News
Elvis sighted in Denmark!
January 10, 2009, 4:53AM MT
By Sharon St. Joan
Kimba finds new lives for Spanish dogs
Kimba finds new lives for Spanish dogs
By Maria Jose Jaen-Jimenez, Adoption Coordinator, Kimba Shelter
Translated from Spanish by Michael Rodrigue, Best Friends Network Volunteer
The Kimba Shelter in southern Spain, in Cadiz, has rescued and found loving homes for hundreds of Spanish galgos (Spanish greyhounds) and other uniquely Spanish dogs. Many thousands of these dogs are kept and mistreated by Spanish hunters. Spanish rescue groups face an uphill struggle in working towards the day when these graceful, beautiful dogs can live in peace and well-being--Editor
Snatched from the point of no return
Today our dear friend Tanya, of Foreningen for galgoer. has sent us photos from Denmark of "Camarón", whose name is now "Elvis". He had just been to the groomer, so that he looks even more handsome than he normally does, to have his first photos taken in his new country with his new family. He leaves behind his dark past. "Elvis" knows his past all too well.........we rescued him from the dog pound in Cádiz only moments before this precious little dog would have ceased to exist.
Now he has a great pal to play with, and the past seems far away!
Elvis is not a greyhound, but is a different type of Spanish dog--Editor
A third chance for our little galga, Sara
Some of you will remember that this past October our precious, friendly and cheerful Sara left for Ferrol, where theoretically a family was waiting for her. At that time, we had written about her, "A beautiful galga had the great fortune of being rescued by a kind family from the village of Las Cabezas (Sevilla) and arrived at Kimba about one month ago."
Normally the dogs from Kimba that have been used for hunting do not remain in Spain, unless the family is totally trustworthy and has passed a series of background tests. We go to such lengths so that these abused and mistreated breeds do not fall back into the miserable life that they have already suffered in the country of their birth.
Kimba has been working with foreign organizations for several years. All of them are well known in the animal world and are very reliable when it comes to keeping us informed of the whereabouts of our dogs. But sadly, for the past few months the adoptions of our galgos, podencos and other hunting dogs have really slowed down.
Unfortunately, as can sometimes happen, no matter how careful one is--the home that we and another Spanish organization interviewed several times and were convinced was the perfect home for Sara, turned out to be a mistake.
The veterinarian who seemed to be the perfect adoptor, immediately passed Sara on to a woman who turned out to be a hoarder, collecting both trash and animals. Kimba has rescued many animals from hoarding situations, and the circumstances of the poor animals have always been tragic.
Thanks to the magnificent work of the animal protection society in Ferrol (COMETA), our Sara was rescued along with many other animals from the hoarder before it was too late.
Today our cheerful Sara lives in Barcelona! Here she is in her new home.
A lawsuit has been filed against the unkind veterinarian, and we hope justice will be served. We'll keep you informed! We are just thankful that Sara was rescued in time and that she is happy now.
To read more…
To read (in Spanish) about the Cometa Association, who rescued Sara and the other dogs from the hoarder, please go to
http://www.espacioblog.com/terrorismoambiental/post/2008/05/04/los-perros-y-gatos-abandonados-ferrol-estan-condenados-a
or to
http://www.asociacioncometa.org/
To visit the website (in English) of Foreningen for galgoer, please go to
http://www.galgo-sos.dk/___NEW/ENGELSK/index_en.htm
To read about the Kimba Shelter (in English), please go to
Caution: graphic images
http://www.refugiokimba.org
Top photo: Kimba Sanctuary / Elvis with new friend
Second photo: Kimba Sanctuary / Looking beautiful, but still a little uncertain
Third photo: Sara in her new home in Barcelona!