The Galgo Español (Spanish Galgo) or Spanish greyhound is an ancient breed of dog, specifically a member of the sighthound family. Despite being called a "greyhound", the Spanish Galgo is not closely related to the (English) Greyhound, the lineages of the two breeds being different.

However, for a short period in the 20th century, some breeders did cross-breed Galgos and Greyhounds in order to produce faster Galgos, specifically for track racing purposes.

Galgos have a very similar nature to Greyhounds. They are calm, quiet, gentle and laid back; happy to sleep their day away on their backs on a sofa. More than 90% of Galgos can be considered cat-friendly and are therefore an ideal choice for the hound lover who also owns cats.

Almost all Galgos are also friendly towards other dogs and small dogs. Galgos are also very good with children, being calm in the house there is less risk of a child being knocked over or jumped on than a more excitable breed. They are very gentle and tolerate the often over-enthusiastic attentions of children with little risk of retaliation from the dog.

Galgos have a very reserved personality and they have a tendency towards shyness, so it is very important that they be socialized early in life so that they grow up to be comfortable around strange people, dogs and locations.

Much like the Podenco and other breeds used by Spanish hunters (galgueros), the Galgos faces a very grim life. Galgueros view their hunting dogs as property they own.

The Spanish hunting dogs are seen only as a useful tool that can be replaced and discarded when no longer needed. 

By Spanish law it is forbidden to use physical abuse, maiming, to keep dogs in short chains and to abandon dogs. But Spain does not follow its own laws and ignores the atrocities that happens every day. 

Thus far, the Spanish government has turned a blind eye as to the plight of the Galgos and the Podencos

The Spanish hunting dogs live their entire lives on the brink of starvation, unstimulated, with hardly any human contact and no affection. Many live only until they are 2-3 years old, then they are replaced. Breeding bitches are kept alive longer. 

At the beginning of hunting season, hunters may have 20 dogs and in the end, only five. Dogs who are not useful anymore are removed. A favorite among hunters to dispose of unwanted dogs is "piano playing".

The dog is tied around the neck and hanged in a tree so that he barely reaches to the ground with the hind paws. The dog is now trying to balance and is "dancing" back and forth with the back legs and paws, barely on the ground, to avoid strangulation.

Being murdered in this way is a slow death and that the dog has time to feel panic, anxiety, despair and pain is no doubt. The suffocation can take hours and sometimes even days. In the end, when the dog no longer manages to stand on its hind legs, but is hanging exhausted in the snare, the dog finally suffocates to death. 

Who can look at this as entertainment? Well, the Spanish hunters!

This cruel strangulation call the Spanish hunters  jokingly "Piano playing" because of the way the dog is struggling to reach the ground with the hind paws. An "entertainment" that clearly shows that the Spanish hunters lack empathy and respect for living beings. It is a disgrace beyond compare.

Hunters overbreed these dogs in atrocious conditions, the dogs mate and interbreed uncontrolled with each other during the captivity. 

Keeping them in dark, cold surroundings or have them tied up, unprotected outside in short chains in isolated places, the galgueros feed them with moldy bread and restaurant waste only a few times a week. 

The dogs often have eczema and sores on their bodies because no one cleans the place where they are kept. The dogs are extremely emaciated and have bedsores because they are forced to lie directly on the hard ground.

The Galgo are brutally murdered at the end of hunting season. Tens of thousands of them are abandoned and starve to death. They are thrown down wells, are beaten to death, are used as shooting practice, are poisoned and many are hung from trees.

Being a hunting dog in Spain is the same as living in hell.

The Podenco Andaluz or Andalusian hound is a dog breed originating in Spain, especially Andalusia. There are several types of Podencos, distinguished mainly by size and/or region where located.

Examples are the Podenco Andaluz, Podenco Manchengo, Podenco Ibicenco, Podenco Canario, the miniature Podenco Enano/Maneto and Portuguese Podengo.

In the Iberian Peninsula there are cave paintings that represent dogs that have a strong resemblance to these races. In fact, it seems that dogs have been bred very similar to those in much of the Mediterranean basin since ancient times, including Cirneco dell' Etna and Pharaoh Hound. But there is also the tradition that the Podencos were introduced into Spain by the Phoenicians through their colonies.  

Several genetic studies in recent years have come to conclude that contrary to widespread belief that the hound is a type of primitive dog imported some 3,000 years of Middle East area, these dogs actually have a close genetic relationship with other European hunting dogs and are no more "primitive" than most of them.

The Podenco was originally bred to be used for hunting small game such as rabbits, but have been known to be used to hunt game as large as a wild boar. The general temperament of the Podenco is similar to the Galgo and Greyhounds.

Podenco are fast and smooth and have very good hearing and good sense of smell. They have long thin legs and are muscular but lightly built. A feature is the large upward standing ears. The coat is either plain red, white or yellow or with yellow or red spots on white. The smooth variety is dominant, but there are also wire-haired and long haired.  

Unlike Greyhound, hunt Podenco not only by sight, but also use their hearing and sense of smell to track. When hunting, they can jump from one to two feet straight up in the air, to catch sight of wild game escape route. 

They are very smart, eager to please, but sometimes stubborn. They are gentle, loyal, love to relax, but love exercise and interactive playtime too. Along with the Galgos, they are overbred. 

Much like the Galgos and other breeds used by Spanish hunters (galgueros), the Podenco faces a very grim life. Galgueros view their hunting dogs as a ‘tool’ and strictly as property they own.

A Podenco’s life is typically spent on a short chain with no shelter from the scorching sun or freezing temperatures, or in dark sheds sometimes packed so tightly with other dogs that they cannot even lie down. 

Since there is a belief among galgueros that dogs hunt better when they are hungry, the Podenco is usually starved or fed and watered just enough to keep them alive. After hunting season ends or when a Podenco is no longer useful, they face much the same fate as the Galgo.

They are more often driven to a remote location and sometimes being beaten, having legs broken, or in one known case, having their eyes gouged out so they cannot find their way home. Many are poisoned or starved to death.

The breed is believed to be a variation on the original Ibizan Hound, otherwise know in Spanish as the Podenco Ibicenco. 

This breed originates in the island of Eivissa and has been traditionally used in the Catalan-speaking areas of Spain and France to hunt rabbits and other small game. The Ibizan Hound is a fast dog that can hunt on all types of terrain, working by scent, sound and sight. Hunters run these dogs in mostly female packs, with perhaps a male or two, as the female is considered the better hunter.

Traditionally a farmer may have 1 dog and a very well off farmer 2 dogs to catch rabbits for food. However in the last 20 years it is seen as a sport where between 5 and 15 dogs can be seen in the chase of one rabbit. Mainly on weekends with pack owners from the towns.

Individual dogs are expected to show a great degree of discipline, obedience and co-operation. They should be extremely agile, have good speed and a powerful vertical jump from a stationary position in rough and often heavily covered ground. They should have excellent scent-tracking abilities, give tongue at the right time when approaching the game closely, and otherwise be silent so that they can locate the game by sound.

The Ibizan Hound is similar in function and type to several breeds, such as the Pharaoh Hound, the Cirneco dell 'Etna, the Portuguese Podengo. The Ibizan Hound is the largest of these breeds, classified by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale as primitive types.

This breed is considered by most experts one of the most ancient dog breeds. It is believed the Ibizan Hound evolves from the tesem, the ancient Egyptian hunting dog. Representations of this dog on the walls of ancient tombs show a striking similarity to the modern Ibizan Hound. These dogs would have been brought to the island of Eivissa by the Phoenicians, who founded settlements there as early as the 8th century BC.

A recent DNA analysis did not find support for this opinion and did not include the Ibizan Hound among their identified ancient dog breeds. A more recent article argues that continued trait selective breeding may be behind this lack of support. Heidi G. Parker, the lead author of the original study has stated recently that indeed their original findings do not imply that the Ibizan Hound is not an ancient breed and that with better tools they would in all likelihood be able to trace a continuous lineage of thousands of years for many dog breeds and add them to their group of ancient dogs.

Regrettably, the Spanish population, in the main, do not hold them in high regard, seldom keeping them as pets and when they are no longer required for hunting, they are frequently abandoned and are treated most cruelly.

Many strays of the breed are to be seen wandering in Spain looking for food and the rescue centres have more of this type of dog than any other seeking homes. This is a truly tragic situation as they make superb pets, having a wonderful temperament and being exceptionally good with children. They are intelligent, gentle, loyal, highly affectionate and keen to learn.

According to journalist Norman Lewis, when an owner no longer wants to own one of these dogs (having too much of an appetite, for instance), it is considered very bad luck to kill the dog. Instead, they release the dog on the other side of the island, so that someone else might 'adopt' the animal.

Source: Wikipedia

Podenco Canario (In English: Canary Islands Hound, Canarian Warren Hound, Canarian Pharaoh Hound) is a breed of dog originally from the Canary Islands. The word "podenco" is Spanish for "hound". "Canario" means "Canarian" or "of the Canaries".

The Podenco Canario is still used in the Canary Islands today in packs as a hunting dog, primarily used for rabbit hunting.

The Podenco Canario is still used in the Canary Islands today in packs as a hunting dog, primarily used for rabbit hunting.

The Podenco Canario is found on all of the Canary Islands and descends from a very ancient type brought to the islands in antiquity, and, isolated there, remains an example of the very oldest breeds. It is thought to have originated in Egypt and North Africa, and brought to the Canaries by the very earliest human settlers on the islands.

Linguistic and genetic analyses of the descendants of the earliest known human inhabitants of the Canary Islands seem to indicate a common origin with the Berbers of northern Africa, who may have brought the dogs there as a food source. Diverse recent genetics studies have concluded Podenco is a type of dog very related to the rest of European hunting dogs and they are not more primitive than most of them.

Podenco Canario spend their lives either kept on very short chains or in dark sheds, only released from their torturously boring and hungry lives during the hunting season - which runs from August to December.

They are then expected to hunt all day long in often burning temperatures to flush out rabbits for their master's table.

This they do without complaint, because they are desperate to please him, they crave his attention and would do anything for just one pat and a kind word. Unfortunately for the majority, these kind words and acts of affection never arrive.

After a hard day's hunting, they are roughly loaded back into a small cage on the back of their master's truck and taken home to be put back into that dark shed or tied up again on a very short chain, hungry, thirsty and tired, until the next hunt.

Many of these dogs get separated from the rest of the pack and find themselves all alone, with no idea where they are. The hunter will not waste his time looking for a dog who doesn't return; they are two-a-penny and he can replace them easily.

If a dog is not a particularly good hunter, or he is past his best, he will simply be driven out to a remote part of the Island, far from home, and left to fend for himself.

Others are abandoned at the end of the hunting season, because their owner doesn't want to bother with them for the rest of the year, he will get another one next hunting season.

The dogs are kept hungry because the hunters believe the dogs will hunt better if they are hungry. There are some instances of hanging, but these are becoming much less.

A bigger problem here is poisoning. As so many of the dogs are lost or abandoned during the hunting season, the farmers who do not want stray dogs around put down a mix of either bread or 'Gofio' (maize flour) and insecticides and, in some cases, strychnine. It takes little imagination to comprehend the terrible death of a dog eating this. 

Source: Galgo News 

El Presidente
Federacion Espanola de Galgos
C/Barquillo, 38 1
28004 MADRID
Spain


Senor, 

Me dirijo a Ustedes para pedirles su ayuda con respecto a los Galgos en España, en especial al maltrato y al abandono en masa de los Galgos que se hace cada año, después de la temporada de caza.

En el año 2005, Anne Finch Presidenta de G.I.N (la mayor protectora de Galgos en Inglaterra), y los representantes de la federación, y del ministerio español del medio ambiente de esa época, tuvieron una reunión, donde también estuvieron representantes de asociaciones dedicadas al rescate de Galgos, desgraciadamente estas asociaciones no continuaron con el apoyo a esta iniciativa.

Desde entonces, por medio de Internet, el resto del mundo ha tomado conciencia de la situación de los galgos en España. Fotografías, videos en YouTube y Facebook, y las crónicas en las páginas web de las asociaciones dedicadas al rescate de los galgos destaca la verdad del terrible sufrimiento, los malos tratos, el abandono en masa en perreras y en las calles de España, lo cual ocasiona una plaga para España y para su gente.

Durante mis años de participación con los refugios en España y las asociaciones que se dedican a la reubicación de los perros tanto en España, como en Europa Occidental, el Reino Unido y los EE.UU., he notado un cambio en la actitud de los cazadores en la cual ahora no ahorcan a muchos de sus perros, (pongo esto por la mala prensa que han recibido al respecto) pero siguen esperando que todo el mundo fuera de las federaciones de caza "recojan los pedazos” de los perros que ellos abandonan.

La respuesta al problema descansa principalmente en las federaciones de caza en sí mismos, en la que debe de haber un fin al exceso de reproducción en masa sin control, un control estricto de la cría de galgos, control estricto para asegurar que cada cachorro de galgo que nazca se le ponga microchip y sea registrado - como lo requiere la ley - y que también a los cazadores se les pida mantener a sus perros después de la temporada de caza, en condiciones que sean regularmente inspeccionadas para asegurar el bienestar de todos los animales.

En el Reino Unido, los perros de caza se mantienen en jaulas pertenecientes a un cazador, en Francia, los perros de caza los tienen sus dueños en jaulas con sitio suficiente para poder andar y correr libremente en sus jardines durante las temporadas de caza. ¿Por qué no pueden los cazadores en España hacer lo mismo?

Le hago llegar este llamamiento para que se tomen medidas decisivas ahora, antes de finales de enero cuando los cazadores volverán a deshacerse de sus "perros de usar y tirar" en el resto de España, con escasa consideración por los problemas que causan como accidentes de tráfico, enfermedades (toxicaris canis) la mala prensa que causa que la gente deje ir de vacaciones a España, el boicot a la compra de productos españoles. También supone una importante carga emocional y física para las personas que se quedan para recoger los pedazos de las acciones de los cazadores.

Si bien sé que hay muchos cazadores que se preocupan por sus perros, es obvio que con las decenas de miles de galgos 'de los que se deshacen' cada año que una gran parte de los cazadores no preocupan para nada de ellos.

Hago un llamamiento a que tome medidas inmediatamente para rectificar la situación.

Gracias por su tiempo.

.....................................................................
please sign with your name and address




English version

Sir,

I write to you with an appeal for help, with regard to the plight of the galgos of Spain, their treatment and their mass abandonment every year, after the hunting season comes to an end.

In 2005 Anne Finch, then President of Greyhounds In Need UK, and representatives of the Federation and the then Spanish Minister of the Environment convened a meeting which was also attended by representatives of Spanish galgo rescue associations. Unfortunately, the rescue associations did not continue to support the initiative set up.

Since then, through the medium of the Internet, the rest of the world has become aware of the plight of the Spanish galgo. Photo images, videos on YouTube and Facebook, reports on the websites of rescue associations highlight the truth of the horrendous suffering, maltreatment, mass abandonment in perreras and on the streets of Spain, which inflicts a blight on Spain and its people.

During my years of involvement with Spanish refuges and rescue and rehoming associations both in Spain, Western Europe, the UK and the USA, I have noted a change in the attitude of hunters in that they do not now hang so many of their dogs – I put this down to the bad press they have received about it – but they continue to expect everyone outside the hunting federations to ‘pick up the pieces’ of the dogs they dump.

The answer to the problem rests chiefly with the hunting federations themselves, in that there should be an end to mass uncontrolled overbreeding, strict control of the breeding of galgos, strict control to ensure that every galgo puppy born is microchipped and registered – as required by law – and the hunters required to keep their dogs during the non-hunting season too, in regularly inspected conditions to ensure the well being of every animal.

In the UK, hunting dogs are kept in kennels belonging to a hunt; in France, hunting dogs are kept by their owners with kennels and runs in their own gardens between hunting seasons. Why can the hunters of Spain not practice this?

I write with my appeal to you to take decisive action now, before the end of January when the hunters will again dump their ‘disposable dogs’ on the rest of Spain, with scant regard for the problems they cause – road accidents, illness – toxicaris canis – bad press which stops people from holidaying in Spain, boycotting of the purchase of Spanish goods. It also takes an emotional and physical toll on the people who are left to pick up the pieces of the hunters’ actions.

Whilst I know there are many hunters who do care about their dogs, it is obvious from the tens of thousands of galgos ‘disposed of’ every year that a large proportion of hunters do not.

I appeal to you to take action immediately to rectify the situation.

Thank you for your time.


..................................................................... 
please sign with your name and address