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

The 2013 GRIN calendars are available and ready to ship. In addition to a full color wall calendar, we are offering a cd desk calendar. Each month props up neatly in a cd case for easy viewing. The calendar months each feature a rescued hound and the wall version includes UK, US and Spanish holidays. Enjoy twelve months of sheer hound pleasure. Order yours today -- they are the perfect gift for the holidays and a perfect way to help the hounds!

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.

GRIN doesn't know how to begin to thank Wayne D. Greyhound and Kristin Pellegrino Boisvert for their wildly successful fundraiser! Their beautiful creations and hard work have brought in much needed funds for the rescue organizations that we support in Spain. GRIN is especially grateful that the fundraiser will be extended to December. The beautiful bling, for both humans and hounds, will showcase special details for the upcoming holidays! Each creation is lovingly hand-made by these two incredible hound-lovers. Check the shop everyday as items fly off as soon as they are created! https://www.facebook.com/events/448072608560535/453354408032355/?notif_t=plan_mall_activity

FRENDS!!! The fund raiser event for GRIN hosted by the Donate Shop is now live. This is NOT an auction....but a fund raiser. The link to all the items is posted on the top of the page above the line. Please help them make this a success for GRIN. ♥ https://www.facebook.com/events/448072608560535/453354408032355/?notif_t=plan_mall_activity

GALGO RESCUE INTERNATIONAL NETWORK (GRIN) FUNDRAISER hosted by THE DONATE SHOP

Today at 9:00am in EDT at Facebook

LOTS OF BEAUTIFUL BEADED JEWELRY!! STOCK UP FOR THE HOLIDAYS NOW AND HELP THE GALGOS AND PODENCOS WHILE SHOPPING!!

THANK YOU FROM GRIN!

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

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

UPDATE 6/21/2012 - PLEASE VISIT THIS LINK FOR UPDATE ON SITUATION!

http://www.greyhoundsrescue.org/2012/06/21/more-on-the-re-opening-of-hippodrome-in-mijas/

UPDATE: PLEASE SEE LINK ADDED BELOW OF THE HISTORY OF THE LAST TRACK CLOSED IN SPAIN!

G.R.I.N. received an email of which we could only be in disbelief that with the growing awareness in the south of Spain about the plight of the Galgos we would hear that the a Galgo Federacion has proposed and has begun a race track in Mijas! This is an outrage and we want everyone to know that this will only bring more suffering to Galgos and possibly Greyhounds that have in the past been imported from Ireland to tracks in Spain. Horrific conditions loom and we must join together, by sending emails (polite) to the Mayor of Mijas in protest to this deadly "entertainment". Please see link below. Thank You!!

Address to email a letter or protest is: info@mijas.es

Address for snail mail : Ayuntamiento de Mijas, Tenencia del Alcaldia de la Cala Ayuntamientos: Informacion y Servicios, Ctra Cadiz, Km 200, 29649, Calahonda-Chaparral, Mijas Costa, Malaga, SPAIN

http://www.greyhoundsrescue.org/2012/06/17/hippodrome-mijas-re-opens-racetrack-for-greyhound-racing/

Least we forget, I am adding this post to remind us of the cruelty endured by the Irish Greyhounds in Spain at the Meridiana track in Catalan that was finally closed in Feb. 2006..please view!!

For the people who are still thinking this will only influence greyhounds in Spain, just take a look at this site. It gives an overview of what happened while the Meridiana track in Barcelona still was open and what they found when it closed. http:// www.greyhoundaction.org.uk/trackBarca.htm

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!

UPDATE: THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO JOINED THE AUCTION WE ARE HAPPY TO SAY REY'S OPERATION HAS BEEN FUNDED AND HE IS NOW RECOVERING VERY WELL. THANK YOU SUPPORTERS OF THE GALGOS FROM G.R.I.N. AND CHAR OF 112Carlotasgalgos

REY THANKS YOU TOO!!

GRIN invites you to join this Face Book Auction for a galgo named Rey. He is in the care of Char del Rio of www.112Carlotagalgos.com

Emergency!! Auction to support Rey's operation (112Carlotasgalgos)

http://www.facebook.com/events/313694472050023/313957868690350/

Thank you for your help. Rey deserves to be helped and thanks to the auctioneers help is coming!

He needs you, we need you! Here's his story...

Rey came to 112 Carlota Galgos several months ago, found giving up, life had let him down. He lay in the dust with life drained from him,.. down and out. He was seen and rescued. He stayed with his rescuer in Sevilla for a month and along with Polyana joined us at 112 carlota galgos to recouperate them both and socialise them into family life.

Rey .. seems he has everything against him, he is a black galgo in spain, he is older and he is a natural hunter. He cannot be scolded for something which has been bred into him, he has lived and kept himself alive by hunting. He is a hunter, he will hunt, and yet he will walk by your side like the gentlest galgo you know. Rey came to us with habits he had stayed alive from, pooping and then turning around and eating it. Searching out others who had pooped, and doing the same. This took time to change. He also came to us with a fractured front leg, ankle. This had soldered itself, and didnt appear to bother him.

Things have changed for Rey!

Rey has learnt there is food twice a day, he has gained weight and gleams. He is affectionate and giving, he wants to be by your side and be loved. He has to be walked in a galgo muzzle due to his instinct, and this has to be adhered do. Over the last few weeks Reys ankle has begun to bother him. on becoming worse he saw Paco the vet today. Sadly there is no remedy for this particular fracture, however the remedy will be to relieve the pain Rey is in.

He is on analagesics until Wednesday next week. The choices are that the bone will be fused together, or plated. Either way his leg will be left rigid and will not bend but the pain will go and this is priority. Its a degenerative issue in that its an old break, fused itself .. and now we have to honour Rey by helping him.

This surgery is expensive. The quote is Aprox.800 euros!! Rey needs to have this operation, and he is booked in to receive it. Rey needs help, if you can help Rey in anyway I would be most greatful. This is a massive amount of money to raise for 112carlota galgos, and we have an event prepared for the 16th June to raise funds, please help Rey. We cant achieve all we do without you. Without your help it puts mass pressure on us for other surgeries, rescues needed.

If you would like to help us help Rey, it would be amazing!! Please place REY as the reason of donation. Rey needs a special home, someone who will understand his needs. Who will understand who he is, who will promise to give him their all, and care for him for eternity. PLEASE HELP REY!

My deepest thanks, .. ______In galgo Affection

paypal comdelrio@hotmail.com bank details : 2038 9767 42 3000300247