PROJECTS

International Projects

Galgos del Sol

We were pleased to be able to offer funding for some work on the education centre at Galgos del Sol in Murcia.

We funded the original building at GDS and Tina, Sam and their team have been able to offer an increasing number of schools the chance to visit the centre and meet and learn about the galgos. These visits are enjoyed by the children and more outside space was needed to help with the growing number of children visiting GDS and taking part in the education project.  You can see from the photos the original area has now been extended and the awnings have been added.

We also purchased a larger screen TV for the classroom to make it easier for the children to view the presentations, website etc.

Sandy who runs Galgos Rescue Almeria rescues many galgos in her area and this year, like so many of the shelters, has received more galgos than normal.  They were looking to increase the kennel area so that they could accommodate more dogs and asked for our help.

We have been able to offer to fund two new kennel areas for them.  Work has started and the first new kennel is up and work is continuing on the other kennel and getting this kitted out for the dogs.

We have also been able to offer some help for some awnings at the centre which will provide much needed shade for the dogs during the very hot weather.

Galgos del Sol (GDS)

We have supported Tina and GDS since their early days and recently Tina wrote about a project they wanted to do at the centre. They wanted to build a completely separate parvo treatment area on the side of the puppy block.  It needed a mini vets only for parvo dogs and a human shower and changing area. It has to be completely contained as with so many dogs at the shelter at any one time a major priority is to reduce the potential of parvo or other diseases spreading.

Tina is great at sending us update reports on projects we help them with and you can see here the various stages of this latest project which I am pleased to say is now complete and is already in use.

 

SOS Galgos, Barcelona

We are pleased to be working with Anna and her team at SOS Galgos, Barcelona. They have been helping greyhounds and galgos for many years and we have been pleased to help with some boarding and transport costs for some of the galgos they have helped.

We have known for some time that Anna wanted to have her own kennels and were thrilled to hear that she recently signed the lease on kennels in Barcelona and they will be called “SOS Galgos Rescue and Education Centre”

They are currently busy getting the new centre ready to receive galgos and we have been able to offer funding  towards the new fencing that was required to improve access and security.

Photos from SOS Galgos

They also work hard on promoting legislation, informing and educating the public, and working to change the Spanish perception towards galgos. We are very pleased that they are keen to promote and use our educational material  and their new centre will have a separate area devoted to education.

We recently sent them three large boxes of coats, blankets, leads and dog bowls along with more educational material.

Galgos del Sol, Murcia

We have been able to fund the building of some mini kennels at Galgos del Sol in Murcia. Tina and her team rescue many galgos in and around their area and work tirelessly to give them every chance to recover from their ordeals and have the chance of life in a home.

We have supported Tina for some years now and on our second visit in 2015 we were able to visit the site of the new shelter, it was huge and work had just started on the first kennel block.
Over the years we have continued to support the work of Tina and her helpers with funding for initial veterinary costs, education grants etc and also been able to take some galgos from her for homing here in the UK.

Our new group will be coming from Galgos del Sol and you can see more details of this lovely group here https://greyhoundsinneed.co.uk/dogs/galgos_uk/

We heard from Tina earlier this year that the final project at the shelter was to provide two day parks for the galgos, two areas at the far end of the site, away from the kennels where the dogs could spend the day and chill out with each other and the volunteers.

Some dogs do not do well in a kennel environment no matter how much love and care they receive and for the nervous dogs these parks should prove invaluable.

We were therefore pleased to be able to offer funding for the mini kennels that were needed in these parks to provide some shade for the dogs.

The mini kennels are now complete and Nomi at Galgos del Sol is getting them ready for the galgos.

                                      

                                     

Download as a PDF – Click here

Galgos del Sol, Murcia

We have supported Tina and her team at Galgos del Sol for many years now. They work tirelessly helping the galgos and we have been able to fund the initial veterinary costs for many galgos they have rescued as well as funding projects at their centre.

In our last newsletter we mentioned the kind donations we had received in memory of our Founder, Anne Finch, and after funding the planting of 100 trees at Galgos del Sol, in her memory, we offered additional funding to expand the sensory garden at the centre.

This project is now complete and will help Tina and her team rehabilitate the galgos giving them a quiet, calm area away from the main kennels to socialise and gain confidence with new surroundings and people.

Anne’s three legged galgo, Mario, came from Galgos de Sol.

 

112carlotagalgos, Malaga

We were recently able to visit Charlotte and Dioni at 112carlottagalgos in Malaga. They had moved premises since our last visit so we were all excited to see their new finca.

It was larger than their previous finca but Charlotte and Dioni have worked hard to make it a lovely place for the galgos to live and be cared for until they are ready for adoption.

They have recently added a clinic building to their premises and having a vet on site certainly eases the burden on Charlotte as the regular visits to the vets with so many dogs took up a lot of her day. We were very impressed with the clinic and were able to meet Rosa, the vet. Charlotte had asked us for some help with the clinic and this made our visit very important so that we could see for ourselves what was needed. Leigh, one of our Trustees, himself a vet, was able to discuss the clinic and equipment with Rosa and Charlotte and we are pleased to say that we have funded the purchase of the following veterinary equipment to aid their work.

Oxygen Concentrator
Anaesthetic Machine
Scales
Operating Lamp
Laryngoscope
Anaesthetic circuits and consumables
Surgical Tray
Suture materials
Anaesthetic Monitoring machine
Surgical equipment

This year we have given funding towards initial veterinary costs for 24 galgos they have rescued and you can see photos of the last 12 galgos helped here.

RECAL, Almendralejo 

We have supported RECAL for a number of years now and some time ago funded some exercise paddocks to be built so that the dogs could have more room to run around. This has helped with socialising them and RECAL’s adoption programme. Mada, who runs RECAL, has also used this area for some of the school education visits. We have just been able to fund some new shaded areas/repairs to existing areas just in time for the summer months where the temperatures can rise to 40º !

Education

The education project is doing very well in Spain and the numbers of children being reached by several shelters is so encouraging. The activities on our site can be easily downloaded and printed off and the children are encouraged to take part in our drawing competitions. For more information, see Education site

 

2019 Projects

RECAL, Almendralejo – We have been able to fund much needed improvements and repairs to some of the kennels at RECAL.. These are now complete and Mada and her team have been finishing the kennels off by giving them a lick of paint.

The majority of the galgos we bring to the UK come from this area of Spain. We also support galgos that Mada rehomes in France ,Spain, Germany and Holland.

 

 

2018 Projects

Arca de Noe, Albacete — We are pleased to report that the new interior fencing at Arca de Noe in Albacete has now been completed. Much of the fencing had been up for 10 years and was in need of replacement so we were pleased to be able to fund this.

Galgos del Sol, Murcia — The education building we have been able to fund is now complete. Tina and Sam have been very busy organising school visits and workshops at the centre. We are pleased the education project is doing well.

APA Santa Clara, Tobarra  We offered funding for two kennel blocks for the galgos Margaret and Carmen can help at their new shelter.

They moved in a few months ago and it’s great to know they have a purpose built shelter which will definitely help their work. We’ve also been able to offer funding for some shading, storage and security.

 

 

2017 Projects

Arca de Noe—We were able to visit this shelter again in June this year and it was good to be see the many improvements that have been made since our last visit. The new kennel blocks have made such a difference and in the heat were nice cool places for the dogs to shelter in—and us at times ! We continue to fund the veterinary costs for the galgos Sole and her team are able to rescue. Last year around 170 were rescued, cared for, transported and adopted in France, Germany, Italy and Slovenia.

Two new projects were discussed when we visited—one was replacing the interior fencing. The current fencing was installed over 10 years ago and is important as it keeps the dogs securely separated in their paddocks. This now needs replacing and we have offered some funding towards this.

Another project we are funding is a new roof on the quarantine kennel block. Dogs are kept in this block when they first arrive so they can be checked, treated if necessary, before mixing with the dogs already at the kennels.

Work will be starting soon.

APA Santa Clara—this was our first visit to APA Santa Clara. Margaret who runs this shelter had written to us earlier this year to ask if we could offer any help. Our visit coincided with the urgent need for this shelter to move from their current premises to new land being offered by the council.

We were able to visit the current shelter and the new piece of land and were able to discuss the necessary work. Margaret had sent us plans for this project. Margaret and her team help all breeds of dogs, and some cats, in their area. After discussions with our Trustees, on our return, we have offered funding for the building of two kennel blocks for the galgos they rescue. Work has started on this project and hopefully they will be moving in before the end of the year.

Galgos del Sol—Our next stop was to visit Tina and the new centre and what a difference from our last visit. Last time we saw a large piece of land with the first kennel block under construction. Tina and her team have worked so hard to get this centre off the ground and it was amazing that so much has been achieved. We saw lots of happy dogs, volunteers working hard playing and caring for the dogs. The sensory walk, the play areas and still lots of space for more to be added. We were glad that the new office, with air conditioning, had just been completed so we could shelter in there from the heat!

Tina is as keen as us to promote education in her area and uses the GIN materials in her education work. We discussed our new website with her and were able to look at the plans she has for a new education building on the site. We have now offered funding for this building and work has started. Tina also mentioned running free bi-lingual five week courses for local children, using the material, to help them understand more about the galgos in their area. She hopes that parents will be keen to enrol their children.

 

Arca de Noe

Arca de Noe, Albacete

In our Spring/Summer newsletter we reported that the Arca de Noe shelter in Albacete needed to carry out work to change the layout of their veterinary clinic in order to comply with new laws coming into force in June 2016. Together with the structural work needed at the clinic additional veterinary equipment would have to be purchased.

We have worked with Arca de Noe for many years. They help large numbers of dogs, and some cats, every year, including the galgos.

It is less stressful for the rescued dogs to undergo necessary veterinary work at the shelter rather than have to travel back and forth to the clinic in the town. We fund the veterinary costs for their galgos who are homed in France, Italy, Germany, Slovenia and Switzerland, and were pleased to be able to offer funding for this project.

Leigh, our vet Trustee, was able to source some of the veterinary equipment.

When we last met Sole and her team we discussed the need to improve the paddock areas for the galgos. During the winter these areas flood and the water does not drain away very quickly so it is not good for the dogs and limits the areas they can be allowed in. Also the covered areas were in need of repair and we have been able to fund the building of 6 new “houses” in the paddocks. Four houses have been completed and two will be finished before the winter.

Galgos del Sol, Murcia

We have supported Tina of Galgos del Sol almost from the beginning of her work for the galgos by giving funding towards veterinary costs for some of the galgos she has rescued. Our last visit was in 2011 and Tina and her team have achieved so much in the last five years.

We visited again last October and were able to see the land where the new Galgos del Sol centre would be built. This is a huge project and will take time to complete but we were able to see that work had started on the first kennel block.

Tina showed us the plans for the project and discussions followed. We could all appreciate that once the work is complete life will become easier for Tina and her team. Having all the dogs in one place, and having a centre where people can visit and help care for the dogs until they are homed would make a big difference.

The urgent work was to get the kennel blocks built and move the galgos from the rented fincas to the new centre. We have now been able to give funding to sponsor 15 kennels in the second kennel block. Work has started already and should be completed very soon.

Tina and her team have also been busy promoting education in their area by visiting local schools and taking a galgo or two along to meet the children.