Podenco Post

Podenco Friends - not all adoptions are straightforward

This is the story of Hermes, who was adopted from Bev Farmer of Podenco friends. 18th August was his Gotcha day.

'18th August

Hermes. His final kiss and hug for Warren - a very special man - the day he left.

But this wasn’t his first adoption .. he went to an adopter in the UK in June 2015 .. it appeared to be a perfect home homecheck all good experience of Sighthounds a volunteer for an animal sanctuary. Then after a few months messages sent he wasn’t well, tested him for leishmania was negative but insisted he was treated. Then a couple of months later another message he was suffering. They wasn’t prepared to pay for blood tests to already know what the results would be. It was time to let him go due a list of health concerns.

Galgo Rescue Almeria - Podenco Campaneros find their forever family

Just over a year ago on August 10, we remember a memorable period in the existence of GRA.

A year ago, the doors of Patan were closed and sealed by Seprona due to severe animal neglect.

For about 120 dogs but also other animals: cats, chickens, rabbits,... even a pig, the neglect came to an end. Several Rescue centers joined forces to receive the victims and guide them to a new life. 11 Galgos and 3 Podencos were housed at Galgo's Rescue Almeria, all in bad shape and some even in very critical condition. The "life" they had must have been hell. Malnourished, no or dirty drinking water, poo everywhere, covered in ticks,…..

Meanwhile, almost all of the sweethearts who ended up at GRA, after their rehabilitation and treatment against various tick diseases, found their golden basket.

Podencos happy in forever homes, thanks to Podencoworld Nederland

Ed Verhaegan founded Podencoworld Nederland and was, along with Bev Farmer of Podenco Friends, my collaborators on my definitive guide to the Podenco, From Pyramid to Perrera.

Here's a lovely video of some podencos and their travels to new forever homes, courtesy of Podencoworld Nederland. Apologies that the narrative is in Dutch, the English wouldn't work for me, but the video is lovely to watch.

Podenca Rosie diary - what she's been up to

I'm still careful when I walk Rosie where I let her run free, knowing the hunting instinct of podencos and also she is still very frightened of some noises. We also wanted to see how Bo coped with staying in accommodation other than his home base, where he is very confident. So I hired a small cottage in a nice village on the Lincolnshire coast.

Lovely property, newly updated and all on the ground floor, so no stairs to cope with. Plus a very nice secluded rear garden, podenco-proof!

Lovely walks on the very long beach at both Sutton on Sea and Huttoft, where at the latter we could park right on the beach!

And where Rosie could run free!

Blind Bo coped amazingly well, soon learning to follow our voices to find his way around and through the rear patio door and conservatory to the garden.

We dined in a lovely local hotel, very dog friendly, which was obviously very popular with dog owners considering the number of canines there besides our two!

Two very tired podencos at the end of the day!

Podencos Bo and Rosie busy for Christmas - Happy Christmas to everyone

Our blind podenco Bo and Rosie have been busy recently celebrating Christmas! As they wear harnesses when out and about, I decorated them with some Christmas pattern material, ribbon and Christmas tree decorations! They spent a fun day at the Dog Park we visit every Sunday Morning where the team put on a wonderful buffet which included cocktail sausages and chunks of cheese - well woofed by our 2!

The following day we trotted off to a Fun Dog Show - Bo's first one - where he won first prize in 'Dog with the shiniest nose like Rudolf'. Rosie excelled with first prize in the 'Egg and Spoon Race' - the 'egg' was made of mashed tuna - and second place in 'Musical Chairs' which involved us walking around and standing frozen when the music stopped.

Great fun - canine parties for Xmas instead of children's parties!!

We wish all our readers a Happy and Healthy Festive Season and may the best of 2022 be the worst of 2023. (Think about it!)

Blind Podenco Bocelli finds his feet at the dog park

It's now 10 months since we adopted blind Podenco Bocelli from Blind Dogs UK, and rescued by volunteers working in Spain with Ibizan Hound Rescue. The vet thinks his blindness was caused by an untreated eye infection when he was tethered and starved on the end of a chain in the Lorca region of southern Spain. He can see shadows, but his sense of direction is governed by his acute hearing and amazing nose!

Trained to walk up a ramp into the back of our car, each Sunday morning we take him and his housemate Rosely to a local private dog park where Bo enjoys wandering freely and confidently, in his own little world. Once a month he goes to the local Dog Cafe where he finds his way around the tables and chairs and he's also been to the coast and paddled in the sea - always on lead there!

So for anyone who has a dog losing its sight, don't be concerned, they adapt amazingly well to life. And if you are thinking of adopting a dog, why not one from Blind Dogs UK - they deserve a forever home too.

Podenca injured and abandoned - safe now in a loving home

A heartwarming story about a little podenca who suffered horrendous cruelty in Spain - injured and abandoned!

'Just the story off one little podenco from Spain

Miss Palma(Duquesa). Palma is a Light, a special soul here on this earth. She touches so many people. Her soul is so beautifull ... Im so happy she is in my life.

She was found wandering around the street. When they rescued her the jaw was totally twisted. She could not open her mouth, eat, drink or bark at all. She was taken to an emergency . The operation was complicated and the following care too. The vet did a good job, thank God.

Podenca Rosely enjoying the local dog park

As we now only have a small garden, on a Sunday morning I take Rosely to a local dog park to meet other small/medium size dogs. We've been going for abour 3 months now and she has blossomed from being a terrified little dog afraid of everyone and the other dogs to gaining confidence and coming out of her shell.

So I decided that for International Day of the Podenco, Rosely and I would celebrate it in our own way and for the first time I let her off lead to run free. It took quite a while for her to realise she was off lead and leave my side but she gradually wandered away to sniff piles of twigs and nettles bordering the enclosure. It does help that the hawthorn is now in full leaf and the nettles are grown, which adds depth to the sheep fencing surrounding the park.

By the end of the hour, she was watching a group of excitable little dogs playing on and around the A frame. Hopefully next week when her special friend Springer Spaniel Milo may be there, she will be off running with him.

From Spain to Wales - 2 happy podencos

Dave Owen lives in Wales, UK, and has 2 adopted podencos. He's busy writing a story featuring a podenco but, in the meantime, he has sent us this story of his podencos and how he came to adopt them.

'Not long got back from walking the dogs on the beach, Maude loves to chase her ball and when it’s warm enough she enjoys swimming.

Edith on the other hand isn’t keen on water but does have a tentative paddle with Spook her westie friend. We have only recently considered it safe enough for her to be let off her lead because she doesn’t have a focus like Maude and is more interested in the massive rabbit population located in the sand dunes but she’s not allowed in them because of the adders. She does chase the rabbits in the garden but they have escape routes which are always kept open.

Living with a blind dog

A few weeks ago I introduced you to Bo (Bocelli), a blind podenco we recently adopted from life on a chain in Lorca, Spain. Having both had dogs for all our seven decades of life, we have never had a blind dog. So it is a new experience for us. He has now been with us for a couple of months and is settling in very well. He can now find his way out of the kitchen into the garden to the toilet, and back again. Luckily we have a ramp at our back door rather than steps, which is much easier for him. He hasn't so far ventured into the rest of the bungalow but no doubt he will do it one day, in his own time.

He shares his home with Rosely, a sighted podenca, and very often shares his bed with her. She wears a bell on her collar so he always knows where she is. He is at the stage of wanting to play with her in the garden, but after 6 years shut in a shed breeding babies, Rosely doesn't know how to play. Her main interest is her stuffed toys, baby substitutes I suspect.