Carpe Canem Auction to Benefit Galgo Organizations

Carpe CanemThe Galgo Rescue International Network is proud to announce our latest fundraisung venture for the Spanish galgos! Carpe Canem is hosting an online auction which begins at 7am PDT/10am EDT on Wednesday, May 14 and ends at 7pm PDT/10pm EDT on Tuesday, May 20. ALL the proceeds (after shipping expenses) will go directly to two Spanish galgo rescue organizations, DDEVIDA (Defensa de los Derechos de la Vida Animal) in Utrera (Sevilla) and Asociaci�n de Socorro Animal Amigos de Milord in Palencia. Please check it out at http://www.carpecanem.com/auction/index.php?auctionid=116 - it's packed with awesome items to bid on! Thank you for your continued support! Please visit http://www.ddevida.org/ and www.amigosdemilord.com to learn more about these organizations and the work they do to help the abused animals of Spain.

Construction at Refugio Kimba

Construction at Kimba- G.R.I.N.We have begun the construction of a new isolated quarantine station at Kimba so that the new dogs who come in, as well those who are ill, do not have contact with the rest of the healthy dogs in our shelter.

The old quarantine station will now be used as normal housing, since it is not isolated, and therefore we will be able to house more dogs in there, and thus increase the number of unfortunate, hopelss, abandoned animals. In doing so we will also lessen the work load for the veterinarians and the disgusting crematoriums at the filthy and repugnant dog pounds.

Afterwards, we want to begin the construction of a drainage piping system through all of the large kennel areas. We are obligated to do so due to annual inspections, which should really be focused more on the dog pounds rather than on the humble protection societies. We survive on donations that we receive from people abroad, as well as from the monthly dues from our members. The subsidies and help from city hall do not reach us, but they do reach all of the contracted dog pounds, and they are stained with blood when they do.

These drainage pipes are 80 meters in length, and an estimate of 7200 euros in cost. In addition, we will need to add the cost of an officially approved septic tank.

With all of this construction we will be able to increase Kimba's nucleo zool�gico (which is the legal number of animals that we are permitted to have by law). At present it is much lower than our actual population, and therefore we could have problems with the administration if we did not take on this big project. The construction company is going to let us pay a little at a time, but we hope that through the help we receive this will not be an unending debt.
A million thanks to all of our friends. We're sending photos of the beginning stages of this big project, and we will keep you all informed periodically.

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GRIN Mission in the Spanish Media!

Operation Noa: A run over galgo is rescued all the way from United States
Operaci�n Noa: Rescate desde Estados Unidos de una galga atropellada

La madrina de vuelo estadounidense posa con la galga, en Barajas.
Actualizado lunes 18/02/2008 11:48 (CET)
��IGO ARR�E

Please scroll to end of English translation for original Spanish version
Operaci�n Noa - GRIN Mission in the Spanish Media!VALLADOLID.- Noa is a five month old galga with black eyes and jet black fur. Only her neck is white, perhaps a premonition of her luck, a sign of hope at the end of the tunnel. Like so many dogs of her breed, in the hands of demons, she came into this world destined for a tragic ending.

As her luck would have it, her time had not yet come on that 22nd of December on the road from Tortecilla in Palencia. Two fairy godmothers had better plans for her. One, the rescuer, Crisitna Pascual, president of the Palencia protection society Amigos de Milord, and the other, the Plaskett family, of South Carolina, who wanted to operate on her again and adopt her after hearing her story.

Noa is now in good hands. She is in a veterinary clinic in Atlanta, thousands of kilometers fromValladolid. The doubt that was left with all of her chain of caregivers in Castilla y Le�n, is whether or not she will recover the use of her left front leg, which was left turned around, as a result of the operation that she underwent in Aranda de Duero.

A relatively lesser evil after what happened to her on that day of the loter�a del Gordo (a national mega lottery in Spain). Abandoned, she was run over just 200 meters from the Asociac�n Protectora Amigos de los Animales de Palencia, a business, which paradoxically made no effort to rescue her in spite of their proximity.

The dog was in the middle of the highway with two broken legs. She was howling and her shrieks caused a crowd to gather around her. Women were crying and other people were hovering over her to assure that another car did not hit her. "Luckily, someone gave them my phone number and we were able to intervene", remembers Cristina Pascual, who from her organization (www.amigosdemilord.com) has managed to find adoptions for abandoned, beaten and badly injured dogs -- some of them died in spite of everything -- following a long period of treatment and care.

Operaci�n Noa - GRIN Mission in the Spanish Media!With the nonexistent funds of the organization and the colaboration of caregivers in Valladolid and Palencia, such as Elena S�nchez Bastardo (member of PACMA in the upcoming elections), Diana and Ana, the joint effort worked, and Noa was able to keep going.

First she was operated on in Aranda, spent a few days in a foster home in Santander, then another few days at Ana's home, and ended up at the country home of Elena S�nchez in Castronuevo. "I took her home on the day of the Three Kings because she wouldn't stop howling and crying. The poor thing still has a bad leg, because she is young and apparently her bones were unable to knit", remembered Elena.

At the same time, Pascual made the adoption call to the United States through Galgo Rescue International Network (www.galgorescue.org), and she received an immediate response. "Christopher and Stacey Plaskett of South Carolina wrote right away saying that they had fallen in love with Noa by her photo, and they wanted to adopt her. They are half crazy with exicetment waiting for her arrival. They said that, of course, they would take her and would also handle her next operation", said S�nchez Bastardo.

Noa left on Saturday, the 16th, from Valladolid, and on Sunday was turned over to her flight companion, who in turn will leave Noa in the hands of the Plasketts. Whether for pride or for shame, it has become a trend in the United States to have a galgo, and even better if it is "one of the abandoned ones from Spain", notes Cristina.

Original Spanish version: Noa es una galga de cinco meses negra de ojos y pelaje como el azabache. S�lo su cuello es blanco, quiz� una premonici�n de su suerte, una se�al de esperanza tras el t�nel. Como tantos perros de su raza, en manos de desalmados, vino al mundo con el marchamo de ser carne de cuneta o de horca.

Para su fortuna, su hora no hab�a llegado el 22 de diciembre en el camino de Torrecilla de Palencia. Dos hadas madrinas ten�an planes mejores para ella. Una la rescatadora, Cristina Pascual, presidenta de la protectora palentina Amigos de Milord y la otra, la familia Plaskett , de Carolina del Sur, que la quiso operar de nuevo y adoptar desde que supo de su historia.

Noa ya se encuentra en buenas manos. Est� en una cl�nica veterinaria de Atlanta, a miles de kil�metros de Valladolid. La duda que ha dejado en toda la cadena de cuidadores de Castilla y Le�n es si podr� volver a recuperar su pata delantera izquierda, vuelta del rev's, a pesar de la operaci�n a la que fue sometida en Aranda de Duero.

Un mal relativamente menor despu's de lo que le ocurri� ese d�a de la loter�a del Gordo. Abandonada, fue atropellada a 200 metros de la Asociaci�n Protectora Amigos de los Animales de Palencia, entidad, que parad�jicamente no acudi� en su rescate, a pesar de la proximidad.

La perra estaba en mitad de la carretera con las dos patas rotas , aullaba y sus gritos provocaron un remolino de gente alrededor. Las mujeres lloraban y otras personas hac�an corro para evitar que m's coches pasaran por encima. "Por su suerte alguien dio mi tel�fono y pudimos intervenir", recuerda Cristina Pascual, que desde su asociaci�n (www.amigosdemilord.com ) ha conseguido lograr adopciones de perros abandonados, apaleados y malheridos �algunos han muerto a pesar de todo� tras una etapa previa de cuidados.

Con los inexistentes fondos de la asociaci�n y la colaboraci�n de cuidadoras de Valladolid y Palencia como Elena S�nchez Bastardo (miembro del PACMA a las pr�ximas elecciones ), Diana y Ana, la red solidaria funcion� y Noa pudo salir adelante.

Primero fue operada en Aranda, pas� unos d�as de acogida en casa de Santander, estuvo unos d�as en casa de Ana y acab� en la finca de Elena S�nchez en Castronuevo. "Me la llev� a casa del d�a de Reyes porque no paraba de dar gritos y de quejarse. La pobre sigue teniendo una pata falta, porque es joven y al parecer no soldaron bien los huesos", record� Elena.

De forma paralela, Pascual activ� la llamada de adopci�n en Estados Unidos a trav's de Galgo Rescue International Network (www.galgorescue.org) y la respuesta fue inmediata. "Escribieron Christopher y Stacey Plaskett de Carolina del Sur y dijeron directamente que se hab�an enamorado de Noa por la foto y que la quer�an adoptar. Est�n como locos esper�ndola. Dijeron que, por su puesto, se hac�an cargo incluso de la nueva operaci�n", indic� S�nchez Bastardo.

Noa sali� el s�bado 16 de Valladolid y el domingo se entreg� a una madrina de vuelo, que, a su vez, dejar� a Noa en manos de los Plaskett. Para orgullo o verg�enza,en Estados Unidos se ha puesto de moda tener un galgo y mejor a�n si son "de los abandonados en Espa�a", apunta Cristina.

February Rescue Mission

By virtue of the amazing efforts of individuals from a number of different organizations, four dogs arrived in Atlanta, GA on Sunday, February 17. G.R.I.N. Board members Stacey and Chris Plaskett welcomed Inocente, Carlitos, Nina and Noa to the United States. Dr. Crystal Loh returned after a week of volunteer work at Scooby, and she managed to bring the fortunate four back with her. Coordinating the travel of four dogs from four different shelters was certainly no small feat, but with the help of some incredible people in Spain, the wildest dreams of four splendid hounds were realized.

Elite Greyhounds� Sonia Stratemann was an immense help in finding homes for the two boys. When she heard Innocente's story, she immediately dedicated herself to finding him a forever home, and after making his story known, a rally of support came forward. The shy and cunning Galgo, Carlitos, was originally going to be a foster dog, lucky enough to stay with Sonia for a while, but even before they met, he managed to steal her heart. After meeting him, it was a sealed deal, and Carlitos will have a very happy home with Sonia, her family, and her pack! G.R.I.N. would like to send a huge thank you to the
people who volunteered their time, their vehicles, and their hearts to get these boys from Atlanta to Southern Florida!

Nina had the good fortune of attracting the interest of Patty Winters, the Screening and Placement Coordinator for SEGC/SEGA, and the stunningly gorgeous light brindle girl will have a fantastic home with her! Nina popped out of her box like she knew she had already found the good life, and her fantastic foster mom, Dea Palmer, whisked her out of the chaotic airport and back to her temporary home. Thanks so much to the Palmers and their two hounds for making Nina feel all
sorts of welcome here in the US, and thank you to Patty for providing such a great forever home!

Finally, little Noa, the Galga puppy who was run over by a car on December 22nd when she was just three months old: She finally made it home. After seeing photographs of the little girl on the morning of Christmas Eve, Stacey and Chris Plaskett were firm in their resolve that � if the little girl survived � she would come to live with them. Fortunately for everyone involved, she did, and she did. An immense thank you to Cristina from Amigos de Milord and Elena Mar�a for taking such fantastic care of Noa before she flew to America!

So many different groups and different people went well beyond all expectations to bring these dogs to the States. Thanks so much to all of the following:

Scooby Animal Refuge, Fermin Perez, Maria Jose, Coby, and the entire Scooby Staff

Refugio Kimba, Maria Jose, the entire Kimba staff, and Michael Rodrigue

Amigos De Milord and Cristina Pascual

Refugio Caceres, Isabel, and the entire Caceres staff

Elena, our dear friend and defender of animals in Madrid, who fosters and transports animals for us

Delta Madrid and Alba Ramon, Tiziana Ridriguez, and Marisa Panelever

Anna Clements and SOS Galgos

Sandra and Michael Baas

El Refugio Pedro Munoz

Refugio Escuela

Crystal Loh, DVM and Laura Christian, DVM - the veterinary team

Jen Schwartz - volunteer

Sonia Strateman and Elite Greyhounds

SEGC/SEGA, Dea our lovely foster gal, and Patty Winters

And last but not least, Chris and Stacey Plaskett!

If we have forgotten anyone who played a part in this marvelous adventure, please let us know!

Galgos in Solvang?

Galgos in Solvang??by Telma Shaw

The West Coast Greyhound Gathering played host to the February 2008 Greyhound Gathering in Solvang California. A fantastic event it was! The weather was perfect and everyone spent three greyt days enjoying the beauty of Solvang and of course the event! Close to 300 Greyhounds and various Sighthounds attended, including a showing of four fabulous Spanish Galgos, Amistad, Aluna, Carlos and Alita who also graced the affair!

The event began Friday morning at Lemos Pet Supply on Main street. The store has an outside area where the participants congregate to meet and enjoy Danish pastries while our hounds enjoy seeing old friends and making new ones. This year there was a television crew doing a pilot for a possible program on Greyhounds and they were interviewing many of the attendees. Telma Shaw was asked about her �unusual� looking �Greyhound� and took the opportunity to share the whole story of the plight of the Spanish Greyhound!

Throughout the event, G.R.I.N. supporter Dawn of the Creation Station Quilting shop in nearby Buellton had set up her sewing machines in the town center park gazebo and sewed coats for the Galgos and shared information all weekend! She also sold raffle tickets for a beautiful quilt to help the cause. She also accomplished sewing 40 coats which are already on their way to Spain. Way to go Dawn!! That's dedication!

G.R.I.N. supporters were also able to help Greyhound Connection of San Diego to raise some funds for their rescue efforts by hosting the Pizza Party. Thanks to Christie Jacobs (new GRIN board member), Rick and Mary Kidder, and Em Danskin. Mike and Telma Shaw headed up the Pizza Party which went without a hitch! Great job everyone!

Those who spent a lot of time shopping with the vendors at the Veterans Hall no doubt stopped by Sharee's K-9 Design booth and got a special surprise, her newly adopted little galga girl Alita who was taking it all in! Alita had many friends admiring her tiny delicate beauty! Alita spend her time being taken for walks by attendees who oohhed and aahhed over her and of course playing with her Greyhound sister in their ex pen and snoozing! Not to bad for a newby!

Rumor has it Alita may have another galgo friend coming to share her adventures in Solvang next year! Stay tuned..

Many wonderful people donated collars, leashes and coats for the Galgos. Bill Sugden donated a beautiful framed print for one of our auctions to help the Galgos. Information on G.R.I.N. was handed out when people asked about why our �greyhounds� looked so different and many people thanked us for telling them about the plight of the Galgos, the Greyhounds cousins, as some had never heard about them. Everyone had a wonderful time in Solvang, we look forward to next year!

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Refugio Kimba - Who We Are

Refugio Kimba - G.R.I.N.By Maria Jos� Ja�n Jimenez

Kimba was founded in 1872 and is the oldest protectora in Spain. Originally Kimba was dedicated to caring only for plants, but as the years passed it began to take in abandoned animals. Nine partners acquired a 5000 square meter piece of land in order to be able to house the animals that they were taking in. Thanks to a lot of hard work, and following a dream, they managed to build 33 kennels and 5 quarantine stations to accommodate the lives of these animals. They are conveniently equipped with dormitories and eating areas for the animals, and presently the number of dogs and cats is in the vicinity of 180 dogs (after rescuing all of the dogs from the Puerto Real dog pound) and 12 cats, which is way above our ideal capacity. But it is impossible for us not to help and rescue animals that are suffering.

Through financial contributions from members, and most of them from abroad, we were able to build more kennels at Kimba, and we were also able to build a wall around the perimeter to offer more security and better well being for our animals. Before building the wall we had serious problems with hunters shooting at our dogs from outside the old chain link fence that we used to have.

The shelter was given the name "KIMBA" in memory of a lioness that once lived here at the shelter.

Unfortunately there are hundreds of dogs, cats and other animals who every season are abandoned by their owners and left to fend for themselves on just any street corner. But we aren't able to rescue all of them; we have neither the room nor the financial means. We receive no type of official subsidies due to the fact that we have a NO KILL policy, in other words we are not a dog pound.

Those of us who look for families for the dogs (Adoption Group) consist of 4 people: Alba, Elena (two 22 year old young women who have been with us for 3 years), Jos� Manuel and myself, who have been here for 8 years.

We have created various working groups

FOSTER CARE GROUP:

Their function is to take into their homes and care for the puppies and kittens less than two months of age that belong to Kimba, while waiting to find a family for them or waiting to integrate them into the shelter once they are big enough and strong enough (more than 2 months old). This group also offers foster care to our animals who have had surgery so that they can spend their post operative time in a home.

FOLLOW-UP GROUP:

Follow up on the animals who have been adopted to make sure they are in good care and that they are adapting well to their new homes.

ADOPTION GROUP:

Their job is to find families for the animals who live temporarily at the shelter, making sure that they go to good homes.

PUBLIC RELATIONS GROUP:

These folks handle all of the public relations, put together campaigns for Kimba, they run the information booths, and make arrangements for our participation at various events.

EDUCATION GROUP:

This group is in charge of the lectures and conferences, and they participate in round tables etc. having to do with both animals and with the environment.

GROUNDS CARE GROUP:

See to it that Kimba functions 365 days of the year. It does so because of the unselfish volunteers who tend to the maintenance of the animals, feedings, cleaning the kennels, administering of veterinary treatments, repairing any damages, and making improvements on the facility, etc. There is one employee (the only paid employee) who goes every day Monday through Friday in the mornings to do this work. Aside from him, various volunteers often go to give him a hand. Saturday is volunteer day, and we are all there from 11:00am until 8:00pm working to maintain the grounds.

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El Refugio De Pedro Munoz Seeks Help

El Refugio De Pedro Munoz Seeks Help - G.R.I.N.G.R.I.N. received this desperate plea for help from Jeff Rayner, a dedicated English rescuer living in Spain. We will be sending a shipment of supplies to this shelter in February, but as always, more help is always needed!

"Please forgive me for not having been able to write you before but we have had many problems in the shelter, more distemper cases, two puppies have died and today another puppy has had an epileptic attack and has been about to die. At the end of the day I was feeling really down. I had never seen a dog crying and this small dog, when she felt her body was paralyzed, she looked at me straight to my eyes and started to cry. I am psychologically very affected, one has to be very tough and strong to afford all this every day. Up to date I have got 28 dogs at home, 8 more from the time when Jeff visited us. I even have a litter of 4 pure galguitos a month old and that means I must feed them with baby's bottle and baby food..."

"I send you a list of the most necessary things for us and that actually we are spending a lot of money in, but our animals deserve it and we spare no expenses to buy medicines or visiting the veterinary clinic. Please tell Jeff that last Saturday 9 small size dogs and 1 cat (all mixed) that were living in my house travelled to France to start a new life with their new adoption families, I know he will be glad about it. Next I send you the list of supplies more needed, I am a little ashamed though as it is rather a long list, but we are really in need of all which is included if we want our dogs not to die.

And we are in especial need of economic support for paying veterinary expenses such as surgeries, neutering, sterilizations, microchip, passports..... etc. We are in the range of 30,000 euros per year spent in veteriany and we only receive an annual aid from the City Council of 6,000 euros, and we only have 45 members who contribute with 5 euros per month, some contribute with a higher quantity but very little of them. The remaining expenses such as food, trips (always we take our dogs to their new home personally, so that we can have a look at their new house and family, etc), telephone expenses, building equipments that we use to build kennels, cleaning products (lejia, zotal), we paid them with the extraordinary incomes we receive from some friends in France and the rest are being paid by me and my friend Alex an Loli, a friend of mine, and her husband.

At present we have 130 dogs, of which 31 are galgos, and we must keep them hidden otherwise they are in risk of being stollen. We do not have any help from volunteers. The shelter is run by me, my friend Loli aged 48 and the help pf a 75 years old man, for that reason we must be there working all day long. If anyone would be interested in sending an economic contribution, the account number is 2105 2012 04 0012026509.
A huge embrace and thanks a lot for your help!"

MEDICINES

Inmunoferon (defences)
Enrofloxacine 150mg (broad-spectrum antibiotic)
Cefalexina 150mg (anti-inflammatory antibiotic)
Clavulanic Amoxiciline 500mg (infections, mainly for colds)
Alopurinol (lehismania)
Luminal (epilepsy)
Rimadyl 50mg (anti-inflammatory)
Doxiciclina (erliquia)
Panacur 500mg (deworm)
Azitromicina (pneumonies)
Pantomicina (pneumonies)
Bandages: normal and self-adhesive
Feeders
Beds
Blankets
Coats
Kennels or stalls
Necklaces
Chains
Dry food for puppies and kittens as well as for adult cats and dogs
Syringes
Heaters to instal inside the kennels for the winter as it is very cold here
Elizabethan collars: medium and large size
Carriers
Distemper and parvovirosis qick testers

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Live Trap a Stupendous Success for DDEVIDA

Live Trap a Stupendous Success for DDEVIDA - G.R.I.N.GRIN has had the immense pleasure of working with many of the Spanish organizations through our "Shelter Representative" program. In the fall of 2007, one of our representatives, Gary Lopez, approached us with a novel idea. His shelter, DDEVIDA, had been trying to capture a galga who had been loose for some time. He offered to donate the purchase price of a live animal trap, which we had delivered to the shelter with the help of his daughter, Maria, who lives in Spain. Though the trap was ultimately not how the galga was captured, Encarni of DDEVIDA recently shared with us the story of how they were able to capture a dog in desperate condition thanks to the live trap.

On Friday Jan. 4 a lady very fond of animals got in touch with us. She had been feeding a mastiff female for almost 2 yrs, the dog was always with a horse , but didn't allow any contact. She would run around in the open country and would come inside certain properties through holes in the fences that she herself had made, this made the owners mad who would threaten to get rid of her in a bad way. She had deformed front legs and had become pregnant. By the way she looked you could see that the puppies would be born soon. In the afternoon we went to see her (pictures 0, 1, 2). It was really impossible to get close to her.

So yesterday, Jan. 8, around 6 in the afternoon, we set the trap cage (photos 3, 4, 5,and 6). At 8 in the evening we returned to the place but we had made a mistake, we put the food inside the cage but in a food bowl. She very cleverly had gone inside the cage, took the food bowl with her teeth and took it outside. She ate her food but didn't get trapped!! So we decided to change a small detail. We put the food directly over the base of the cage. Some good sausages!! It was around 11 at night and we went to see if anything had happened. Yes!!! There she was, very nervous and crying, but it worked!! (photos 10, 11, 12, and 13). I'm sending you some photos of the dog in the home of the people that had been feeding her (pictures 14-18). We arrived home around one in the morning, but we were all very satisfied.

I wanted you to know that the cage trap works stupendously and that you are aware of the change of life that it is affording this animal. Many thanks to all of you (Gary Lopez, Abby Christman, GRIN and Marie Lopez) for having given us the cage as a way of helping more animals, and of course, for all the donations that you bring our way.

A hug for all of you.

Encarni
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An Amazing International Collaboration

An Amazing International Collaboration - G.R.I.N.In the fall of 2007, GRIN received an impassioned communication from Virginie LaBat of Passion Levriers in France about a Podenco Andaluz female dog, her five young pups, and a juvenile pup from an earlier litter. They had been found abandoned and frightened in the street. There situation was dire as they were in a pound, or �perrera� and faced potential euthanasia. They needed to be rescued quickly, and we knew when we read their story that GRIN had to help. Isabel, a wonderful lady working at Protectora Caceres, worked tirelessly with Virginie to get the family to safety, and they were moved to the shelter.

Still, they needed homes� We had received a number of applications from people interested in the Ibizans abandoned on the island of Ibiza. Because the Podenco Andaluz is a very close cousin of the Ibizan, we decided to share the story of the pups with our adopters. We soon had found homes for three of the babies � Marco (now Toro), Caramello (now Phoenix), and Pinta. Sadly, the mother (Memory) and the older female pup (Agatha), were so traumatized that flying them to the US would have been far too risky for them.

We worked with Virginie and Isabel to coordinate the transport for the three podenco pups to the US with travelers Charles and Jane Totten and Shirley Durbin as part of the �Shelter Aid to the Rescue� mission. On September 16 and 17, GRIN members in Denver and Atlanta greeted the three pups, along with 11 other Spanish dogs from Scooby (Barbitas, Olive, Romario, Justin, Devin, Roxana, Alita, Marioneta, Marta, Lola, Giselle and Gus), as they arrived in the US. It was an amazing collaboration involving rescuers and families from four countries (France, Spain, Canada and the US). The true heroes are Virginie, Isabel and Fermin, our friends across the ocean who never gave up hope for these sweet souls! The dogs from this transport mission now live in eight states and from Washington, Florida and in two countries � Canada and the US.

Shortly after the arrival of the September dogs, GRIN discovered that the last of the five pups (one had been adopted in France), was in need of a home as her scheduled adoption to a family in France had fallen through. When Phoenix's parents, (GRIN board members Chris and Stacey Plaskett), heard that puppy Meg needed a forever home it was clear to us all that she would be making the trip to the US with our October rescuers. Meg was reunited with Phoenix who was thrilled to see her as he never forgot his little sister. Although they are quite different, she very timid and no doubt overwhelmed by her whole experience, she has adjusted beautifully and has that silly galgo trait of being quite a clown, in fact, she is the silliest of them all! They are reunited and living the good life in her new "adoptive" home.

Virginie told us about another girl, Anubis, an Ibizan hound still on the island, who had suffered through horrible abuses at the hands of hunters and had required surgery to fix her badly damaged hind leg. Anubis was doing well medically, but she, too, was facing an uncertain fate. She needed to be moved off the island � quickly. We soon found an adopter for Anubis and began planning her transport to mainland Spain. Fermin Perez, founder and president of Scooby, offered his help and picked Anubis up from the Madrid airport, then housed her at Scooby for us.

In addition, GRIN took 10 dogs from four different shelters with the October mission. From Refugio Kimba in Cadiz came Cervantes the podenco; Recal Extremadura in Almendralejo gave us Alex the terrier; Miko, a galgo puppy, came from Amigos De Milord; and from Scooby came Cowboy (a mastin), Stella, Pablo and Sarita (galgos). Our travelers, Rob Park and Jason Cordeiro, spent a week at Scooby before returning with them.

The final piece of this amazing international collaboration came when Isabel from the Caceres refuge, introduced us to Bola, a lovely young wirehair Ibizan hound needing a home. GRIN welcomed Bola with open arms as well. Bola was fostered in Denver and just recently found her forever home in Canada.

GRIN would like to thank everyone involved in this adventure � Isabel from Caceres; Virginie from France; Fermin from Scooby; Maria Jose from Refugio Kimba; Mada Sanguino from Recal Extremadura; Elena from Madrid (who fostered some of these pups while they awaited transport and brought them to the airport in Madrid); our travelers and adopters, our foster families (including Karen Mariani of Ibizan Rescue); and the adoption groups (Sonia Strateman of Elite Greyhounds in Florida and the ladies of Chinook Winds in Canada), who made this all possible!

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Inocente - Victim of Unimaginable Abuses

Inocente - Galgo Rescue Internation Network (GRIN)From the rescuers of Refugio Kimba:

UPDATE! Inocente is doing very well and will be coming to the United States in February! The wonderful people of Elite Greyhounds in Florida, led by Sonia Stratman, are taking Inocente into their adoption program. They will have his broken hind leg surgically corrected and then he will be adopted into a loving home!

Inocente is a beautiful galgo mix, about 3 years old, but with a past that would make any person tremble if they had the least bit of sensitivity.They tried to hang poor "Inocente". He has an old fracture of the tibia with a distal deviation. There are people who do not like animals, who do not want to be next to them, but they let them live in peace. However, there are monsters disguised as humans who are capable of the unimaginable from the time they are very young. They are the future abusers of all living beings, both human and non human.

What they did to Inocente forms a part of their formation as a future sadist. Instead of attending school to receive an education, they grow up en masse like savages, even though we live in the 21st century. It's an embarrassment to all the citizens of this country, and we hear more and more news of a more irrational type of abuse all the time.

The truth is that the animal protection societies do not know how to put an end to this evil. More and more often we have to take on cases of animals who arrive in lamentable conditions, and we receive no sort of help from the administration. We need to thank a thousand times over all of our members for their membership fees, and all of the donations from our friends abroad. With their help we are able to end the suffering for some of the animals.

Those of us who dedicate our time to help ease animal suffering are not even given the water for free for these animals to drink. But those who are dedicated to torture and to bloody perfomances are given subsidies.
Tell us that this isn't a disgrace of a country.

Kimba is asking that someone please help to find a family for Inocente. One that will give him all the love possible and who will help him to forget his past in Chiclana de la Frontera.

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