Cain leaves Spain, leaving behind all his bad memories

July 25, 2007 : 1:00 PM

Cain, like so many other thousands of Spanish galgos, was one of many who belonged to a hunter in the province of Sevilla. Refugio Kimba, in Cádiz, received a desperate call from a shelter in Sevilla asking them for help.

A hunter had contacted the shelter in Sevilla telling them that he had four galgos, and that he was going to hang them if the shelter couldn't take them. Since the shelter was already well over its maximum capacity, they called Kimba to ask for help.

The galgos arrived at Kimba and were all extremely frightened. They were terribly thin, starving, dehydrated, and infested with fleas and ticks. They were all given an anti parasite treatment, and then kept in quarantine for the required amount of time. After that, they were sterilised and integrated into the shelter with all the other dogs.

Cain was very dominant right from the beginning, and always seemed to be putting other dogs in their place with his scoldings. He was very nervous, and therefore it was difficult to find an appropriate home for him. The other galgos who arrived with him were all adopted, but Cain was the last to remain at Kimba.

Though the help of a wonderful organisation called "Greyhounds Rescue Holland", Cain has finally been adopted by a wonderful family in the Netherlands. He did not have a very happy beginning, but he certainly has found a happy ending. Cain is now enjoying life, being shown love and affection, and receiving the treatment which all of these wonderful dogs deserve. Cain is now one of the lucky ones, and living happily with his forever family.

Many thanks to Refugio Kimba for all of their hard work. If you would like to help, please visit their website at the following link:

http://www.refugiokimba.org

Story by: Michael Rodrigue

Comments

October 18, 2007 at 5:46 AM
posted by: amy_gatos

This is wonderful that he was rescued. That said, it's unreal the challenges animals and animal advocates in Spain face. I'm a US citizen currently living in Barcelona, and the things I have seen are so heartbreaking and frustrating I almost cannot take it. I am so amazed with the people who arrange the exportation of animals to Holland, etc. The strays in Spain while living here and the ones in Greece and Italy that I've encountered during my travels are so sad. There is a lack of education and a lack of support from the governments, and not much can be done but to try to care for the animals and advocate for their rights. Currently, I am caring for a cat colony and I found one dead, I think a neighbor is poisioning them. This is common, and archaic. Something needs to be done now. In Spain, they will not enforce animal rights laws because of the bullfighting traditions. Although around 92% of Spainish citizens do not like this cruel tradition, the government does, and therefore will not pass the laws incriminating themselves. It's disgusting. Please, let everyone know of these injustices and horrors for the animals in Europe.

July 29, 2007 at 1:29 PM
posted by: PamelaB

One of these days, I'm going to sit down and sort out the various organizations in Spain, Holland, and the UK which work for galgos. In the meantime, thanks again for an informative and hopeful story. Dutch adopters are angelic in my experience too, and I sometimes wonder if every second dog in the Netherlands speaks either Spanish or Greek!