 A few days later four of us headed north from Malaga to a small town called Ecija better known as the Sarten de Andalusia or the “frying pan of Andalusia” it is so hot there in the summer thus the description. It adds a sense of urgency when you consider how all the shelter dogs have to endure this heat in the summer. The shelter we visited called Aprenda does a great job taking care of their dogs. It is hard work with over 200 dogs there and little resources. Vera has begun helping them to move some of the galgos in their care. They are in the midst of hunting areas so it is another sad situation with so many abandoned galgos and podencos. One galga was very lucky that day because she came back with us. She is a six month old cream colored galga with a long nose.  She was thrown over the fence two days before we got there. How sad to see this baby, so afraid in the shelter. She was skin and bones and covered in fleas. Yaiza a young lady who wanted to help one galga by adopting spotted her and said I will help her! We were all so happy that Saba would be coming back to the coast with us, fleas and all! She is now living like a princess with Yaiza and family in Spain.

Also as an aside, one black mamma galga named Dixie and her eight pups were taken in by Vera from this Aprenda shelter. Dixie had suffered so much with her babies, chained in the hot sun, unable to move, until she was rescued. So now she is coming to the US and all her pups have been homed in Europe. Much of this possible because of our networking and the help GRIN has been able to give to Galgos en Familia. Also the pups and Dixie lived at Veras shelter for months, protected by a special dog house donated to her shelter by Fast Friends Greyhound Rescue of NH!

Another friend of G.R.I.N.’s that I spent time with is Char del Rio of 112Carlotagalgos. Char had been dreaming of moving some day to a finca (small ranch) so that she could have her rescue dogs near her. I spent a few days following Chars footsteps and hard work taking care of her 9 galgos and podencos at a stable she had rented for a few years. That was her shelter for the dogs that came to her and it served its purpose and many were saved because they had somewhere to go and Char and her family to care for them. While I was in Malaga, Char was in the process of making the final arrangements to move, to the finca, with existing kennels that needed lots of work, but a place that will fill the needs of her association. Congratulations Char on your new place. I know the dogs and your family will be so happy there!  Chars work also never ends, with rescue, care, and adoptions.

WEEK TWO MALAGA AND MURCIA

OK now on to week two. Marylou Hecht, GRIN’s newest board member met me in Malaga at Veras. We visited the local kill shelter called, ironically, El Paradiso. The irony being that right next door is one of the nicest boarding facilities I have ever seen. Beautiful grounds, spacious kennels, lots of workers and very clean. Even the kill station next to it was very well maintained. This is where Marylou and I crumbled! We found two souls on death row, a Canario Podenco we named Arlene, my middle name, and a little terrified Ibizan Hound we named Nobela Marylou’s middle name. So of course we starting devising a way to help these two. Thanks to Vera’s flexibility and her probable sympathy for our tears, she said “OK..we will find a way for them”.  Glad to report we were able to arrange with Ibizan Hound rescue for their future care..they were saved that day!! Again thanks to GRIN’s donors we have been able to help these two with medical care and boarding costs until adopted.

A wonderful wrap up to our time in Malaga was a volunteer networking lunch that GRIN sponsored for all the hard working  dedicated rescue people of GEF. We are happy to show these folks our appreciation for all they do, and have to endure in Spain facing the abandonment and ill treatment of so many beautiful and lovely galgos and podencos. These folks are passionate and hard working and in the trenches. The lunch lasted 7 hours as is the custom in Spain for an event!! I was exhausted once again since I was translating everything for Marylou, but it was such a joy and pleasure to be amongst all these wonderful people knowing how hard they are fighting for the dogs we all love so much!

Next entry, Murcia and Galgos del Sol update.

FALL TRANSPORTS AROUND THE CORNER!

GRIN has two transports lined up for Fall 2012. For 7-8 dogs their lives will change forever thanks to their adoptive families who are  waiting with open arms.  Here is a sneak preview of our crew also waiting patiently in different shelters in the south of Spain for their big day! If you have ever been involved in a transport like this, you will know the hard work, and labor of love it is on both sides of the Atlantic to make it happen. Thank you to everyone involved..the associations this time around that we were able to help by adopting out their dogs, and to our other rescue friends who will will continue to work with the next time around.

GRIN Board Members Telma Shaw and Marylou Hecht will also be visitng and  working  with Vera of  Galgos en Familia shelter in Malaga and also visiting the shelter stables of 112Carlotasgalgos www.carlotagalgos.com while there the first week. Second week we will head towards Murcia to visit Galgos del Sol www.perrosdelsol.es  and Ibizen Hound Rescue www.ibizenhoundrescue.com  We have also planned to visit a few other shelters in the area time permitting. We will head back to Madrid from there and meet up with Silvia and two of our dogs from Galgo Connection Spain www.galgoconnectionspain.org . We are excited to be bringing the first four dogs on this transport.  On Oct. 21st we are happy to say that Association Argos www.Argo-Sevilla.org will be transporting three of their dogs, two from the Bullas rescue and one sweet and special galgo named Triton, who had been left for dead drowning in a canal. Triton's story to follow.  The final transport we are hoping for may be in November  and will bring a GDS galgo named Lewis and one more..so folks that is the transport news for now and we will  keep you updated on the events.  The Oct. 21st Transport Story to follow.. Thanks for Liking us on the Galgo Rescue International Network  FB as well..We will try to post  on FB as we are visiting our dear rescue friends in the south of Spain for highlights of our trip!

OCT 1st  TRANSPORT

Rey the Abandoned Galgo Now the King of Kings

 

We want to share a beautiful story, the story of Rey the Galgo, Rey the Hunter, Rey the Survivor and soon, Rey the Beloved Companion.

My words are not sufficient so I will add this link from Char del Rio of www.112Carlotagalgos.com   who has Rey in her care. Take the time to read this moving history of Rey the Black Galgo and know that there are many others like him who need our help as well.  http://112carlotagalgos.blogspot.com.es/2012/02/rey-king.html  As an update, Rey now has a wonderful home waiting  in the UK, following his surgery that made the news world wide and that gained him the support he needed to be fund his operation.  We thank all our donors for helping Rey through  GRIN'S Shelter Aid and to all those who helped him through the auction as well. "THANK YOU" SAYS REY!!

We are so happy for Rey, The King of Kings.  This is from Char as the most recent update:

Rey is back from the clinic and settling back into his routine.

The bandages have come off the leg/screws and you can just see on the photo where one of the screws had pressed against his skin under the bandage an made a hole. As he has moved around somehow the screw had gone through too far one one side, causing pressure on the other side and the wound.

Screw put back in place and bandages off, I clean all the area twice daily with iodine, and then on the hole he has a special gel which acts as a closing medication, so it doesnt need stiches.

He is handling it all so well, so brave, his pure joy at the morning or afternoon routine, and settling down to the day on his bed. He has a bone and chews, but I understand he can become bored of them, while his friends in the stable next door chow down on theirs in great pleasure.

I have promised Rey that it wont be long, and all will be over. That the screws will come out and he will eventually feel no pain. He looks at me with his soulful eyes and trusts in what I say. Oh Rey, this galgo has taken my heart, Im so very proud of him. He has made it, he has made it with the help of amazing people, - people who have seen his plight and stepped up for his recovery. An amazing leap of faith for Rey, for it is human kind who destroyed him, and now Humankind who has saved him. I tell him everyday how much he is loved, how many friends he has, through the lonely days and cold nights I know he must have felt so isolated, like the world was against him. Now, he has won the world over, his strength, his patience, his regalness, has won us all.

Trusting in us he has found that he is a survivor far more than he thought, the small things in life bring him joy a simple cuddle as he edges his head and nestles in on your leg, a reason to live and live for. The day he goes home to his mama Jen who dedicates daily to the plight of the greyhound in the UK and here in Spain, I will feel the gap in my heart, but also praise, praise for a galgo who has survived, he has been to hell and he has come out of it. He has placed his life in our hands and we endure to make it a good one for him, to show him that life isnt just about surviving one day to another - its about love, trust, cuddles and friendship. For its here Rey has learnt, he is a winner.

The King of Kings.. wise and soulful. Teaching us strength and friendship, and my deepest thanks to all whom have helped Rey. Bring forward the day when the screws come out of his leg and we can all rejoice in celebration for Rey, and a new life without pain!

In galgo affection.

  Charlotte & Ambo Ambasadog! www.112carlotagalgos.com  http://112carlotagalgos.blogspot.com

Misery Revealed in Valencia for Podencos

 

 GALGO CONNECTION SPAIN NEEDS YOUR HELP

Dear GRIN Supporters: We so appreciate your help that we receive and we have this month of June, sent four large grants to various shelters with similar situations. But, now we are faced with yet another emergency. Silvia Bordetas Gil of Galgo Connection Spain www.galgoconnectionspain.org revealed to us this horror. A few days ago she went looking for a loose Podenco she heard about, in horrible condition, tick infested, malnourished etc etc..and she came across this horror. Over 16 Podencos and other breeds living in squalor. She has contacted the authorities and a lawyer to move forward with the evacuation and rescue of these poor beings suffering this existence. We are so thankful she found them. We now need help for Silvia as she will begin pulling them out next week and all will need medical attention, vaccinations, bloodwork, medications and some maybe time in the clinic before they can even go to a shelter. They will then need time in the shelter to recover which is also an expense.  We ask for help, any amount is appreciated. You can donate through our PayPal account for a tax deductible donation and we will make sure Silvia gets the funds or you can go directly to her website and donate with her PayPal as well. If you prefer to send a check send to: GRIN 17784 North County Rd. 15, Wellington, CO  80549.  Thank you for your support as always  and just know that  lives are being saved with your donations!

U.S. Greyhound Groups Helping our Friends in Spain

 

I just want to mention and thank  two Greyhound Groups who have lent a hand to our friends in Spain this past month.

Leaving Tracks Greyhound Rescue out of Atlanta GA www.leavingtracks.org has been a faithful supporter of the Galgos as well as of their beloved Greyhounds. Their hearts are big and they want to help those who are less fortunate, even if it is in another country. We want to thank them for their support in the past as well as the most current effort they sponsored which was a Yoga Fundraiser that brought in a very nice donation for a shelter that they chose, our friend Vera Thoranaar's Galgos en Familia in Malaga Spain. It was perfect timing for her as she has taken on a mother galga with 8 puppies who were in great peril in Sevilla if not rescued. This of course has added to her "population" at the shelter and the money will be well used. Not only are the pups growing and eating abundatly, but Vera discovered they also came with a skin problem that needs medication for each pup. Vera has been "Anointing" the puppies every day with their skin meds and pumping with vitamins as well.. Thanks to Leaving Tracks these pups have some help they needed..

Another help for Vera came from a Greyhound group called Fast Friends in NH www.helpinggreyhounds.org They heard Vera needed to purchase some extra shelter/dog houses so that she could take out a few more galgos that are waiting at the kill station and bring them to her shelter.  She could not do that with the spaces she had available so this would help save lives. A wonderfully generous donation came in to GRIN for the dog houses, and just in time! They are now the new nursery for the mamma Galga Dixie and her 8 puppies!! Vera said she doesn't know what she would have done without the house..the puppies love it!

Part of this donation also went to help Silvia of Galgo Connection Spain  www.galgoconnectionspain.org with many of the medical needs she had for the galgos she is also pulling out of the kill stations. Fast Friends has also reached out to help one of Silvia's galgos named Dartacan who she rescued from a kill station just in time. They have "reserved" him for our Fall transport and we are so happy that he will get his chance coming into the loving arms of  Fast Friends!! We will follow up on Dartacan's journey in the fall for you to all read..

We want to thank these  two groups for sharing the help and for caring about the less fortunate sighthounds who depend on donations from abroad just to survive. Gracias Amigas!!

Last But Not Least! Final Transport Before the Summer Heat - May 28, 2012 for Paloma and Trini

 

The story of Angela Angelica now renamed Paloma goes back a full year. This is when Char del Rio of www.112carlotagalgos.org  heeded the call of this poor unfortunate mamma dog. You see, Angela was found dazed and in a world of pain suffering from mastitis on the street. This condition  is horribly painful when puppies are taken from their mothers and they can not give them their milk. Not only was she suffering from that condition, cast out on the street, but also suffering the loss of her pups. What would happen to her?

Her luck changed the day Char del Rio who happened to be at the vet, was told that a lady had found this poor little podenca in this horrible state and there was no room at any other place or association for her. Char did not hesitate knowing the fate of this little mamma without hope. Into her protectora, 112carlotasgalgos she went. The life of a rescued Podenca would be one of waiting and waiting for her chance..after one year there was interest for her finally   and she would  have her chance! This little girl waiting so long seeing her kennel mates coming and going..she was their friend and the calm energy that healed the other hurt or needy dogs that came also to the stable to find refuge. But her turn has come!! Not only that, she would be  going to California to live with Darla Szalla and Stephani Patterson along with greyhounds, a galga named Zoe/Portia and a podenca named Luna/Precious of Galgos del Sol. What better home could she have found!!

Angela will be traveling with Trini the Podenca of Galgo Connection Spain,  from Madrid to LAX-Los Angeles on May 28th!

Little Mamma we are all waiting for those forever home pictures!!

Our friend Silvia Bordetas Gil of Galgo Connection Spain www.galgoconnectionspain.org spotted this shy little girl in the kill station with a seeming eye or molar infection that had broken the skin under the eye..What pain she must have been suffering. Silvia could not leave her there and pulled her just in time. Her name is Trini and coming to Silvia was her lucky day! Immediate veterinary care was needed and she was taken care of. Her wounds have now healed physically, but she is still shy with loud noises, probably to gun shots which is why she may have ended up at the kill station..After all what good is a Podenca that is afraid of gun shots if you are a hunter! Well in her case it was her way out!! She has a wonderful home waiting for her in Arizona with Keith Lewis and she will have the company of greyhounds, borzois, Iggys and even a Portugues Podengo!  Trini, your life has changed thanks to GCS, Silvia and GRIN who helped put it all together for you! We will be looking forward to the forever home couch pictures soon!

To Croatia With Love - An Amazing Networking Tale!

 The following story is one that you must take some time to read and you will see the circle of love that is "Galgo Rescue" .

You see, G.R.I.N. is Galgo Rescue International Network our motto is helping Sighthounds world wide. This story gets to the heart of what we do through our "international" contacts who work so hard to find loving homes for the abandoned dogs of Spain. You will enjoy this story as I did and the fact that GRIN contributed to the "adoption circle" is an added blessing. OK the way it began was with an email from Croatia to G.R.I.N. that was forward to me, Telma Shaw,  it was an inquiry about finding a puppy that should be part sighthound and part mix. Now, that was an unusual request! I immediately responded as that peaked my interest and I learned that  there are some special reasons behind the request and I will share with you the story the adopter told me  about why she was looking for a particular type of dog.  Once I read her email, I knew G.R.I.N.  had to help her! I thought of puppies that I knew of in Spain that needed homes and emailed my dear friend  Vera Thoranaar of Galgos en Familia in Malaga.  That was the first step that lead Vera to contact  her rescue friend named Mahesh who had recently rescued several puppies found stranded all alone without their mother near a river bed..One, named Chica would someday complete the circle of love that had started for this adopter 17 years previously.

One last thing I might add now, is that this  little white galgo mix named Chica is living a wonderful life with Andreja now in Croatia, soon to become a world traveler with her new mom. A match made in heaven. Both extremely happy. You will see that this little pup has only continued the love that a beloved dog named Mrvica gave to Andreja. She is a special little girl and so was Mrvica..Thank you everyone for the amazing networking it took to fulfill someones dream, and not just Andrejas, but also Chicas.

Hi !

I will explain, but it is a very special story. There will be some fotos in the attachment, so you will understand better. 1994 I got the best gift ever ! At that time I used to live in Cozumel/Mexico. One day I was visiting my friend, who was not at home, so her neighbor, a mariachi singer invited me into her garden. There were 5 puppys, 4 male and brownish and a blond girl. The blond girl came straight to me and hughed my foot. It was love on first sight, but because I allways was travelling I did not think about taking a dog. The next day the mariachi singer's maid, a maya girl, came looking for me, I went back to the artist's villa with her. There I heard the incredible story, that the blond puppy refuses to eat and that she got very sad when I left. So I was given the bottle of milk and asked to try. When the blond puppy saw me, she came running to me, I picked her up and she drank the hole bottle happyly in a minute. She did not want to leave my side. The lady, the owner, looked surprised. As she is a singer, she is very emotional and feeling and decided not to sell the puppy, she was giving it to me with the words "you two found each other, you are ment to be together. One day you will find out why, but from today on you are lucky, you have your soulmate.

I gave her the name "Mrvica" which means bread crumbs in English, she was almost 8 weeks old and decided to follow me. She was not scared and tried to climb my motor bike to be with me.

For 17 years she did not leave my side, we were together 24/7, she travelled everywhere with me and was at home at a Caribbean beach as well as in the streets of New York or Vienna. She loved to join me on my motor bike or on the wave runner or sailing boot. She loved to swimm with me and enjoyed the snow. 3 times she saved my live ! At 3 o'clock in the morning in Sosua/Domenican Republic my Mrvica started jumping on my bed liking my face and barked till I got out with her. She did not need to go to the bathroom, but she did not let me go back to our flat. I was angry and tired, but she refused to go back and was very upsad when I tried to enter the building. So I stayed with her where she decided to be, in an opened field. Suddenly there was this frightening sound and the earth started moving. I hughed Mrvica as we were falling to the ground and watched the building going down. We were the only survivers. Then, also in the Dominican Republic in an other flat, a fire started while I was sleeping. Mrvica woke me up by liking me and barking, then she managed to drag my 50 kilos with her 16 kg to the entrance door. She opened the door by jumping, pulled my head out and took off to get help. Still today the firemen of Cabarete tell the story of the amazing dog that saved her owners live.

This girly was my everything and I enjoyed every second of our 17 years together. She didn't need a leash, weather in N.Y.C. nor in the dungle. We understood each other by looks and few words. I was so blessed having her.

Then last year Mrvica was diagnosed with a tumor in her intestins. She was operated in the famouse Tierklinik Haar bei Muenchen in Germany, but had to be opened again because of sepsis. She survived, but in the afternoon after her second operation she died suddenly - it was to much for her.

My world broke down, I still hav'nt recuperated. I miss her pure unconditioned love.

Now I am searching.

Mrvica's mom was a Sloughi, a present from a Tuark princ to the mariachi singer after he fall in love with her voice at a koncert in Tripolis. The singer continued her concert tour with her new dog. In Phoenix/Arizona while giving a concert her Sloughi lady got pregnant by the drummer's yellow lab, behind the stage. The singer went to relax to Cozumel were the 5 puppies were born.

That's why I am looking for a mix of a Sighthound/Whippet mom and yellow lab dad.

sincerely, Andreja

Chica traveled from Spain to Italy with a  Spanish rescue lady and met her new mom there. From Italy,  they traveled to Croatia together.

May your life be filled with love and fun and may Mrvicas memory endure as well in your hearts!

Happy Trails...G.R.I.N.

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