Coats for Galgos

Nights in the Spanish winter can be bitterly cold. And if you are a galgo with a skeletal frame and very little hair, it can be hell.

So one of the ways people can help to improve quality of life is to make dog coats. It doesn’t matter if you’re not a Zandra Rhodes or Mary Quant, even those who are not a dab hand with a sewing machine can make these stylish dog coats.

I’ve been sent the following from a supporter in France. So go on, give it a try!

I use the pattern on the Greyhounds in Need website. I ask people for any unwanted blankets or fleecy coats etc.

I rifle through the jumble piles at the market or I buy fleece material from the local market at 3 euros a metre. From 10 metres I get 12 coats, so it takes just under a metre a coat as I double it over. #

With blankets a single thickness is usually enough. The ties and front reinforcement I make from any left over material, sheets, curtains etc - again the local market's jumble section is usually good for this. I reckon it costs me about €5 per coat.

I haven’t yet found a cheap way of sending them to Spain - there is no 'economy' option to Spain so 10 to 15 coats usually costs me 20 euros. I think one large parcel is more economical than several smaller ones.

I usually include some Allopurinal as it doesn't add much to the weight but is cheap to buy, and is very useful against leishmaniose.

I send them to Nuria Blanco at Amigos de los Galgos who helps several refuges around Madrid and I also send some to Isabel Moreno Dominguez in Seville. Nuria will send them on to others in need if she can but I guess all the refuges need them in winter.

I would just add that there is also a knitted pattern on the Greyhounds In Need website, if you’ve family or friends short of something to do with a pair of needles!