Podenco Post

Happy New Year to you all

From my canine gang Carmela, Bebe, Polar and Bracken - Wishing all my readers only good things in 2018...and wishing for an end to all animal cruelty...well, one can wish!

Podenca Bebe - a little dog with a huge character

This is a photo I received 7 years ago, along with an appeal for help for the little podenca, rescued with a hind leg injury from a Seville motorway. There were not the facilities in the shelter to care for her post operation, so I said I would take her. She had been rescued by a young woman called Marisa (same name as my daughter) who had named the little podenca Bebe (my nickname at school, derivitive of Beryl!). So of course she had to come to me!

The operation on her hind leg was a success, the vet wasn't sure if she would use her hind leg properly. No problem...she was fast as grease lightening on 4 legs! She weights 6.5 kilos, is the boss of the galgos, and the first to warn us if there is someone at the door. She's been on many adventures...it took us a couple of years to make the garden completely escape proof...she could get through very small spaces! And would espy an opportunity if a door was not shut properly!

Podenca X Lady landed on her feet!

I always love to receive stories about happy homings of podencos... here's a lovely one I received from Liz.

'I adopted a 2 year old Podenco cross, little girl (although I think she's more Pod than cross!) 4 months ago from a killing station. I had never heard of the breed, but fell in love with her picture on the rescue site in Spain. Everything the foster home told me seemed too good to be true, good with children, cats & other dogs with a sweet nature!

Well, she is everything & more;she's a social butterfly & everyone she meets loves her. She's such a clown with the biggest heart & has made such an amazing difference to my life. I'm disabled & have to ride a mobility scooter when I go out. From the first day my little Lady came into my life, she trotted next to me by my scooter like she'd done it all her life. She is so intelligent, I only have to teach her something once & she's got it.

Are you a Caninetrovert?

Podenco Pinocho in Caceres - needs an operation to repair his leg

A plea for help to pay for the operation to repair the front leg of this sweet little podenco. Here is the story of Pinocho.

Pinocho is a podenquito of two and a half years that was collected by the City of Tietar, a small town in the province of Cáceres, when he wandered through its streets. They put him in a kind of cuatucho where they kept the materials of the works and two volunteer girls were in charge of feeding him. A month later I was going to be sacrificed, so I brought it home.

They say that the podencos have very bad luck and adopt themselves worse than other dogs, and it must be true, because two months later Pinocho is still waiting for his definitive family.

Surely it is a discard of some hunter, because it came with a fracture in his right front leg. We have done two x-rays and it is a poorly welded fracture in which a misalignment has caused an angular deformity. The biomechanical forces are badly distributed and it is forcing the collateral ligaments of the carpus, that's why it has pain.

What's funny about a terrified dog?

How can someone post this on Youtube and describe it as a 'funny podenco'...obviously terrified about being tethered to another chain...sick person who finds a terrified dog funny and uncaring bastards that no one came to comfort him! Lanzarote, Canary Islands.

To crate or not to crate a dog?

Interesting article on how to teach your dog to use a crate. Apart from transporting dogs in vehicles/planes or possibly a dog shows, I am not a believer in using crates otherwise...particularly 'toilet training' a dog. I have had dogs all of my 70 years and have never had problems toilet training a dog without resorting to a crate. I knew one woman who crated her Weimaraners whenever I visited because she couldn't control them! In my book, that was because they weren't trained to behave. On another occasion I was told by a third party that a galgo I had rehomed was being crated and the children allowed to poke fingers at him! He was fine with the children and other dog when I did home tests/checks...to this day I don't know why she crated him...I didn't ask because I was so angry! Needless to say, I simply messaged that he was to be brought back to me immediately. Was fine with the grandchildren in his thereafter forever home.

We all have our own opinions on this subject, these are simply mine.

Podenca Tilly - changed the life of Beverly and Warren forever

Lovely story from Beverly Farmer of Podenco Friends about the start of her journey in podenco rescue and rehoming.

'14 years ago on 7th December 2003 I made a decision to visit a local shelter to adopt a dog here in Spain at the time not knowing it would be a life changing decision. Tilly was curled up in the back of kennel shaking. Not knowing what a podenco was, we asked to take her. She looked so fragile, so we signed the papers and took her home, Her story was that she was discovered in a dumpster under the rubbish with a broken front leg. We thought we had chosen a quiet and demure dog which she was for 24 hours. Then the honeymoon was over and the real Tilly revealed herself, stubborn crazy a real diva she tested me to my limits.

Almost 3 months after, I considered returning her to the shelter for it was not a good relationship.

Campaign - get Pet Oxygen Masks on all fire engines

Can we run this as a campaign...to get pet masks on all fire engines for the brave fire fighters who rescue animals as well as humans. Please share it with all your friends and contacts. Why not fundraise for your local fire station to provide the masks if they don't already have any.

http://www.petoxygenmasks.org/

Pumpkin - the health benefits for your dog

Interesting article on the benefits of pumpkin in your dog's diet. My dogs love vegetables and whenever I am cutting up pumpkin, they are there waiting to share the small pieces of rind.