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
GRIN FUNDRAISER STARTS TODAY!
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
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!
FALL TRANSPORTS AROUND THE CORNER!
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
Rey the Abandoned Galgo Now the King of Kings
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
OUTRAGEOUS!! Race Track Opens In Southern Spain in Mijas!!
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
Misery Revealed in Valencia for Podencos
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!
Emergency Auction for Galgo Rey
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
U.S. Greyhound Groups Helping our Friends in Spain
I just want to mention and thank two Greyhound Groups who have lent a hand to our friends in Spain this past month.
Leaving Tracks Greyhound Rescue out of Atlanta GA www.leavingtracks.org has been a faithful supporter of the Galgos as well as of their beloved Greyhounds. Their hearts are big and they want to help those who are less fortunate, even if it is in another country. We want to thank them for their support in the past as well as the most current effort they sponsored which was a Yoga Fundraiser that brought in a very nice donation for a shelter that they chose, our friend Vera Thoranaar's Galgos en Familia in Malaga Spain. It was perfect timing for her as she has taken on a mother galga with 8 puppies who were in great peril in Sevilla if not rescued. This of course has added to her "population" at the shelter and the money will be well used. Not only are the pups growing and eating abundatly, but Vera discovered they also came with a skin problem that needs medication for each pup. Vera has been "Anointing" the puppies every day with their skin meds and pumping with vitamins as well.. Thanks to Leaving Tracks these pups have some help they needed..
Another help for Vera came from a Greyhound group called Fast Friends in NH www.helpinggreyhounds.org They heard Vera needed to purchase some extra shelter/dog houses so that she could take out a few more galgos that are waiting at the kill station and bring them to her shelter. She could not do that with the spaces she had available so this would help save lives. A wonderfully generous donation came in to GRIN for the dog houses, and just in time! They are now the new nursery for the mamma Galga Dixie and her 8 puppies!! Vera said she doesn't know what she would have done without the house..the puppies love it!
Part of this donation also went to help Silvia of Galgo Connection Spain www.galgoconnectionspain.org with many of the medical needs she had for the galgos she is also pulling out of the kill stations. Fast Friends has also reached out to help one of Silvia's galgos named Dartacan who she rescued from a kill station just in time. They have "reserved" him for our Fall transport and we are so happy that he will get his chance coming into the loving arms of Fast Friends!! We will follow up on Dartacan's journey in the fall for you to all read..
We want to thank these two groups for sharing the help and for caring about the less fortunate sighthounds who depend on donations from abroad just to survive. Gracias Amigas!!
Last But Not Least! Final Transport Before the Summer Heat - May 28, 2012 for Paloma and Trini
The story of Angela Angelica now renamed Paloma goes back a full year. This is when Char del Rio of www.112carlotagalgos.org heeded the call of this poor unfortunate mamma dog. You see, Angela was found dazed and in a world of pain suffering from mastitis on the street. This condition is horribly painful when puppies are taken from their mothers and they can not give them their milk. Not only was she suffering from that condition, cast out on the street, but also suffering the loss of her pups. What would happen to her?
Her luck changed the day Char del Rio who happened to be at the vet, was told that a lady had found this poor little podenca in this horrible state and there was no room at any other place or association for her. Char did not hesitate knowing the fate of this little mamma without hope. Into her protectora, 112carlotasgalgos she went. The life of a rescued Podenca would be one of waiting and waiting for her chance..after one year there was interest for her finally and she would have her chance! This little girl waiting so long seeing her kennel mates coming and going..she was their friend and the calm energy that healed the other hurt or needy dogs that came also to the stable to find refuge. But her turn has come!! Not only that, she would be going to California to live with Darla Szalla and Stephani Patterson along with greyhounds, a galga named Zoe/Portia and a podenca named Luna/Precious of Galgos del Sol. What better home could she have found!!
Angela will be traveling with Trini the Podenca of Galgo Connection Spain, from Madrid to LAX-Los Angeles on May 28th!
Little Mamma we are all waiting for those forever home pictures!!
Our friend Silvia Bordetas Gil of Galgo Connection Spain www.galgoconnectionspain.org spotted this shy little girl in the kill station with a seeming eye or molar infection that had broken the skin under the eye..What pain she must have been suffering. Silvia could not leave her there and pulled her just in time. Her name is Trini and coming to Silvia was her lucky day! Immediate veterinary care was needed and she was taken care of. Her wounds have now healed physically, but she is still shy with loud noises, probably to gun shots which is why she may have ended up at the kill station..After all what good is a Podenca that is afraid of gun shots if you are a hunter! Well in her case it was her way out!! She has a wonderful home waiting for her in Arizona with Keith Lewis and she will have the company of greyhounds, borzois, Iggys and even a Portugues Podengo! Trini, your life has changed thanks to GCS, Silvia and GRIN who helped put it all together for you! We will be looking forward to the forever home couch pictures soon!
To Croatia With Love - An Amazing Networking Tale!
The following story is one that you must take some time to read and you will see the circle of love that is "Galgo Rescue" .
You see, G.R.I.N. is Galgo Rescue International Network our motto is helping Sighthounds world wide. This story gets to the heart of what we do through our "international" contacts who work so hard to find loving homes for the abandoned dogs of Spain. You will enjoy this story as I did and the fact that GRIN contributed to the "adoption circle" is an added blessing. OK the way it began was with an email from Croatia to G.R.I.N. that was forward to me, Telma Shaw, it was an inquiry about finding a puppy that should be part sighthound and part mix. Now, that was an unusual request! I immediately responded as that peaked my interest and I learned that there are some special reasons behind the request and I will share with you the story the adopter told me about why she was looking for a particular type of dog. Once I read her email, I knew G.R.I.N. had to help her! I thought of puppies that I knew of in Spain that needed homes and emailed my dear friend Vera Thoranaar of Galgos en Familia in Malaga. That was the first step that lead Vera to contact her rescue friend named Mahesh who had recently rescued several puppies found stranded all alone without their mother near a river bed..One, named Chica would someday complete the circle of love that had started for this adopter 17 years previously.
One last thing I might add now, is that this little white galgo mix named Chica is living a wonderful life with Andreja now in Croatia, soon to become a world traveler with her new mom. A match made in heaven. Both extremely happy. You will see that this little pup has only continued the love that a beloved dog named Mrvica gave to Andreja. She is a special little girl and so was Mrvica..Thank you everyone for the amazing networking it took to fulfill someones dream, and not just Andrejas, but also Chicas.
Hi !
I will explain, but it is a very special story. There will be some fotos in the attachment, so you will understand better. 1994 I got the best gift ever ! At that time I used to live in Cozumel/Mexico. One day I was visiting my friend, who was not at home, so her neighbor, a mariachi singer invited me into her garden. There were 5 puppys, 4 male and brownish and a blond girl. The blond girl came straight to me and hughed my foot. It was love on first sight, but because I allways was travelling I did not think about taking a dog. The next day the mariachi singer's maid, a maya girl, came looking for me, I went back to the artist's villa with her. There I heard the incredible story, that the blond puppy refuses to eat and that she got very sad when I left. So I was given the bottle of milk and asked to try. When the blond puppy saw me, she came running to me, I picked her up and she drank the hole bottle happyly in a minute. She did not want to leave my side. The lady, the owner, looked surprised. As she is a singer, she is very emotional and feeling and decided not to sell the puppy, she was giving it to me with the words "you two found each other, you are ment to be together. One day you will find out why, but from today on you are lucky, you have your soulmate.
I gave her the name "Mrvica" which means bread crumbs in English, she was almost 8 weeks old and decided to follow me. She was not scared and tried to climb my motor bike to be with me.
For 17 years she did not leave my side, we were together 24/7, she travelled everywhere with me and was at home at a Caribbean beach as well as in the streets of New York or Vienna. She loved to join me on my motor bike or on the wave runner or sailing boot. She loved to swimm with me and enjoyed the snow. 3 times she saved my live ! At 3 o'clock in the morning in Sosua/Domenican Republic my Mrvica started jumping on my bed liking my face and barked till I got out with her. She did not need to go to the bathroom, but she did not let me go back to our flat. I was angry and tired, but she refused to go back and was very upsad when I tried to enter the building. So I stayed with her where she decided to be, in an opened field. Suddenly there was this frightening sound and the earth started moving. I hughed Mrvica as we were falling to the ground and watched the building going down. We were the only survivers. Then, also in the Dominican Republic in an other flat, a fire started while I was sleeping. Mrvica woke me up by liking me and barking, then she managed to drag my 50 kilos with her 16 kg to the entrance door. She opened the door by jumping, pulled my head out and took off to get help. Still today the firemen of Cabarete tell the story of the amazing dog that saved her owners live.
This girly was my everything and I enjoyed every second of our 17 years together. She didn't need a leash, weather in N.Y.C. nor in the dungle. We understood each other by looks and few words. I was so blessed having her.
Then last year Mrvica was diagnosed with a tumor in her intestins. She was operated in the famouse Tierklinik Haar bei Muenchen in Germany, but had to be opened again because of sepsis. She survived, but in the afternoon after her second operation she died suddenly - it was to much for her.
My world broke down, I still hav'nt recuperated. I miss her pure unconditioned love.
Now I am searching.
Mrvica's mom was a Sloughi, a present from a Tuark princ to the mariachi singer after he fall in love with her voice at a koncert in Tripolis. The singer continued her concert tour with her new dog. In Phoenix/Arizona while giving a concert her Sloughi lady got pregnant by the drummer's yellow lab, behind the stage. The singer went to relax to Cozumel were the 5 puppies were born.
That's why I am looking for a mix of a Sighthound/Whippet mom and yellow lab dad.
sincerely, Andreja
Chica traveled from Spain to Italy with a Spanish rescue lady and met her new mom there. From Italy, they traveled to Croatia together.
May your life be filled with love and fun and may Mrvicas memory endure as well in your hearts!
Happy Trails...G.R.I.N.