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.

---

Kimba Receives Shelter Aid Grant from GRIN

G.R.I.N. wants to thank our loyal supporters that continue to help us help the assocations that face the horror day in and day out. That being said every donation is a ray of hope, that someone cares. As you will read, Association Kimba is dealing with a very difficult situation as are all our friends in Spain who rescue the abandoned.  Let's keep helping!! We know it makes a huge difference!  We have given our Shelter Aid Grant for April to Kimba.

Thank You GRIN Supporters!

The hunting season ended but still the madness continues for Kimba

Posted on March 13, 2012 by Letty

We all knew the hunting season had ended, we and all other volunteers, but our hopefull hearts wished this year would be better than the last one. But it was a big mistake to think it was going to be better, because nearly everything changes but the mentality of the hunter. Those who claim to give these dogs “a good life”, meaning keeping them fed, making them run and sometimes giving them somewhere to sleep, but  only as long as they are usefull.

During the year we try to keep the shelter unoccupied as much as possible so the dogs do not find it too stressful to share their little space and food when other dogs arrive. But in less than a week after the hunting season ended, the shelter had become all that what we did not want. An overcrowded place full of nervous energy, weariness and fights and above all so much sadness, with so many dogs that need to recover from the pain in their bodies and the fear in their eyes.

And even now, weeks after the hunting season has ended, this madness still continues.

But in spite of all this, we keep on working until the day that society will understand their horrible suffering.

Refugio Kimba

May 7th Transport for Julian and Josephine!

UPDATE: JULIAN AND JOSEPHINE IN U.S.A. !!

Thanks everyone who was part of this transport! Ibizen Hound Rescue Brian and David, Galgos del Sol, Fundacion Benjamin Mehnert and our Flight Patron and Adopter Betty Swavely and sister in law Teri as well as Robin Waldman who started this whole thing! :)  Also thanks to both families the Swavelys and Michael Owens for adopting these two deserving hounds!

Welcome Julian (JuJu)  and Josephine (JoJo)

G.R.I.N.'S NEXT TRANSPORT MAY 7,  2012

JULIAN AND JOSEPHINE

The story of Julian's journey began last October when volunteer Robin Waldman volunteered at FBM (Fundacion Benjamen Mehnert) Shelter near Sevilla Spain.  She of course fell in love with a very scared black galgo named Iker and she swore she would come back for him in the Spring.

The sweet thing is that even though she was going back for Iker, she could not stop thinking about a little red Podenco named Julian. As soon as she came back home to Canada, she splashed Julians picture on Face Book and emails saying that  a sweeter Podenco could not be wished for..anyone interested in Julian? She even took his pictures to a Greyhound Gathering and presented him to a crowd of greyhound folks not knowing that a couple there would change his luck!

Time passed, Robin was on her way to Spain and she gets an email asking about how to adopt Julian..well a little to late to work out all the details, but Robin contacted GRIN and we started working out  a plan for Julians journey. His new mom Betty Swavely and her sister in law would go to Madrid to pick him up!

Here is Julian at the shelter and the story gets better...

Since the adopters were going all the way to Spain to pick up Julian from the U.S. we had another wonderful adopter ask about bringing a special galga named Josephine back with Julian. One month before, Josephine had been one of 70 galgos and podencos rescued from a horrific encampment named Bullas in Southern Spain near Murcia. She has been with Galgos del Sol and she is one lucky little girl to be rescued and now she is  being readied for her trip to the U.S.  Her new mom  Ms. Michael Owens and her many hounds are anxiously awaiting the arrival day!  We will update on their happy endings when they arrive!  Julian will also be living with another galgo and has a great life in store! Thanks to everyone involved two lives have been saved and the best is yet to come!  Welcom Julian and Josephine!!

Day of the Dog in Fuengirola Spain!

 

April 15, 2012

Dia de los Perros Fuengirola or Day of the Dogs Fuengirola, Spain

Vera Thoranaar, of Galgos en Familia, www.elrincodelosgalgos.blogspot.com presented their booth at this great doggie event today in Spain

 It was a big success!

Along with another  dog welfare association Malaga Perruna, who had booth along side of hers,  they both  helped get the word out to the Spanish attendees that Galgos and Podencos make great pets! GRIN was able to send some items that were donated to us for the table for fundraising. Thank You GRIN Supporters!  Just want to add that seeing these events unfolding in Spain raises the hopes in our hearts that someday all Galgos and Podencos will share the respect that other companion dogs enjoy in Spain. Good job ladies!! Thank you also to the Mayor of Fuengirola who attended!!

It Takes A Village!

APRIL 2-3, 2012  It Takes a Village Transport!

The journey for these four lucky dogs, Nando, Yuri, Manolo and Rochi, began back in September 2011 when volunteer Marylou Hecht and her son Noah offered to bring back dogs for G.R.I.N.

I say it takes a village because it truly does to pull off any transport as many associations will tell you. I want to thank the "Village" that helped make this one happen. On the U.S. side, all our adopters Marylou Hecht, MaryAnn Moore, Nancy Marble and Teri Ruhl as well as U.S. flight patron volunteer transporter Fabio and his wife Christine who fostered for a day,  and special galgo angel Barbara Manter.  On the Spain side, from Valencia,  Silvia of Galgo Connection Spain and her transport volunteer Hortencia and from Murcia area Tina of Galgos del Sol and her family who also hosted our volunteers and provided transport of the dogs, and finally, our newest help, Diane and her husband, of  from Ibizen Hound Rescue who also took part in transporting and hosting our volunteers. We thank Gaynor also in Murcia for her hospitality  during our volunteers stay in Murcia. All these people have made a difference in the lives of the following hounds! Thank you each and everyone of you for all you have done to make this happen!!  Quick note: Marylou and son Noah experienced a transit strike in Spain the day they were to continue their voyage to the south and as you can imagine, that was quite a challenge, but they made it! Also last leg of trip, there was a change of planes and all four dogs were not able to board the plane. Quick action by the team and Noah left with two one day and Marylou stayed at a dog friendly hotel near Madrid airport and left the next day with the help of Tina and her family!! Whew!!

Adoption Coordination provided by Telma Shaw of GRIN :)

I start with Rochi now Enrico, because he waited the longest for his forever home. He was rescued by Silvia GCS  from a terrible encampment with another podenco who was quickly adopted. We thought in no time Rochi would also be so lucky..but no, he waited and waited, two years passed..finally one day when Teri heard about the possible transport I presented Rochi to her. He would fit into their pack, had a lovely personality, had been fostered but sadly a year later had to return to live in a pensione as his foster home had lost their home. So, once again Rochi's luck was low, until the day Teri said "we will adopt Rochi"!! It was a great day because GRIN had adopted a Podenco pup  to them previously and it was a match made in heaven. We are so happy for this dream that came true!  Rochi has his family living large in upstate NY !

 Nando was abandoned in Murcia. He had found refuge with Ibizen Hound Rescue and when Marylou saw him on the website she knew this was her boy! Well I have to say the "ears"  made quite an impression on her..we believe he is a galgo podenco cross and he is a total love bug. Welcome home Nando now known as Lando you are a treasure,  a diamond , a bit in the rough, and totally irresistable!  He will share his home with Yim a rescued doggie from Thailand. They will enjoy life in NH. Thank you to Marylou for adopting him and also to her son Noah for bringing him and the other three back for G.R.I.N.

Next comes Yuri/Yadi (Yadier Molina Solera de Murcia Moore) better known as "The Fuzz Face"..who could resist this face? Well MaryAnn could not..she had been looking for quite a while at every fuzzy galgo that was on every website for over a year, but I am not keeping track! OK finally through GdS, this boy was available and we jumped at it! Yuri came from a kill station, young and abandonded..they called him a Galgo Russo..or, Russian Galgo, but he is really just a fuzzy Galgo!  A sweet affectionate and young boy ready to be loved and cared for..well he has it all now..and two galgos to play with and a few greyhounds as well! Happy life Yadi the best is yet to come living in MO with your mom and canine friends!!

 Last but not least on this transport was  a home for one more Podenco, a boy named Manolo. Manolo was rescued by a lady named Toni in Murcia and he found his way to Galgos del Sol. The picture of him abandoned, laying down in a field with the saddest look was heartbreaking, thankfully he allowed himself to be rescued! He was no dumbie!! His luck had turned and his ticket was bought, he would be coming to the U.S. to live with Nancy and Taz the Pharoah Hound and a host of canine friends in South Carolina.  Thank you Nancy for searching for a needy boy..he is a sweet and mellow fellow a perfect addition to her family! From abandonment in Murcia to the good life in SC, Welcome Home!

AUCTION NOW!

AUCTION TO BENFIT GALGO CONNECTION SPAIN AND GALGOS DEL SOL

This auction can be entered by clicking on this link  http://www.facebook.com/events/370226276329573/

We are so happy that there are over a hundred items donated by galgo lovers for the benefit of these worthy associations.

Please check it out and bid high for the Galgos that need our help!!

Thanks everyone for your participation. Together we are making a differnece one hound at a time!!

Coats Arrive at San Anton Shelter!

Saskia Renia van Nauta  chairman of San Anton Shelter sends a message of thanks for the coats that GRIN volunteers have sewn and GRIN donors have helped us to send the coats all the way to Villa Martin in the south of Spain.

Thank YOU GRIN Supporters!

Galgo Connection Spain Transports Jerez Galgos to Forever Homes!

MARCH 26, 2012

GALGO CONNECTION SPAIN TRANSPORT!

G.R.I.N. is happy to share this lovely photo of 5 of Galgo Connection Spain's Jerez Galgos leaving today from Valencia Spain to their European destiniations!

You may remember the sad pictures of Cascabel, Cloe, Ryan, Mara and Aida , see link: http://galgorescue.org/2012/02/rescue-of-jerez-galgos-in-need/

Well thanks to this team of dedicated volunteers their lives have changed for ever!  Thank you to the volunteers in the photo: From left: Hortencia, and Vicente the foster families and to Ester and  Veterinarian Esperanza of Clinica Veterinaria Blasco Ibanez in Valencia and of course to Silvia Bordetas Gil who heads the rescue of many deserving cases.  Thank you to our GRIN supporters, this photo is a tribute to what we can do together to save lives from the U.S.A.!! Your donations have helped in this rescue. Thank you everyone!