Too many dogs; too little money; too few helpers, rock bottom morale.
In an earlier post I reported on the Pedro Munoz refuge at Cuidad Real, 200 kms south of Madrid.
A refuge half built, before the Mayor pulled the plug on the funding.
Over 100 dogs, only three volunteers, and bills piling up which they haven’t the funds to pay.
They're desperate for help.
Out of the 135 dogs currently in the refuge, there are 35 galgos – a month ago they didn’t have any galgos. That’s how fast they are coming in, as the hunting season in Spain comes to an end.
The land and buildings are the property of the town council. Last year the refuge received 6,000 euros from them to help, but this year the town has refused further funding, accusing the volunteers of taking dogs from other towns. What are they supposed to do, leave the dogs?
The refuge has 50 members, who pay 5 euros a month, some pay a little more, and the remainder of their finances come from families who have adopted galgos.
At the moment they have a debt of 7,000 euros to the vet. Many dogs have pneumonia, operations on galgos which come in with their legs broken or amputated.
All the dogs have to be castrated too. Their food debt is 1200 euros, and now the company says it will not supply them with any more food till the debt is settled.
Many of the dogs in the refuge will never leave, as the Spanish prefer to adopt puppies rather than adult dogs. There are 3 volunteers - 2 young women and an old man of 75.
Sometimes the boyfriends of the women help. They do everything, clean up after the dogs, treat wounds, give medication – 135 dogs, 365 days of the year! They even transport the dogs which are lucky enough to be adopted to the border – so add fuel costs on top of everything else.
How do they keep going? Morale is rock bottom, the girls are desperate for help.
A couple of French associations support them, like Amigos de Los Galgos, and Greyhounds In Nood in Belgium. They also receive donations from the USA, including a huge package last week of dog coats for the galgos, and Germany, from people who remember where their dog came from.
Although their full title is Protectora Animales y Plantas Pedro Munoz (PROAPE) website www.ciudadanimal.org, the girls try to keep their location secret, as no one is at the refuge at night, and the girls are terrified the galgos will be stolen again.
If you want to help Lidia, Loli and Emilio, anything will be welcome, however small, but if there is a really generous benefactor who could clear one of their large debts, their gratitude would be enormous.
Donate to
Protectora PROAPE, Pedro Munoz, Ciudad Real, Espana
SWIFT/BIC: CECA ES MM105
IBAN: ES19 2105 2012 01 1212026505
Amigos de Los Galgos
PAYPAL Banque; Caja Segovia
SWIFT/BIC : CECA ES MM 069
IBAN: ES82 2069 0027 09 0000166751
In case of difficulty, details are also on www.amigosdelosgalgos.org/
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