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.
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