P.E.I. GROUP SAVING ABANDONED, ABUSED DOGS IN SPAIN, FINDING THEM HOMES IN ATLANTIC CANADA

Dogs living in terrible conditions in Spain are being rescued through a non-profit P.E.I.-based organization. At the same time, these dogs are returning the gesture with lots of love and affection to their new owners.

Orysia Dawydiak, of Union Road, said that was exactly what she needed after losing her precious greyhound earlier this year.

“I’ve had dogs for decades and I lost my last dog. He was gone for about two months and I realized … there was this hole in the house,” Dawydiak said. That’s when she reached out to Extraordinary Galgos and Podencos Atlantic Canada, which is based on the Island.

“There was just this gaping vacuum and I had heard of podencos. I called (the organization) and, within three of four weeks, I had her,” she said about Quita, a two-year-old podenco.

Dawydiak describes Quita as high energy, perhaps not quite as active as her greyhound, but still, a lovely pet.

“We’re adapting to her,’’ Dawydiak chuckled.

Extraordinary Galgos and Podencos Atlantic Canada has been finding homes for galgos and podenco breeds for more than a year now. The Spanish dogs have been traditionally abandoned or euthanized, often inhumanely.

Galgos and podencos, bred to be hunters, are typically not considered pet worthy in Spain. Before hunting season, when some dogs lack potential or after hunter season, when owners no longer have use for some of them, the dogs are simply abandoned or tossed into perraras (kill stations).

Mary MacDonald of Souris and Lindsay Jenkins of Charlottetown helped establish the Atlantic chapter of the national non-profit group, which was founded in 2016 by Tania Schmitt and based out of Montreal, Que.

The Atlantic branch is the largest chapter in North America.

Since January, the Atlantic chapter has found homes for 12 dogs — one in Newfoundland and Labrador, one in New Brunswick and 10 in P.E.I. One of those dogs was a Spanish mastiff.

“We have wonderful partnerships and work with numerous rescues in Spain who do the onsite rescues from the streets and rescue the galgos from the hunters,’’ Jenkins said. “(The organization) does educational things with the general Spanish public to raise awareness of these dogs (in terms of) their welfare in Spain.’’

MacDonald and Jenkins said it isn’t uncommon to see the dogs starving or injured in the streets.

MacDonald is the adoption co-ordinator for the Atlantic provinces. She receives applications and does home and reference checks for potential adopters. She also helps out with transporting the dogs from Spain to Atlantic Canada.

“I’m the safety net for the organization,’’ MacDonald said. “I have homes waiting to adopt, which is wonderful.’’

MacDonald and Jenkins set up a meet-and-greet with The Guardian recently with some of the dogs they’ve found homes.

David Panton of Stratford found out about the organization at a meet-and-greet at a Charlottetown pet store earlier this year.

“I have been exceptionally pleased,’’ said Panton, who adopted Zuzu, a six-year-old galgo through MacDonald, adding that his dog is kid and cat friendly. “I went in and love them immediately. These are super nice dogs.’’

The cost to adopt one of these dogs is $1,025. That includes the flight from Spain, spay and neutering, vaccinations, passport and transportation to their forever home.

Jenkins said they work with 30 different rescue groups and go out of their way to match each of the dogs with the right pet owner.

“We really get to know our dogs before we bring them over,’’ Jenkins said. “We’re rescuing these dogs off the streets (in Spain) in terrible conditions. They get nursed back to health, we get them into foster homes either over there as well as here; we get a true sense of their temperament and find their forever family. That’s what really drives us.’’

“They are very easy-going dogs,’’ MacDonald added. “Their temperament is very resilient, calm, very loving; similar to greyhounds although they’re not quite as high energy.’’

Podencos come in sizes ranging from 20 to 70 pounds while the galgos are between 25 and 60 pounds.

For more information or to inquire about adopting a dog, go to the Extraordinary Galgos and Podencos Atlantic Canada page on Facebook or www.extraordinarygalgosandpodencos.org.