Galgos del Sol (Murcia) makes saving galgos in Spain a reality!

Meet Asia, just rescued from a perrera (a killing station) in Cartegena. He is going to be cared for by Tina & Gaynor at Galgos del Sol.

Two more just saved from a killing station in Jerez, the white & cream galgo is going to be cared for by Tina & Gaynor at Galgos del Sol & the white one by another protectora.

Marie was caught on the streets of Torre Pacheco on 29th March. This is a town full of abandoned galgos. She is injured, extremely underweight, which you can't appreciate in the photos, and frightened. She has no microchip, she has not been vaccinated as she is too thin, her blood test has been done and sent for analysis.

If anyone can donate to vet fees, visit  the GdS website. To donate food, click on the Bettys Original logo on the right of the homepage.

Continuing on from >> this post

Betty, Jenny, Skye & Romero are settling in, in Belgium.

BELOW: Betty 

BELOW: Jenny

http://www.podencopost.com/

Please read Podenco Post, we NEED you to!

If you can watch this it will show you what is happening to the podencos but PLEASE be aware IT IS VERY DISTURBING.

Romero, Skye, Betty and Jenny flew from Alicante's brand new terminal yesterday, destined for Belgium.

Did they make history for being the first dogs to fly out of this new terminal?? Possibly.

It was an early morning start for Tina & Richard, Angela Stacey's husband, yesterday. Angela fostered "Little Pod" if you've been following my posts. Four of Galgos del Sol's rescued galgos were leaving by air from Alicante for new homes in Belgium. Alicante's brand new terminal only opened the day before & Tina said 'I can honestly say it was not easy. This new terminal had just opened and it seemed as if no-one really knew what was going on,... just what you need when you have 4 scared galgos! However they were stars and did us proud!' 

Finally, all four flew off & arrived safely.

Later yesterday two more, William & Betsy (shown below) left by road for homes in Germany. William is the podenco from PEPA, and Betsy was rescued and fostered by Justine Hughes. 

Here are some photos taken yesterday morning of the four going to Belgium..

BELOW: Arriving at Alicante's new terminal.

BELOW: Richard booking the galgos in.

BELOW: Romero, who only has three legs, had had enough & needed to be carried by Richard.  

BELOW: Skye, scared to bits, poor little sweetheart. Tina said 'Skye was very frightened at the airport but did so well.. she is now in her new foster home in Belguim safe and sound where her work now begins. She won't be re-homed untill she is completely ready, she has alot of work to do!'

BELOW:  Josephine flew over for the dogs on Thursday and then went back with them yesterday, having had no sleep. Here she is with Jenny, who, like Romero, only has three legs.

Christine, from Greyhounds In Need UK, with Jenny.

Continuing on from this post on 22nd March Tina & Jaime, her husband, spent time teaching school children at a school in Los Alcazares, Murcia on 23rd March.

The kids LOVED it!  They were so interested &, no doubt, went home & told their parents all they'd learnt. We hope they did, we hope it makes some difference.

Here are some photographs taken of the day.

BELOW: This is Tina worrying if everything was was to go well. (No worries Tina!)

BELOW: This is Tina's husband, Jaime, starting the talk with a PowerPoint presentation.

He explained why he & Tina were there to talk to them & why they were passionate about saving galgos.

BELOW: The children were told about Josh, a galgo who had been abandoned. (Trying to catch him took ages).

BELOW: Learning that ,once upon a time galgos, were worshipped, unlike today.

BELOW: Learning about Jenny, another abandoned galga, who had to have one leg amputated .

BELOW: These kids were really interested in all that was being taught to them.

BELOW: Jaime explaining why dog poo should not be left on the streets!

BELOW: The kids had such fun making dog poo! (It took ages getting hold of brown Plasticine!  )

 BELOW: Putting their Plasticine dog poo in the bags

BELOW: The poo pongs!

BELOW: The children looked at some of the dog-coats.

BELOW: Tina with one of the schoolchildren

Many more school visits are planned, this is a wonderful opportunity to educate children about owning dogs & pet responsibility.

Tina & her greyhound refuge get recognition in The Telegraph & quite right too, she's star! It was written by Beryl Brennan from Galgonews.com (whose link is down on the right side) who is a huge rock to Galgos del Sol and 112Carlottagalgos

Tina Solera is a young Englishwoman who is trying to do something about it. She and her Spanish husband, Jaime, have lived in Murcia with their two children for four years. In that time, Tina has moved from being a volunteer in a Spanish-run animal shelter to opening her own refuge – Galgos del Sol – specifically for galgos, in collaboration with, and on land belonging to another English couple, Gaynor and Les who moved to Spain from Warwickshire.

"The abandoned dog problem in Spain is heartbreaking, hard to describe without getting upset," she says. "We take them from motorways, snare traps and dog pounds – known here as killing stations – most have injuries and are terrified. Every day I see stray dogs. A good day is when I only see one."

I'm delighted to inform you that Galgos del Sol will now be visiting schools. They will be giving fun lectures to 8-10yr olds on pet responsibilty as well as educating the children about the history of the galgo espanol.

All lectures will be positive and fun involving plasticine dog excrements, the use of poo bags, colouring in pictures, looking at pet passports, financial and emotional responsibilities of owning a pet and the potential consequences of abandoning a dog. Moving onto galgos GDS will be talking about the history of the galgo espanol in Egypt and how the galgos were treated like gods. They will talk about what wonderful companions they make and how they should be respected. The MYTHS surrounding these beautiful dogs will also be tackled. All told using powerpoint presentations, photos and colourful drawings.

The children are the future, they are the ones who can change this crisis of dog abandonment. It is these children who we hope will have a new attitude towards the gentle breed, the galgo espanol. We feel it is a must that associations visit schools.

Well done, Tina. What a superb idea & I know it's not been easy getting the project off the ground.

Grand protest in Spain .. THIS Friday 25th March .. join a march near you.

On www.noalmaltratoanimal.org you can read or see about a big manifestation through the whole of Spain on 25th March against the mistreating of animals & longer sentences for those who are guilty of this.

There is a comprehensive list of all cities & towns in which a march is organised, time & place to meet. 

PLEASE CIRCULATE THIS FAR & WIDE THROUGHOUT SPAIN, GET THE POPULATION MOTIVATED.

So many Spanish people are concerned about the bad press in the rest of the world about bull fighting, abandoned dogs & cats, horse wrestling, animals in fiestas, donkey stoning .........................

 I will delete ANY comments that disagree with the above, TAKE NOTE!

Playa Flamenca on the Costa Blanca's Orihuela Costa had fantastic sunny weather on Wednesday 16th to Friday 18th March, 10am till 6pm daily.

Angela Stacey, with her team of volunteers, organised a tombola in aid of the Galgos del Sol refuge who care for ill & abandoned galgos nearby. They took a massive 829€ by running the tombola, with many donations by local businesses.

Angela has her own website, please take a look at the work she does.

http://help-dogs.com/default.aspx

Amongst those who donated to the tombola were members of the forum of http://www.torrevieja.co.uk/

Thanks to Trev of Morgan's Bar, http://www.morgansbar.es/  (two meals at their Stars & Stripes night on Friday 25th, which is an Elvis & Tina tribute).

Thanks to Dave & Tracey of the Black Bull steakhouse http://www.blackbullsanmiguel.com/ (two meals + overnight accommodation in their hotel).

Thanks to Suzy & Ian's Upstairs Downstairs launderette at Cabo Roig (they donated a wash/dry 11kg load).

Thanks to Peter of the Goodlife cafe on the lemon tree Sunday market ( two English breakfasts).

Thanks to Maria at Tonetastic, a toning and beauty salon in Los Montesinos (free week on their toning tables & an eyebrow shaping).

Thanks to David who donated bike hire WWW.COSTABLANCABIKEHIRE.COM

Thanks to Irene, another kind member of http://www.torrevieja.co.uk/ who donated bottles of Barcardi.

Thanks to others of the forum above who donated to Angela's Monday stall at La Zenia too, 'Jeaniewigs', 'brandyboy' & 'Brindleboy123' names spring to mind. We so appreciate everyones generosity & are always needing donations of money or goods we can sell or put in a tombola.

If you feel able to foster one of our gorgeous galgos or give one a forever home kindly contact Tina on the website below.

We now need generous donations again for our tombola on 23rd April, same location, as it's St. George's Day & all our prizes went due to the tombola being so popular. In fact two members of the Torrevieja forum, 'UKGroomer' (a dog groomer) & 'Ketron' (a gents hairdresser) have already offered services for the St. George's event.

Post a comment if you live near enough to help please.

We hope you enjoy our crazy photo video album here.  Put your sound on.

These photos were taken today 17th March, at the St. Patrick's 3 day event at Lidl's car park, off the main road, the N332, at Playa Flamenca, Orihuela Costa.

No alcohol was involved I've been reliably assured!!  I think the sun knocked Angela out for the count though!  

Come join us all tomorrow! The tombola has lots of prizes.

Yesterday the sun shone on the event, looks great weather for today & tomorrow too.

Here are some photos of the Galgos del Sol team of volunteers enjoying yesterday. Tina, President of Galgos Del Sol charity, is on the right in the first & second photo.

Please come & support us today or tomorrow. Tomorrow is our tombola, many local businesses have donated something, thanks!

We are at Lidl's car park, off the main road N332 at Playa Flamenca, Orihuela Costa not far from Torrevieja. 10am - 6pm today & tomorrow. LOTS going on, many stalls, entertainment, food/drink.

Come & meet Tina who is the President of the charity Galgos del Sol & whose website is  http://www.perrosdelsol.es/  Meet Angela Stacey (the foster mum of "Little Pod") whose website is http://help-dogs.com/default.aspx & many others who are volunteers at the Galgos del Sol greyhound refuge, at the St. Patrick's 3 day event at Playa Flamenca, Orihuela Costa (in Lidl's car park off the main road, the N332).

It started today, 16th is on tomorrow 17th & ends Friday 18th .. 10am - 6pm daily. There's lots going on, entertainment, food & drink, stalls. Come have some fun. Bring the kids, bring your euros.

There will be a tombola on Friday,  the proceeds of this will go to Galgos del Sol.

Local businesses listed below have been VERY supportive in their donations. 

1) Dave & Tracey have donated any meal for two from their menu with overnight accomodation in their hotel courtesy of the Black Bull http://www.blackbullsanmiguel.com/

2) Trev from Morgan's Bar http://www.morgansbar.es/ have donated a meal for two on 25th March at their Stars & Stripes night (Elvis & Tina Turner tribute)

3) Maria from Tonetastic, a toning and beauty salon in Los Montesinos, has donated one weeks free toning, and a free eyebrow shape

4) Peter Hurst, owner of the Goodlife cafe on the Campo de Guardamar (lemon tree) Sunday market, has generously donated two English breakfasts.  

5) Suzy of Upstairs Downstairs launderette at Cabo Roig has donated a wash & dry up to 11kg.

6) David of WWW.COSTABLANCABIKEHIRE.COM has donated whatever Tina wants ... TBA yet.

There are other donations being sorted.

We thank you all from

I offered to write a post for a friend, Michele, who has just sadly lost her Shar-pei, Chunky.

THIS IS HANDSOME CHUNKY

When you have to say goodbye to someone, whether it is a family member or a pet (which in my mind are one of the same), you often try to think of what you can do to keep the memory of that person or pet alive.  Do you buy a chair, place it somewhere that they loved to go? Perhaps plant a tree?  What can you do for an 8 year old shar-pei who was totally misunderstood by some, but loved by so very many. Tony has taken the decision to have a tattoo on his back with all three of our dogs together, Chunky being in the middle keeping an eye on the two little ones.  For me, I will write this blog.  I would like to think that perhaps one day, somewhere, someone will type “Chunky” into their laptop and up would come this story of our wonderful friend……..

The Beginning……….
Tony and I moved to Spain in December 2002 and settled into our little flat.  Our first real home together and the first few weeks of our marriage.  Everything was wonderful and we made the place look beautiful but there was something else that I hoped against all hope that Tony would also want….a dog!

We used to shop often at Carrefour and in those days there was a pet section to the side which had young puppies in horrible glass cages.  I hated to see them in there but at the same time was drawn to them every time we went in to shop.  We would go in and ignore the signs and touch the side and try to encourage the dogs to come and see us.  It was always so tempting – I just wanted to take them all home but we really weren’t sure whether the community that we lived in would even allow pets.

One particular day, off we went to Carrefour as usual and as was the norm, Tony said “I guess you will be going to the pets bit first!”, he didn’t need to wait for an answer because I was already on my way.  In I went, straight to the back and there he was …just looking at me, a baby lion!  He looked absolutely gorgeous, tan colour, long hair and lots of wrinkles!  A Shar-pei.  I had seen the breed on many of the adverts on TV for beauty creams but knew absolutely nothing about them.  Tony came to look too and we both thought this puppy was the one.  We asked if we could hold him and of course the assistant agreed.  Tony could see by the look on my face that I wanted him there and then but I was very sensible  (for once) and told the assistant “we would think about it”.  That evening we did nothing but talk about this pup that had stolen our hearts.

The next day I went upstairs to see a neighbour and told her about our meeting with the pup.  Ann said she would happily look after it if we had to go away, so why not get it?  Well, you could not see my feet for dust …I was down the stairs quicker than you could say, “get the car keys”.  Who cared what the other people in the block would say ….we were going to rescue that beautiful baby boy from the glass prison and bring him home.  Tony didn’t need much persuading and we were soon on our way to Carrefour.  Tony could see the anticipation in my face and also the fear that I would get there and he would be gone so he dropped me outside the door and went to park up.  I went straight into the pet section and could see a crowd around my dog!  I decided my best move was to find the assistant first who just happened to be by the counter nearest to me.  ”I would like to buy the Shar-pei please” I said in my very best Spanish!  I then followed her to where the others were stood and waited whilst she opened the door to freedom for my boy.  She took him out, kissed him on the top of his head and handed him to me!  He had that smell of puppies that you would only recognise if you have been fortunate enough in life to have had a young pup.  Another English couple were there and the lady turned to me and asked if I was having the pup and I beamed and told her I was.  I then realised how lucky I had been because she told me that they were just about to go and buy him! Close shave that one!

Chunky was 960 euros and it was quite strange that we actually had to take him through the checkout! As far as I could see there was no barcode attached to him, but who knows!  The assistant told me he was expensive because he was very rare…don’t get many long haired shar-pei’s she said.  A long time after I discovered that she was right, the long haired variety are not that popular (known as Bearcoat’s) purely because they are often considered as a throw-back and certainly the kennel club in the UK would not recognise them because their hair was “too long for the breed”.  Sadly, it is also well known that some breeders would kill them rather than let the bearcoat be allowed to go on and breed.  The bearcoats are however very popular in the USA for some reason.

Read further about Chunky here & Michele, it was a pleasure to do this for you.

My husband & I should've visited the Galgos del Sol refuge on Friday 4th March but it rained & it rained.  As we needed to travel some distance (it's a 80km round trip) it sadly was re-scheduled till Friday 11th. The weather hadn't been good all week &, on Friday, it rained more. Whatever is the weather doing? I'm on holiday!

Anyway, no way was I not going, I was desperate to see the galgos I've been trying to help by writing here & there about them, making videos about them & collecting items for use by the refuge & also for selling on Angela's charity stall every Monday at La Zenia's Los Dolces commercials above Mercadona. 

So, we found the refuge, Angela Stacey had given us explicit directions to it when we visited her on 28th February at the Monday charity stall she runs with other caring ladies.

We were greeted by many galgos who came running to the fence to see who had arrived. Two ladies, who I recognised from the charity stall, had been clearing land ready, I believe, for more kennels to be built. They were removing mud from their wellingtons. Tina .. who runs the charity with Gaynor .., Angela .. who had fostered 'Little Pod' & Bogdana, who makes great videos of the galgos (as I do ) were out trying to catch a black galgo who has been living rough for months. My husband & I made ourselves known to Gaynor who was in her kitchen with two other ladies preparing lunch.

Others were turning up to do things & one lady took one of the galgos called Brac to the vets as his leg had swelled up. It turned out he'd broken it in two places yet he was running about. He now has two lots of tablets to take. I think it must've been an old break that had healed but now was causing concern. There's always something for all the volunteers to do.

I'd bought three packets of dog chews & had fun feeding these to the rescue galgos who almost knocked me over in their exuberance to get their treats. Some dogs have been at the refuge a while & seem very at home whilst a few, who are new, are very nervous although slowly coming out of their shells & realising not all humans are bad & hurtful towards them. We shall never know what these beautiful creatures have endured but we certainly can guess.

Tina, Angela & Bogdana arrived without the galgo, who they've called Leo, very demoralised! They'd worked so hard & had been out for ages. The chicken that Angela had cooked on Thursday had lured the galgo into the trap but the door hadn't slammed shut as a weld on the frame holding the door up broke. The galgo had backed out of the cage. They thought they had fixed the trap & the galgo had gone in again but the door hadn't closed so he was able to back out once more though I understand the door came partway down, hitting him on his back which, naturally, spooked him.

They WILL catch Leo soon &, if he only knew what a better life he'll have if he just allowed himself to be caught, he wouldn't drag the rescue out. He will be back for more of Angela's chicken, for sure. 

We met many caring volunteers & had a wonderful few hours. Gaynor & two ladies prepared a meal for everyone there, us included, the hospitality was so welcoming. We hope to visit again before we leave for the UK early next month.

I took some of these photos but the majority of these were taken by Marie Stacey.

PLEASE SUPPORT US

A young podenco (male) ... maybe 6 mths old .. has been found wandering the streets of Playa Flamenca, near Torrevieja, Costa Blanca. He will go to the vet tomorrow, Monday 14th March. Maybe he will be microchipped. What's the chances of finding his owner on a scale of 0-10? ZERO..........

He has been named Ollie & is currently being looked after by the Galgos del Sol refuge.

Please support us at http://www.perrosdelsol.es/

There is a black galgo (now named Leo) who is living rough near the refuge, Galgos del Sol, Murcia. Tina & her team have been planning to rescue him but they needed a trap. 

Angela, the lady who looked after "Little Pod" the tiny podenca who sadly died of parvo on 18th February (read about her in earlier posts) cooked a chicken on Thursday to put in the trap yesterday.

As Tina said "We chased him in the rain, we ran across muddy fields and we had a secret weapon..... Angela's home cooked chicken, what could go wrong? Everything!"

Leo finally went straight into the trap for his lunch  but a weld on the door parts failed & the door didn't close & Leo backed out having snaffled some of his food.   

He went in the cage again after the door was hopefully sorted out but again it wouldn't close & he was spooked as the door caught him as he backed out that time.

It was the first time my husband & I had been to the refuge & we were made so welcome .. THANK YOU EVERYONE .. & we joined the volunteers for lunch which three ladies prepared & cooked & cleared up afterwards.

There were galgos everywhere. The atmosphere was buzzing. I'd bought dog chews to give the dogs, I was very much in demand. I took some photos as did others so next post I will show you them.

Here's some of the rescue mission to capture Leo, they WILL succeed next time.

Tina WILL rescue you, Leo, &, if you only knew how much easier your life will be in her care, you'd get in that cage & stay there too.

A very kind lady living in Denmark, Grethe Marup, has been making coats for galgos for five years &, after hearing about the Galgos del Sol refuge in Murcia, Costa Blanca, she offered to make the galgos there some coats. Many people in Denmark sent her material so Grethe could make the coats.

Tina & her team of volunteers at Galgos del Sol thank Grethe & everyone involved in achieving this, it is SUCH a kindness. xx

Turn your sound on.

Below: Happy Ending has a website. 

Below: Happy Ending has a Facebook page too.

Also read THIS for a lot more insight, thank you.

A good friend of Galgos Del Sol, Bogdana Kostadinova, has made a wonderful video of what I posted before ... click this >>  

Sadly, the song contravened Youtube's copyright policy & was refused  but you CAN view the video WITH the music if you click >> 

Tina was alerted to a black galgo yesterday who is roaming Torre Pacheco, Murcia. He is scared, lonely & ill. She has been trying to catch him & hopes to trap him soon as he obviously needs urgent medical care.

She believes he has high level lesihmania. His feet are swollen, his skin is rotting underneath, he has wounds that look old and won't heal and smells.... all signs of a disease that is slowly killing him  She's already named him Lorenzo.

She says "My big problem with Lorenzo is where to put him when I have him. I will really need to find some money from somewhere to rent somewhere to look after him because I am certain this boy has leish..... "

Good luck Tina. We support you.

Below: So close! Tina with Lorenzo.

Please support us.