"Loly's Fund" In Honor of the Brave Little Galga

On October 16, 2008, a wonderful little galga puppy named Loly arrived with her sister and 5 other dogs from Spain. Loly was a perfect little girl and symbolized the hope we have for all the galgos of Spain - that they be given a chance at a life with a loving family far from the fear and pain so many of them suffer. Sadly, little Loly did not survive what should have been a routine procedure to have her spayed and passed away on January 16, 2009. Loly was a very happy little girl and was deeply loved by her family, Debbie and Rich. She is deeply missed by everyone and her loss has been felt halfway across the world.

We couldn't let her bright little light go out without recognizing all she symbolizes to GRIN and those who knew and loved her; therefore GRIN has created "Loly's Fund" in honor of the brave little galga who flew across an ocean to be with a family. The proceeds of Loly's Fund donations will be used to fund the rescue of galgos still in Spain who are in dire situations find their way to a better life!

There are literally thousands of galgos killed in very inhumane ways each year. In Spain, galgos are not considered as pets. People ask why we should help them when there are so many dogs here in the United States that need us. If it wasn�t for us, who would?

Like their American cousins the greyhounds, they have endured a long legacy of abuse and even torture at the hands of their masters. In Spain, however, few people exist who will stand up for the welfare of these beautiful dogs and the laws protecting animals are decades behind ours. Sadly, it is not uncommon for galgos to be starved, beaten, hung from trees, or thrown down abandoned wells. It is because of the lack of protection and concern, combined with the horrific end so many meet, that GRIN exists.

If you would like to make a donation in Loly's honor, you may do so via PayPal to galgorescue@yahoo.com, or mail checks/money orders to:

GRIN
17784 North County Rd. 15
Wellington, CO 80549

G.R.I.N. Dogs Featured in Rescue Parade

G.R.I.N. Dogs Featured in Rescue ParadeWhat can be sweeter on Valentine's Day than watching a bunch of dogs � once homeless and scorned � prance happily with their adoptive families? On February 14th, G.R.I.N. was invited to showcase some of our rescue dogs in a �rescue parade� at the Plum Creek Kennel Club dog show in Denver, Colorado. Dozens of spectators came to see the 23 purebred dogs featured in the parade, all dogs from dire circumstances who are now beloved family members. The parade was organized and sponsored by All Breed Rescue Network in Denver, an all-volunteer organization that advocates for adoption of homeless purebred dogs.

Cervantes (Jennifer and Eric Frank), a male Andalusian hound, Prisa (Judy Greenfield and Will Mahoney), a galga from Scooby and Yoda (Kay Roberts), a wire haired galgo also from Scooby, strutted their stuff in one of the show rings in front of an appreciative audience. An announcer from a local radio station provided a short bio about each dog followed by a local dog trainer who described the attributes of the featured breed. Although no one had probably heard of a �galgo� or �Andalusian hound,� Cervantes, Prisa and Yoda certainly made an impression on the audience. These special hounds helped bring to dog-loving spectators an awareness about hunting dogs in Spain.

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Fifth Annual West Coast Greyhound Gathering

Fifth Annual West Coast Greyhound Gathering Solvang, CA Feb. 27-Mar.1, 2009. Fifth Annual West Coast Greyhound Gathering

A fantastic turnout again for the Solvang Greyhound Gathering. The weather was perfect hound walking weather, sunny but cool in the mornings and evenings. WE had three fun filled days with over 150 people and their hounds attending. The Galgos also made a nice showing with Aluna, Amistad, and Alitas strutting their stuff. I was pleasantly surprised to meet a beautiful Deerhound named Meca who had been rescued earlier this year and adopted by GreytThreads owners. We were able to share stories about how GRIN had the opportunity to connect one of our potential adopters to adopt one of Meca's pups. Small world. Another pleasant surprise was a Sloughi named Lacey, who came to GRIN's attention for rescue last year, and after a few emails found her foster home which turned into her forever home and I was able to meet Miss Lacey in person at the Sunday morning walk. These sighthounds get around!

Dawn of The Creation Station in Buellton, right outside of Solvang, set up her sewing machine in the town park gazebo again this year, and worked hard on dozens of coats for the galgos. We are sorry she got ill and could not make it back the next day, but, we have lots of coats for the next haul! Thanks Dawn for braving the cold that day and see you next year. I was also happy to meet two of the famous Guam Dogs at Solvang, Thomas and Jenna, who accompanied Barbara Davenport of Homestretch for an afternoon at the gathering. Kudos to Homestretch for all their hard work and incredible determination to keep moving these dogs along.

The events were fun as usual, the Blessing of the Hounds, the Streak, Pizza night, Candlelight Ceremony, the Sunday morning walk and the highlight of the event for anyone who attended the Saturday night dinner was the presentation by Dr. Couto of the Ohio State University. A wonderful, humorous, interesting and very informative speech it was. Dr. Couto also gave some insight into his work at Scooby and showed many slides of galgos at the shelter. He discussed his ongoing health research with greyhounds and upcoming research with the galgos as well. He deserved the standing ovation he received from a very receptive and greytful greyhound crowd. I was also very surprised and thankful when Terri Rogo, the organizer of the event, asked me to say a few words at the dinner about the Galgos of Spain. These European cousins of the wonderful American Greyhounds are receiving the acknowledgement they so well deserve!

It was so nice to get the support of so many greyhound owners as GRIN received many wonderful donations for the galgos at the gathering. We collected over 200 martingale collars, 60 leashes, 35 coats and various other supplies as well. Everyone knows that GRIN will be back next year and I thanked everyone and reminded them to continue to collect their new and used donations all year for next year's gathering. We came home happy that the event continues to be so successful for the greyhounds who will benefit from the funds raised to help them in their needs as well. Greyt job Terri, Jodi and friends.

Telma Shaw
Board Member
G.R.I.N.
www.galgorescue.org

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Scooby Rescues 120 Dogs from Deplorable Conditions

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From the Scooby website: Back in November 2007, Scooby received news that there were 200 dogs in need in a small town in Sevilla, called El Cuervo. You can read about this rescue mission on our news page under November 2007 - "200 dogs found in awful situation in El Cuervo, Sevilla".
Fast forward to December 2008. We heard that Antonio had been forced to shut down his "shelter", so we have been waiting for the green light to go and rescue these animals. Thanks to the last few transports, we have made some room at the shelter to accommodate 80 galgos and 40 mix dogs. Last week, we got the green light that we were waiting for!

GRIN has donated $1000 towards Scooby's rescue mission!

On January 20, we made our the trip to Sevilla to get the first load of dogs. We will probably have to make 2 or 3 more trips to get all the dogs back to Scooby. The dogs are in horrible condition. All of them are infected with mange and there are also many pregnant females. We will have a vet on full time starting tomorrow to examine each dog thoroughly.

We need your help. We cannot do this without you. You can help us by adopting one of these beautiful dogs once they are healthy enough. You can volunteer at the shelter and actually see how these dogs flourish and become healthy and alive again. And of course, you can donate to our cause. Your donations help us to buy medicine and food and provide medical care for these neglected animals.

Every donation, big or small makes a difference for these animals.
It doesn't matter how much you give. What matters, is that it's in your heart to give.

Donate via PAYPAL or make a donation directly to one of our bank accounts:

Spain: Scooby Account
Bankinter
Valladolid, Spain
Nr.: 0103853927
IBAN: ES29 0128 3467 71 0103853927
BIC: BKBKESMM

Belgium: Scooby Account
Scooby
KBC Bank, Baarle Hertog
Nr. 733-0462538-72
IBAN: BE38 7330 4625 3872
BIC: KREDBEBB

Holland: Scooby Account
Stichting Scooby
Rabobank, Oosterhout
Nr. 11.52.46.274
IBAN: NL52 RABO 0115 2462 74
BIC: RABONL2U

UK Donations:
Checks can be made payable to "Greyhound Compassion"
And mailed to:
Greyhound Compassion
PO Box 959
St. Albans
Herts
AL1 9HP

Canadian & US Donations:
Checks can be made payable to �Scooby� and mailed to:
Scooby International
460 King Edward Street
Paris, Ontario
N3L 3E3
Canada

For Canadian residents: Donations can be made at any Bank of Montreal
Scooby Account # 3061-8627-953

Thank you.
The Scooby Team

Emergency Aid Needed for Greyhounds Rescued from Guam

On November 7, 2008 the 32 year old Guam Greyhound Park, with approximately 250 greyhounds at the racetrack, abruptly closed. The closing was in response to the results of a failed initiative on the November 4 ballot which would have permitted casino style gambling on the racetrack property. John Baldwin, owner of the racetrack, who had tried to get similar initiatives passed three times in the past six years claimed the racetrack was losing $100,000 a month. On November 24,the Guam Greyhound Park started a public giveaway of 150 of the racetrack's greyhounds. Dogs were given away free to anyone who came to the track. None of the greyhounds were spayed or neutered. No record was kept of who got the greyhounds, how many each person took and no legal transfer of title was made. Obviously, no standard adoption process was in place: no home check and no information about greyhound behavior or care.

GRIN donated $600 to the Guam Greyhound rescue fund!

It has been reported that many people took the free greyhounds believing they would make good guard dogs. Some of the islands dog fighting �fans� took greyhounds to bait fighting dogs or to breed, thinking it would make the fighting dogs faster or quicker. It didn�t take long for the greyhounds to show up stray or in very bad circumstances. The following updates from Guam Animals In Need (GAIN) volunteers, Dave and Noni Davis, tells a vivid story of this immense tragedy. GAIN (the only animal rescue on the island) has now found these giveway greyhounds starved and even dead.

Around December 10, an agreement was reached with the track in which the remaining greyhounds would be adopted or relocated in accordance with GAIN policies and procedures. Exact numbers have been difficult to ascertain due to the lack of access to all of the greyhounds housed at the racetrack. It appears, however, that GAIN has received or picked up 49 greyhounds that are in their care, another 71 at the track have been sterilized are are waiting for relocation and there is an unknown number of unaltered dogs at the track who's future is dependent on decisions made by the track management. Most of these greyhounds need to come to the mainland for adoption in their �forever� homes.

So far GAIN has adopted 18 greyhounds locally and six are in foster care. As of January 19th nine greyhounds have been shipped via Continental Airlines (50% discount) to Los Angeles and are being cared for by Homestretch Greyhound Rescue and Adoption in Fillmore. Plans are in place for continuing shipments every three to five days. As dogs arrive they will be relinquished to greyhound rescue groups throughout the west coast.

The enormity of this emergency and the heroic efforts of the GAIN volunteers is clearly evident when you consider the the size of Guam. The island, U.S. territory, is about three times the size of Washington D.C. with a population of 175,000 people. Imagine a hundred greyhounds running loose. Imagine the future ecological catastrophe and public health problem when even a few surviving females come into heat.

Hundreds of Greyhounds are still facing a dire situation, but the word has spread and Greyhound rescue groups around the country are coming together in a great effort to help the most helpless, those Greyhounds stuck on an island, a U.S. Territory and nowhere to go. As of today, 1/24/09, fourteen Greyhounds have made the trip from Guam to California; 10 left Homestretch Greyhounds in Fillmore CA traveling north to various rescue groups. Donations are still needed for transport, medical, and food for those coming into groups who have added to their fosters. These dogs have not kept the groups from taking in their usual dogs, it has just increased their efforts and for that we thank them all. A special thanks to Barbara Davenport and Bob Smith of Homestretch Greyhound Rescue for helping make this rescue happen!

Help Needed Immediately! 25 Galgos in Spanish Killing Station!

This is the end of the hunting season in Spain and it is a dreadful and cruel time. Galgos are disposed of in great numbers and often in inhumane ways. GRIN received an empassioned plea from one of the rescue organizations in Spain we work with, Pro-Galgo, which is currently working to rescue 25 galgos from a "killing station". These dogs are truly on death row and desperately need YOUR help! On January 17, 2009, GRIN made a financial grant of $1000 to Pro-Galgo to help with this rescue effort, and will be shipping coats and blankets for these dogs as well. This is a particularly harsh and cold winter in Spain and help is needed to send supplies to SPain to protect these and other dogs from the harsh conditions. If you can help with a financial gift, please click the "Chip In" link to be redirected to PayPal. Help for these galgos is being provided through GRIN's "Loly's Fund" in memory of Loly, a very special little galga who was given a second chance at life. Please click "read more" to see Pro-Galgo's plea for help.

UPDATE From Mo Swatek of Pro-Galgo - January 18, 2009

Dear GRIN-BOARD-MEMBERS
We just have received the wonderful donation of 1000USD that will make possible the rescue of ALL the galgos remaining in the killing station in Jerez.
Thanks to a donation from www.baasgalgo.com we could send 30vaccinations for the dogs and pay for the most urgent expenses, thanks to Melanie www.nothing-to-fear.eu we could send 15 warm coats and 20 martingale collars to the killingstation to prepare the dogs.
Our plan is as follows:
We will rent a van and drive there tuesday night. I will go personally with a dear friend of mine to pick up the dogs. In collaboration with www.galgos112.com, the shelter in Villena and our fosterfamilies, we will fetch all of them and bring them to the different foster families. Thanks to your donation we will finance the transport and part of the castration of the male dogs as we have a very kind collaborator-vet named JOSE who operates males for 40eur each and with the other donations we will be able to pay for the tests and other vet care.
We will keep you all informed during our journey as I'm taking along with my laptop and digicam.
YOU ARE ALL WONDERFUL
Thanks so much for helping
With friendly barks from Spain
Mo Swatek
Founder
PRO-GALGO INTERNATIONAL
www.pro-galgo.com

The following galgos (Spanish greyhounds) have only a few days left before they are put down if we do not pull them out of the killing station by the end of next week. If we don't take them, either they will be killed or some others will be put to sleep to make room for the new ones to come (end of the hunting season)!!!!

PRO-GALGO is in touch with volunteers in the Jerez Gesser dogpound and we are expecting today the first information about their health state etc. but we urgently need funds to pay for the following expenses:

* 25 multiple vaccines (rabies and micro chip is financed by the local city council)
* Transport to the foster families and shelters in Spain (in Spain we have something like DHL but for dogs, that costs around 50eur per dog, countrywide
* 20 warm coats (we have the coldest winter in years in Spain and the animals in the shelters suffer terribly with temperatures down to -10� celcius in certain areas)
* Antibiotics for the dogs who already got faringitis and other problems from the cold (distemper risk is very high with low defenses after such infections)
* Leishamnia and Ehrlichia tests

An aproximate minimum expense per dog is around 80-100eur incl local transport etc. Every cent counts!!PLEASE HELP US TO HELP THEM!!!

For donations by paypal please use: pro-galgo@total-barcelona.com or contact our English PRO-GALGO team on pro-galgo@hotmail.comor telephone Elkie Lonnkvist-Hopkins on: (oo 44) (0)7931 348 498 (UK number)THANKS FOR CARING! YOUR DONATION WILL MAKE THE DIFFERENCE!!!
Mo Swatek
Founder

The Magnificent Seven Come to America

LollyGRIN�S October 2008 trip to Spain served two  purposes.  Our volunteers delivered much needed supplies to seven shelters: Arca Sevilla, San Anton, Recal Extremadura, Paws y Patas, Sofia El Refugio Escuela, Pro Galgo and Scooby Medina.  They also took on the monumental task of returning to America with 7 lucky dogs bound for their forever homes!

The trip was made possible by two wonderful volunteers from Ohio, Debbie Grega and Chris Mosey.  Both ladies, first timers to Spain, took on a huge task, hauling over 200 lbs of supplies to Spain and then working tirelessly at Scooby Medina for a week, and finally, returning with 7 dogs. If you have not experienced a trip like this one, we can say that it is truly life changing for all involved. Those most affected by the life changing aspect of this last trip were of course, our Magnificent 7 who came together for a trip of a lifetime, a trip that would change their lives forever. Here are their stories.

TorrenteTorrente: A mild mannered beautiful Podenco from Northern Spain. Released by a hunter to Cristina Pascual of Amigos de Milord in Palencia Spain, Torrente had a tough beginning. He lived his life locked in a patio with a dozen other galgos and podencos at the mercy of the human who would come only every two weeks to feed the �tools of the trade�. This was Torrente's life, to hunt and to suffer. In the winter many of his pack died of hypothermia in the bitter cold with no protection on that patio. He had survived and was tossed away like trash as he was not a �good hunter� anymore. We are so thankful to Cristina for rescuing him. When he came to our attention, his sweet demeanor was his calling card and it was not long before the perfect family came forward and asked for him and we began preparations for his adoption. Torrente scored!! Now living happily in Colorado with other canine companions and a loving family, he is living the life! He is Recovering from his fear of men and he is showing lots of affection to his forever family they love him dearly. That is Torrente, a lucky Podenco from Palencia.

Jacobo aka ArgosJacobo aka Argos:  Scooby Galgo, prior life unknown other than he was fortunate to end up at Scooby.  Having had a tough beginning in Spain, and even at the shelter, his transition in the states was a bit rocky at first, but thanks to his new mom and dad and their patience, Argos is now adjusted to living in a home and has charmed them with his loving and silly nature. He has become a beloved pack member to their existing canines and is said to be the life of the party! Way to go Argos! You are our Rock Star!

Lilly and LolliLilly and Lolli: Abandoned Galgo puppies, three months old, somehow made their way to Scooby Medina. Adorable, what can you say about Galgo puppies! Who can resist a galgo puppy, not volunteer Debbie Grega, who had picked Lolli out before the trip, in fact we were also able to bring her sister Lilly in the same crate as we had a wonderful adopter in Pennsylvania who had contacted Sandra Baas in Spain to find out how she could adopt a galgo puppy. Sandra referred her to GRIN and thus began the trip of a lifetime! Both girls doing great with Greyhound brothers and sisters and keeping new moms, Debbie and Colleen, on their toes!

Andy aka MurphyAndy aka Murphy: 5-month-old Andy was emaciated and had a tough beginning when he came to Scooby. No one knows much about him, he simply caught our attention on the website; the sad look on his face, the droopy ears, you know�the galgo look.  He was so very fortunate to come to the U.S.  He was ill when he arrived, but his new family nursed him back to health.  He is now a happy and confident little guy who loves playing with his young German Shepherd packmate.  He learned the ropes of living in comfort very quickly, his 5-year-old� Princess� Galga has taught him well. Here's to a good life, Mr. Murphy!

PericoPerico:  An ethereal white Galgo from Scooby, Perico desperately needed a person to call his own.  He found his angel in Chris, the GRIN volunteer. He chose her. He needed her. Emaciated and low in the pack order in the paddock, life was very hard for Perico.  All that changed as Chris, (who had planned her trip with no intention of adopting!), could not leave her boy behind. She made his dream come true, a story every Galgo needs..home sweet home with canine friends and a loving family..Perico is our Dream Boy�

SilasSilas: A middle-aged Spanish hunting dog, a Brittany spaniel. Long time resident of Scooby.  He had been overlooked for more than a year until a Colorado angel named Lisa chose him for a better life. Now living with a pack of Greyhounds and other canines, Silas has come home..after much grooming his hair is soft and curly..a sweet gentleman, thanks to an angel..

TeoTeo: Teo was our first arrival in the fall with another Scooby volunteer, Eva of Canada. Teo's story starts in Sevilla. She lived in a hording situation with hundreds of malnourished and sick dogs, neglected, suffering..Scooby came to the rescue and brought many of these poor dogs to the shelter. Teo was one of many. A rough coated Galgo she made an impression on her new owner and she said yes to Teo and offered her a good life in upstate NY. She has room to run and play with Greyhound and canine friends. Life is good in her loving home. Teo is home..

These are our stories of our last group, thanks to all of our supporters we can make dreams come true. The Magnificent 7 (plus 1) thank you for helping us help them and those still in Spain.  These dogs get the medical care they need with the supplies we send and again we thank all of you, our supporters. Happy Holidays!

Telma  Shaw
Board Member
G.R.I.N.