By Judy Greenfield
On January 6, 2005, Prisa, along with four other galgos, was rescued from a 60 foot well in the Spanish countryside by the local firefighters and Scooby Medina refuge.* Besides abandoning and hanging them or turning the galgos into a killing station, it was one of the ways that galgueros (hunters) got rid of their dogs at the end of the hunting season. Prisa and the others were rescued on the exact day that we had to euthanize my first dog, a racing greyhound. It was nothing short of a miracle when she landed at Denver International Airport a year and a half later, to join our family.
Prisa
We adopted her through G.R.I.N. after becoming acquainted with her via the Scooby website through photos of her in various stages of rescue and recovery. In “person” we were surprised when we saw what a little bug she was, so much smaller than a racing greyhound at just 42 pounds, with bold black and white markings, polka dot ears, black ticking and golden brown, soulful eyes. Prisa must have grown up with a very negative opinion of humans. She was semi-feral and spooked by — well — just about everything including us when she first arrived, and many months after.
Judy & Prisa
With time, she grew to trust us, enjoy the good things life had to offer and her true light-hearted, playful and intelligent side emerged. Prisa traveled with us and became our hiking companion in the Colorado mountains where her breed’s endurance and agility proved assets. We had many adventures together. Sadly, with advanced age, our once-athletic dog developed congestive heart failure and her hindquarters began to fail. On February 27, 2018, I made the heartrending decision to have our little galguita euthanized before she became too distressed by her labored breathing. Our guess is that she was at least 15 years old. Once someone’s throw-away basura, to us she was our treasured galguita preciosa. After surviving a deep well, Prisa became a citizen of the mile high city of Denver. Prisa lives on in our hearts, in our memories, in photos and in the silhouettes gracing the G.R.I.N. logo. In tribute, I plan to continue to educate others about their plight in Spain and help the good people in that country who struggle to save them.
*In an unprecedented case, the two galgueros who threw the five galgos down the well were caught and tried in court. They received a monetary fine and were prohibited from hunting with dogs for a period of time