Roberta has a new home

Two weeks ago, we introduced you to Roberta, a sweet senior galga who needed to find a new home. 

We're utterly ecstatic to report that Roberta has found her Forever Home, and she's already doing remarkably well — one of her new owners even said 'I can't think of a single thing that hasn't gone better than I expected!' so it's safe to say that things are off to a fantastic start.

Thank you so much to everyone who helped share our posts and get the word out there. 

Senior galga available for adoption!

UPDATE: Roberta has a new home!

Meet Roberta!

This lovely galga is approximately 11-12 years old, and she was quite fast and agile when she was younger. Based on her speed and prey drive, she was likely quite the hunter, though she doesn’t show any interest in cats outdoors. She has, however, gotten into a few tangles with raccoons that entered her yard, and she’s lost an incisor and a little skin and fur on her face due to those incidents.

Roberta likes to be with people, and she loves walks, though she can sometimes become aggressive to other dogs. Though she’s not a fan of community dog parks, she loves to run off-lead in enclosed areas.

As she has gotten older she requires more attention, and she sometimes will chew on houseplants if she doesn’t get her way. Her current owners’ schedule does not permit letting her out as frequently as Roberta requires at this point in her life, and she will sometimes have accidents in the house; this is exacerbated when the weather is cold, but it shouldn’t be an issue if you’re available to let her out more often. Like most sighthounds, she is sensitive to the cold, so she must wear a coat in the winter.  She is bothered by lightning, thunder and fireworks, but a Thundershirt seems to help with that.

Roberta has no major health issues, but she may be showing signs of glaucoma and hearing loss. She has had teeth cleanings, but like many of her senior greyhound cousins, she has lost at least half of her teeth. At this time, she has no problem eating dry kibble, and she still loves crunchy  treats.

She currently lives in Colorado with a younger, more energetic galgo and seems to get along quite well with him. Please consider welcoming this lovely senior girl into your home!

Remembering Argos

Argos arrived in Atlanta in October of 2008. I was there to meet him along with Shannon and Justin, and I remember how they welcomed him into their arms and their lives. Unfortunately, they recently had to let him go. Shannon wrote a beautiful eulogy on her site, Masquerade Hounds. 

Run free, Argos.

GRIN tabling at Tagawa Gardens

Plants and pets are a natural combination. GRIN participated in the Grey Kitty Birthday Celebration & Pet Rescue Event at Tagawa Gardens on July 12 and 13. Each year, to honor their grey rescue kitty (each successive cat is named Grey Kitty!), the outstanding garden center in Parker, CO, hosts a free tabling event for local rescue groups. Flanked by Collie and Shelter Rescue and Colorado Greyhound Adoption, Judy Greenfield (owned by galga Prisa) and Gail Baxter (owned by galga Esperanza) staffed the table and answered questions. (Check out the new GRIN banner!). It was an opportunity to educate others, including fellow rescuers, about the plight of the galgo and podenco in Spain. Those who read the literature and absorbed the photos were visibly moved.  

Everyone can educate and promote the galgo and podenco cause: all it takes is some GRIN business cards and your ambassadog. We need to spread the word, educate others, ask for help. The Spanish hunting dogs depend on it.   

If you're interested in volunteering at or hosting an event, please send an email to chris@galgorescue.org.

Galgos available for adoption!

Three galgos are available for adoption through Scooby North America. Kingsley, Shark, and Noche are already being fostered in the US, and they'd love to find their forever homes.

There are more photos as well as descriptions of the dogs' personalities on Scooby's Available Dogs page — if you're considering adopting a galgo, this could be the perfect opportunity!

Do You Need Anything? You Can Help!

That's not a typo — if there's anything you (or your hound) might need, you can help support GRIN.

smile.amazon.com

If you're shopping for anything specific, and you were thinking about making the purchase on Amazon.com, please visit smile.amazon.com instead: It's Amazon's way of making donations to a charity that you select. At  smile.amazon.com, you can select GRIN as the 501(c)(3) you want to support, and when you checkout, a portion of your purchase will automatically be donated without affecting the price of your items or altering your Amazon experience.

You can check out more information on the program here.

If you're not sure what you want, but you're looking for something incredible and unique for your hounds or the hounds of a friend, you might fall in love with BarkBox. 

barkbox.com

BarkBox is a fantastic service that sends a box of curated, high-quality toys, treats, and other dog-specific products straight to your door each month. They're committed to making sure that everything you receive is both awesome and size-appropriate for your dog, and they're also committed to supporting dog rescues — if you use this link or enter the code GALRBBX1 when you order, GRIN will receive 10% of the cost of your order.

Refocusing on What Matters Most

GRIN has been able to do amazing things since it was founded nearly a decade ago. With your support and donations, we have achieved great success in our mission: we’ve helped countless dogs, provided relief for overburdened shelters, facilitated the transport of supplies, and we’ve adopted hounds into loving forever homes. It has been truly incredible to have the opportunity to do so much good.

Unfortunately, changes in airline regulations have made adoptions very difficult and expensive propositions: The cost of bringing a single dog to North America can easily reach or exceed $1,000, and the logistics of the trips can take months to plan. As much as we at GRIN love seeing Spanish hounds find homes here, the amount of time spent and money invested are difficult to justify: $1,000 is a very significant amount for the shelters we support, and it’s of paramount importance to us that every dollar we take in go as far as it can to help as many dogs as it can. Additionally, GRIN does not have a foster network that could step in to take in a hound should one need to be re-homed. 

The convergence of these factors has led us to the decision to narrow our focus to fundraising, education, and support. 

If you are interested in adopting a Galgo in the United States or Canada, please let us know, and we’ll connect you with an organization in our network that either specializes in international adoptions or that may have Spanish dogs in foster homes in North America already.

As always, thank you so much for your support.

Warm regards from all of us at GRIN.

Running the Distance Facebook auction ends April 13!

The Running the Distance for Galgos and Podencos Facebook auction features over 120 items perfect for you or your hound-loving friends.

Take a look here and get your bid in before the auction ends!