Dear Friends:

There are times when we have time to write and others when we have less time, but today I have proposed myself to leave everything aside and write to you to keep you informed about the news at the shelter. These days have been very hard. The quantity of dogs we picked up is huge. Even when I have to say that we were able to make a transport with dogs to Europe and that some dogs have been adopted here in Spain, the number of Galgos and dogs of other races has grown in an alarming way, so much so that we had to put rescue operations on hold, such as the one from El Cuervo, Sevilla, until we can empty the shelter a bit more.

Right now we have more than 450 dogs and we constantly receive calls from different places to go and pick more, for which we have a big waiting list which grows everyday more. As an example, today Ma José went to Cuellar to try to rescue an abandoned and very scared Galga. After being there all afternoon, in the end the Galga didn’t want to get into the trap cage, so we will have to go back soon to try and get her.

This year there have been more Galgo abandonments than usual. Especially Galgos, because there are not only the ones left at the shelter. But we have also seen a huge number of Galgos on the streets which are impossible to rescue, for they avoid us. And obviously, and as expected, the increase in the number of traffic victims. The reason why could be due to the fact that until this year the Federacion Española de Caza (Spanish Hunting Federation) had an agreement with a pound in Simancas and with another one in Zamora (that we know about), in which all hunting dogs discarded by the hunters ended there to be euthanized. Supposedly in a decent way, although I don’t understand where the dignity is in something like this. I think that there was no control, and the rumour is that there were real atrocities, like the fact that the dogs were euthanized as soon as they arrived to the pounds, and things like that that we can’t prove but there are rumours.

As I was telling you, it seems that the Hunting Federation, after confirming that more than 80% of the dogs arriving to the pounds were Galgos, asked the Federacion Española de Galgos (Spanish Galgo Federation) to share the costs. And it seems that they refused to do so, for which the Hunting Federation refused to keep on paying for the galgueros to get rid of their “end of the season waste”. Yes, these adorable Galgos, for them they are nothing but garbage when the season ends. For them it is not even worth to pay the vet to put these dogs down in a decent way. They even say that they protect the Galgos, and create a platform together with some shelters that they so-call “Platform for the Defence of the Spanish Galgo”. Even if it could have been a good idea, I’m afraid that there is no interest in protecting the Galgos but rather to protect their own reputation.

Anyway, I could tell you many more things, but I believe we should go to practical things. In this case, that you adopt the dogs in our shelter, the more the better. Lately adoptions have been reduced and you know that our dogs need you. Remember that when you adopt one dog, you save two lives. The life of the adopted dog, and the life of the dog that can take his place at the shelter. We have an enormous waiting list, and would like to reduce it as soon as possible.

Regards, and thank you very much.