Today is World Galgo Day. Galgos or Spanish Greyhounds are gentle sighthounds who are used by ‘galgueros’ (hunters) in Spain during the hunting season which ends on 1st February. The number of galgos who are well cared for by their galgueros remains small. The majority of galgos are poorly treated during the hunting season and will be abandoned or killed as soon as the season is over.
A number of concerned and kind-hearted souls have begun to bring light into this shadow. They have created shelters where abandoned galgos can be cared for and rehomed into loving homes. They put pressure on governments to protect the galgos and have them recognised as sentient beings. When people come together in love and kindness miracles can happen. We pray that all galgos will be able to enjoy the kind of blessings that have come our way.
gentle hounds
deserve a soft landing
in loving homes
© Xenia Tran
Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.
Camera: Panasonic Lumix FZ200, setting: iA, 1/500 s.
Additional Information:
The campaign by Pet Levrieri resulted in the successful ban of greyhound and galgo racing in Argentina and they are now working towards similar bans in Chile and Uruguay. You can read their inspirational story when you follow the link.
Galgos del Sol is a galgo rescue organisation based in Spain that currently rehomes galgos in the UK, USA, Belgium, The Netherlands, Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Greyhounds in Need (GIN) is a UK-based charity that supports galgo charities in Spain with veterinary care, blankets and coats for the dogs, renovation of shelter spaces, transport and education programmes. They rehome greyhounds and galgos in the UK and the rest of Europe.
Please note that if you Google ‘galgos’ or ‘world galgo day’ you may find some of the images you see very distressing.
In response to Discover Challenge: Speak Out
Dutch Goes The Photo Tuesday Photo Challenge: Land
Carpe Diem #1140 – Arriving At The Right Moment
dVerse Poets – Have a Heart
It’s heartbreaking how these gentle animals can be so consistently mistreated. Your beautiful haiku is spot-on! Every sighthound – indeed, every dog – deserves a loving home.
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Thank you for your kind words Annabelle. The shelters in Spain continue to grow and their education programmes in local schools are doing a lot of good in terms of changing mindsets of younger generations. Galgos are the sweetest dogs and yes, every dog deserves a loving home. Thank you for stopping by and much love to you, Millie and Pearl xxx
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Once again, I am deeply touched and have learned something from your “family”. Thank you,
Kathie
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Thank you for your kind words Kathie and much love to you all xxx
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I know when I lived in Spain I was told that greyhounds where disliked and mistreated. There were rescue centres in Spain. So sad, greyhounds/whippets are such gentle dogs.
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Thank you Elaine, they are very gentle souls 💖 xxx
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Your haiku is so true ❤ Galgos are treated shamefully 😥 I follow Galgos del Sol and the wonderful work they do. xxx
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Thank you for your kind words Cathy and lovely to hear you follow Galgos del Sol and their amazing work too. Much love to you and Finn xxx
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Thank you, and to you, Eivor and Pearl 💖 xxx
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Thank you Cathy xxx
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Love this post! Greyhounds are such wonderful, gentle dogs!
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Thank you kindly Frank :o)
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Reblogged this on saywhatumean2say.
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Thank you so much ~~dru ~~ xxx
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I had no idea. Why would they mistreat, abandon, or kill the galgos after the hunting season ends? Wouldn’t they need a dog for next year’s hunting season? Of course, I don’t understand any mistreatment of an animal. So sad, but glad to see that there are organizations trying to make a change for the better.
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Sadly the majority of galgueros do not want to feed or house the galgos once the season is over. They prefer to get rid of them and then get a different dog for the new season. Thankfully more and more people are raising awareness, shelters continue to grow and rescue more dogs and education programmes are beginning to have a positive impact. Thank you kindly for your caring thoughts and much love to you and Tippy xxx
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What a horrible thing. Most people I’ve known put a lot of time and care into their hunting dogs here in the States. So sad that the concept of the them being disposable exists.
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Thank you Amy, it is so sad and not that different from the greyhound racing industry where many dogs disappear when they are no longer needed. Many of the greyhound and galgo charities are working hard to raise awareness and bring about positive change. Thank you for caring Amy and have a blessed rest of the day 💖 xxx
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Aw, poor galgos. Thanks for opening our eyes.
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Thank you Shielagh 💖
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I saw this on Instagram today and it really hurt my heart. Thanks for brining awareness to this issue.
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Thank you for your kindness Molly xxx
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Thank you for sharing the plight of these innocent creatures.
With continued support, hope remains high that we can relieve their suffering.
Seek peace,
Paz
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Thank you kindly Paz, hope remains high. Peace and blessings xxx
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The kind-hearted and gentle souls are so blessed. We have a greyhound park here in town which people have tried to close down for awhile. We also have a greyhound rescue for the older dogs…who can no longer race. They are the absolute sweetest……
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Thank you dear Lois, greyhounds too are the absolute sweetest and it is good to see there is a rescue near you xxx
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Reblogged this on DoggyMom.com and commented:
Izzy is a greyhound and we support all efforts to help the Galgos.
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Thank you so much for the reblog xxx
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What a beautiful haibun. I knew about rescues for greyhounds that were used for races in the U.S. but never knew about the plight of these poor animals in Spain. When I retire I wanted to adopt one. Thank you for sharing this. May I reblog this?
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Thank you for your kind words Cheryl-Lynn and so wonderful to hear you want to adopt one when you retire. They make wonderful pets. Please feel free to reblog and thank you for asking xxx
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Thank you, is it only in Spain you find this breed that people use for hunting?
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As far as I am aware you can find them in Chile and Argentina too. The UK-based charities only work with the Spanish charities to help rehome galgos from Spain.
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Thanks
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So sad the way we treat animals! So heartening to know there are people like you to advocate for them.
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Thank you Laurie 💖
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Reblogged this on Stop the Stigma and commented:
Yesterday ws World Galgo Day to create awareness to Galgo Greyhounds (Spanish greyhounds) who are used for hunting and too often mistreated or killed. Read more to see how perhaps you or someone who can, can help.
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Thank you so much for the reblog xxx
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Thank you for sharing this. And thank you to everyone who’s welcomed a greyhound into their home. I see several around our streets quite often. One woman hops on her scooter at about 5.30am and the greyhound trots along at great speed as they head over to the offleash park. Looks fun all around.
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Thank you for your kind words Naomi and for sharing this lovely story about a happy greyhound trotting along to the offleash park early in the morning. These dogs are wonderful companions 💖
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😊
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A sad story Xenia. I cannot understand when a country allows (mostly men) to practice a culture of cruelty towards animals. As for hunting and killing animals I have one opinion….psychopaths with guns
Is animal welfare low priority in Spain?
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Thank you Denis and yes, the animal cruelty in Spain seems to be mainly practiced by men and condoned by consecutive Spanish governments. When Catalonia introduced a ban on bullfighting it was overruled by the Spanish courts and animal welfare does not appear to be a priority for those who rule the country. There is, however, a growing movement among the people to march and campaign on animal welfare issues.
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What beautiful dogs, Xenia ❤ Thank you. So nice to connect with you.
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Thank you Debbie, sending blessings 💖
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What a lovely post. These people do indeed have big hearts. It reminds me very much of the plight of greyhounds in the US….they are racing dogs and appear to have somewhat the same body build as these dogs. More and more people are “adopting” greyhounds after their racing season is over.
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Thank you for your kind words Lillian. Yes, they are very similar to greyhounds and it is good to see so many people adopting greyhounds after racing – they make wonderful pets :o) xxx
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I didn’t know about these poor dogs.. so many gentle souls that needs a bit of heart.
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Thank you Björn xxx
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Love the Haiku and the positive image of your lovely Black Dog 😉
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Thank you Paul, Eivor is very positive and full of heart :o)
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I can see that…wht a lovely name Eivor is too.
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Thank you :o)
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Thanks for spreading the word. Finbar the Galgo says ‘woof’.
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Thank you Jane, woofs for Finbar from Eivor and Pearl xxx
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A wonderful haibun, Xenia: gentle hounds most certainly do deserve a soft landing in loving homes. You and your whippets are a perfect example of that. Happy Valentine’s Day xxx
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Thank you for your kind words Kim and a very happy Valentine’s Day to you too xxx
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Valentine’s love coming back to you and the whippets – although it’s now the morning after the night before!
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Thank you Kim 💖 xxx
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Oh this is such a touching tribute!
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Thank you Sanaa 💖
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I am surprised the hunters harm those dogs. I would think they would need them next year for hunting season.
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Sadly they do not want to feed or care for them for the rest of the year. The breeding of galgos is unregulated and out of control too so that a galguero who has killed his dogs after the hunting season can get himself new dogs when the next season starts.
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Such a cruel sport…yikes~Loving homes are what we all need ~
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Thank you Grace 💖 xxx
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SMiLes.. my friEnd Xenia Tran and happy
Valentine’s to you and your family and
family of Galgo’s from Spain.. and aren’t
all dogs and cats ambassadors of Love
for when humans
are not up
to the
task of
Love… animals
come into to feel
the spot of fill when
humans fail.. some sadness
here as my mother has fallen
ill on Valentine’s day and our cat
Yellow Boy comes to snuggle sadness
for he
has
feelings
of Love..
our pets are love
and i say to the world too..
pet
love
my FriEnd..
what a wonderful
refuge you make
heAR for canine Love..:)
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Thank you my friend and happy Valentine’s Day to you, your family and your wonderful cats too. So sorry to hear your mother has fallen ill. Sending blessings and healing thoughts and much love to you all 💖 xxx
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beautiful haiku and a great step by writing it out so beautifully!
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Thank you for your kind words Sreeja :o)
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I did not know this term, but am glad to have the information. You put forth a strong platform.
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Thank you Sara 💖
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