DIARY OF AN ABANDONED DOG

Dear diary, my name is Manchas (Spot), I am a large dog, strong and very beautiful and my name is of course because of all the spots I have on my fur, dozens of spots that make me look like an authentic Dalmatian. I have been living at  Scooby  for about over a year now, my former owner left me on the streets, I wandered around aimlessly and somebody found me and brought me here. I have been sad for the first days and acted a little stubborn since I wanted to leave, I wanted to get back home, but when the time passed and I realized my boss did not come back to get me, I slowly realized I had become one more of the thousands of abandoned dogs. Slowly I have gotten used to living here and share my life with a lot of other dogs who went through the same, or had it even worse than me, all of us have a more or less sad story to tell, but every day we are thankful to have a roof over our head, that we are cared for and are being fed. Some of us are transients but others like me hope that some good person will notice us and take us to a better place. Untill that happens I have decided to tell you about my day to day life.

Day 1, May 1^st 2012

I got up at sunrise, woken by the barks of the other dogs here, and I really did tell them that it is not necessary to get up so early, for we have plenty of time to do what we are doing here. I told them many times that they should go back to sleep, that they rest and let me sleep because I am the only one working here. You see, I am the guardian of the whole refuge here, looking after and protecting all these dogs here, even the ones that keep me awake by their barking all night, but this is how they thank me, they just keep on barking and keep me awake. Soon the person that takes care of us will come and will put me in a kennel while they clean the paddock and feed the others, and I wait patiently in the kennel to see if any of the volunteers will come to take me out for a walk. I like going out for walks and to breath some fresh air, but I cannot go out every day because there are many of us and they don’t always take the same ones out. When I come back from my walk my kennel is clean, I eat a little, drink a little and rest a while untill it’s time that they come to take me to the patio so I can do my important work.

Day 2:  May 2^nd 2012

Today I have gotten up at sunrise, the same as yesterday, the same barks that woke me up yesterday, woke me up today, they put me in the same kennel as yesterday and I have waited patiently for the same walk as yesterday, I ate, I drank and rested the same as yesterday and I did my job, same as yesterday.

Day 3, May 3^rd 2012

Today... I have done exactly the same as yesterday

Day 4, May 4^th 2012

Just another day, exactly the same as yesterday and the day before.

Day 5, May 5^th 2012

Today I passed a day exactly like any other. The diary of an abandoned dog is very boring, as is his life. I am tired of always doing the same things, I need a change. I am tired, bored, I need fresh air, go for a walk.

I want to get out of here, find a home, a master who’s good to me, I really need it. I am a good dog, I just hope someone will notice me and take me home, I don’t want to spend the rest of my life stuck in a kennel, I don’t deserve it. Neither one of us deserves it, we really do have a lot to offer. Please let somebody adopt me and show you that my previous owner was mistaken. Please let me be an abandoned dog no more.. please, I would love to go for a walk, to get some fresh air..

Nieves Vázquez

Manchas came to Scooby just over a year ago. He’s a big dog, about 5-6 years old. He’s precious, as well as obedient and playful. He needs a home and a lot of love, the sooner the better.

My dear friend Mar

(letter from an adopted dog called Tul to another dog he shared his kennel with for various years at Scooby)

Dear Mar        

How are you? I have been told you have a new friend sharing your kennel.I heard the gossip that you don’t really like him, even though he is very handsome. Don’t be rude, and I most of all know that you can be a little bit rude sometimes, I am sure that Manchas is a good guy and will end up being a trustful friend. Give him a chance! They’ve also told me that you lost weight, that you are eating less and are getting more exercise, but I will believe that when I see it.

I am doing fine, I love it at my new home, they take care of me, look after me, they love me and treat me like another member of the family and they are giving me things you should try as well. They are called little kisses and they feel real good. So really it is not bad here at all, but at times I think of you, in the kennel we used to share and I would like to be with you again. I really miss you dear old grump, but please understand I cannot come back since nothing is better than a home.

I realize I have had a lot of luck, and I am sure you will find it too, I am sure of that, each one of us has their fate and yours is coming too. I am imagining you in a nice house, with an enormous garden with a good family where you will be sharing a lot of great things with because you are a great dog. Don’t get offended with me saying great, I don’t mean your size or your waistline, although my dear friend, by now you should realize you are just a tad overweight, but nevermind, let’s not talk about it because I know you don’t like to, what I meant by saying you are great is that you have a big heart and your intentions are good.

Mar, you’re a very special dog, one with an internal beauty that matters, don’t loose hope because somebody soon will discover this beauty and will give you what you always wanted, you deserve it and you were denied it once, and don’t look at me, it took a long time for me to be chosen too, and like the saying goes: better late than never. Don’t despair my dear Mar, there is somebody in this world that will make you happy and will give you everything you have been denied all these years.

Don’t forget, it is me, your friend Tul that tells you this, the one you laughed with, cried with, barked, ran and played with, jumped and went for a stroll with, who you spend your whole youth with, who you sometimes hated but who always was at your side. My dear friend, please watch because your future owner will arrive one of these days and you don’t want to pass on the opportunity.

Take care!

Your loving friend always, Tul

Mar is a mixed breed dog who has been with us for about 4 years now, she’s big, she’s playful but also a little grumpy, she’s sweet, obedient and loving, she needs a home and from here on we will try on finding her one. Please help us find it.

Natural lawn killers

As the grass in Paddock 4 needed to be cut urgently but we don´t have a worker at the moment  who is able to do it either with a manual sense or a string trimmer, Fermin came up with the great idea to leave this up to  our horses, ponies and donkeys. And so it happened that we caused a big surprise to the Galgos…

After some minutes of acting like “what the heck is going on here” they calmed down again, not least because the “big brothers” remained absolutely calm and were only interested in the fresh green food on the ground.

We emptied one of the back paddocks, so the live-stock had a place to retract during the night and the experiment can be considered as success;-)

From Nobody to Somebody

September 2009 our dog Noortje passed away and well since one grey is no grey we soon focused on a second dog.  We had a talk and as it happened 2 weeks later a transport of new Scooby dogs was coming to the Netherlands, among which Gasol. A black frightened galgo coming from Antonio, who got attacked at Scooby half a year after his rescue (and if he behaved there the way he behaves here, I’m not surprised that happened ;) ) Christiane and Roy found him hidden in his dog house, a little wounded heap, and rushed him to the clinic to get treatment and to be pampered by the volunteers present at that moment. Thank you everyone for your loving care!

October we could go and get him, frightened, very frightened he let himself be lifted into the car to be lifted out two hours later where he finally was home. Once inside we put him on the couch where he mostly stared at the ceiling. Whether that was because it’s so high or he just wasn’t used to it, we don’t know, but he was very interested in it! We put some dog treats with him but he couldn’t care less until the moment we were talking and not watching, then he quickly took his snacks! Sneaky boy. In the evening he started wandering about and found a spot in the back room under the table which has become his spot ever since.  In the mean while with a nice blanket, his own drinking bowl, his food and below his blanket a large stash of bones. Especially his own drinking bowl means the world to him, because Gasol doesn’t seem to feel an urge to drink himself, he has to see his drinking bowl or hear the other dogs drink, because of this we gave him his own bowl so he is reminded to have a drink all the time.

Sol was afraid of everything, inside the house he only ventured underneath the table. The first weeks we had to pull him from there to take a walk, outside everything was frightening. People, cars, bikes, dogs, a sound, but we were lucky Max was there for him and kept the other dogs at a distance. Gasol watched Max closely and knew that when Max went somewhere, it was safe there.  In December Max suddenly fell very ill, Gasol really comprehended and put his mind at standby, adapting totally, so we could focus on taking care of Max, unfortunately to no avail, meaning for Gasol that his trustworthy mate disappeared from his life all of a sudden.

As we said goodbye to Max we took Gasol. He wasn’t affected. Normally the dogs watched, smelled and wanted to leave, then it was okay. Not Gasol, looking back maybe not surprising. After all he has probably seen too many dogs die and it became normal to him… unbelievable but true.  After that Sol’s behaviour deteriorated quickly then; he had no one who protected him. So we needed to bring in a dog to help him, because how much us people would like to help, sometimes dogs can do much more than we can…

Leo moved in January 2010 and though Sol was rather afraid for Leo, being such a big dog, that worked out in no time. And Sol improved a little. Shortly he even ventured to Max’ old rug, just for a moment and as soon someone got up or entered the room he skuttled back under the table, but even so, what a progress!

In July he got another friend, Yuso. Yuso depended on Gasol for everything, now that turned out to be a golden approach! Yuso is the kind of dog that will remain a playful pup, no matter how old he gets. Even though he too has traumas outside the house, he isn’t bothered by anything inside the house and plays and acts as if life is a piece of cake.  Sol kept a watchful eye on all of this from under the table, until the day he actually got a bit jealous, he wanted to be like that too!  Yuso was busy playing with a pillow full of little ribbons he could tear off. I was sitting on the couch, relaxing and having a sandwich, when all of a sudden I saw Gasol walk from under the table, he got the pillow smacked on his head but rather than running away as would be expected, he started pulling on of the ribbons.  Yuso responded and started to pull at the other end, very gently, and let Gasol win. Proudly Gasol took his ribbon back under the table and threw it up in the air to catch it a couple of times.  And me? All I could do was sit and watch , amazed, did I see this right? It was quiet for a while until I had bought Yuso a sponge with lots of threads (the ones that make exellent material for pulling apart the lot!) Gasol got hold of the sponge and wouldn’t let go, under his table he was busy biting, attacking and ‘killing’ that sponge!
Since that day several sponges have met an early demise and Gasol became much more relaxed, he even dares playing a game of ‘snap’ with Yuso. Yuso is a fabulous dog, although he is a really wild one, he is always very gentle when playing with Sol, staying on his blanket quietly and only doing ‘snap’ when Sol snaps at him, when Sol stops, so does he. Also Leo watches them quietly from a distance, probably glad when he isn’t Yuso’s playing victim for a change, playing is fun, but also very tiring!

Now, 2,5 years later, Sol has grown into a big Monster. Yes, with a capital M. When there are bones in the room Sol is the first to get the biggest one, and if it so happens someone else got the biggest bone, Sol is not afraid to snatch it right from their mouth, though fortunately they are usually smart enough to take that bone to one of the places Gasol doesn’t dare to go – yet.  And cups of whipped cream, he loves those! Sol loves going for a ride, since a long time he has made a habit of standing between the front seats, overlooking whether we are doing everything right… in case we ever lose our way Sol will know where to go. While we had to pull him from under the table for walkies before, he now is the first to go in the hallway, ready to go out. The walk which used to be a quick run has now become a walk where everything has to be sniffed, and eating  grass, hey that’s also possible! What could be more fun that running very fast for a long while, on the lead? Because without lead mister Sol doesn’t budge, in the car he always waits patiently until we have attached both his lines before he jumps out.  Recently he learned a new trick, jumping on the couch for a bone! So we regularly position ourselves on the couch with some bones, it’s so much fun! What more will follow? Will he sleep on the couch some time?  Or will he go and explore the garden for a change?

Even though officially he is getting older and older he is changing more and more into a happy young dog who enjoys his playtime and his peace and quiet. And we? We are so happy to have him. Adopting a very traumatized dog isn’t always a picknick, isn’t easy, but looking at where he is now after 2,5 years, you know what you’ve been working for.  Though to be honest we haven’t done that much, either, we mostly allowed him to find out about his new life at his own pace, yes we did try to stimulate him by letting him smell things for example, but most of all this little man has done it all by himself, with the help of Yuso and Leo. And yes in the future I would do it all over again, not only has he learned a lot, maybe we have learned from him even more.

Gasol and his friends, Yuso & Leo

Bonnie and Clyde

Hi

I am going to tell you the story of two galgos, a couple so close  few married couples can compare. Sunday the 26th of february, I had been working that night, I even had the telephone unplugged because I had been sleeping. When I woke up, I plugged in the phone and received a surprise call from the police. Almost every time I receive a call from them it’s because they have found an abandoned animal, an abused animal etc.

I get in touch with them and they tell me that a manager from Biomasa had called  them to tell that they had left two galgos tied to the gates of the area where we keep the dogs, untill Oscar or Dani or any other person from Scooby came to pick them up.

It seemed that the “boss” arrived, let them out of  his 4 wheel drive, and with a piece of string tied them to the fence. The manager of Biomasa though that the “boss” had a meeting with me, but since I did not get there, he called the police. One of the police agents managed to get the female into the enclosure but the male escaped.

However, the male loved the female so much, he forsake his freedom and came back to where she was, and when he could not get in, he was walking up and down the fence, and the female was calling out to him, beautiful to see. We opened the gates so he could come in, but he was very scared and it took us a long time, but in the end he did come in to where the female was waiting for him.  I forgot to tell you that the female did not have a lot of possibility to escape since she appeared to have one of her front legs broken.

The brindle is Bonnie

Early in the morning I called Scooby and talked to Juan, and he was in a hurry to come and pick her up and see how to solve the problem with her front leg. At that time, Couto and Pablo (veterinarians) and the students from Zaragoza were at Scooby and as soon as the galga arrived, they did some tests and found that she did not have her front leg broken but that she had a degenerative cancer and that is why her leg was in the state it was.

But there is a happy ending, both of them have been adopted in France, in a home where the new lady boss doesn’t mind her illness, but she thought it was important that they would spend as much or what little was left of her life together, because that is what they want to be... together. I think that when the time comes, the male will go to a very difficult time, even if he has the consolation of his new family, but because of his new family he will feel better eventually.

A big kiss for Bonnie and Clyde,
Carolina

Silent Sunny Spring Shelter Scooby Spain!

The first real nice warm spring day here in our shelter. Dogs, cats, geese, farm animals, all have been relaxing and enjoying the warmth of a sunny day. After weeks of bad rainy weather and a lot of cold and wind, this feels so very good. Please enjoy with them by watching them being very content and satisfiedJ

Peggy and Sam

Hi, we herewith present to you Peggy and Sam, two Mastin puppies we found on Saturday the 28th, left behind in one of the pinewoods at Cuellar. This is already the sixth case of abandoned puppies in the pine woods, the other cases fortunately with a happy end, so now we’re going to tell you the story of Peggy and Sam.

 Around 3 in the afternoon on Saturday, when it was raining very hard, I got a phonecall from a friend, who, wihile taking a walk in the pinewoods, found these puppies of just 2 or 3 months old, in a hole and covered with leaves. He asked me what he should do with them, and my immediate answer was to bring them over so I could take  care of them. They were soaked, freezing cold and starving, the poor things. Both of them are with me right now and just the thought of having to take them to Scooby Wednesday really hurts. I cannot understand how it is possible that there are people that see them be born, grow up and after that just leave them. Everyday the human race surprises me, I don’t know if it is a question of eduction or custom, or whatever, but there is only one way to call these people. I don’t even want to think about the mother, it is possible that she is still looking for her little ones. What kind of people am I surrounded with?!

Anyway, I am going to take these puppies out for a little while, let them spend some time in the sunshine, and I know everybody will be admiring them, especially people from outside of Cuellar and I am sure that each and every one of those people have more sensibility than the people that surround me here, and that hurts.

From Cuellar

Carolina

A Secret for Dolly

Fear is an emotion characterized by an intense feeling, usually unpleasant or frightening us, believing that it can do us harm. It is caused by the perception of danger, real or imagined, in the present, future or past.  The ultimate expression of fear is terror.. and that is the fear that we see in your eyes Dolly. They say that the eyes are the mirrors of the soul and some of this must be true because when I look into your eyes and I see the life in you, all I can see is the fear in your eyes.

I wish I knew your story little Dolly, I wish I knew what terrible things happened to you, what kind of hell you had to go through, I wish I could feel your fear and maybe therefore understand that the sadness in your eyes only reflects fear.

But, do you want to know a little secret Dolly?

Fear is healed with love, because love is the absence of fear, you cannot feel love and fear at the same time. Love can take away and transform fear into courage; the courage you need to approach me and feel that the hand I hold out to you is a hand of a friend, to give love, to help, to cure and to give you back your confidence in us humans ,  the confidence that you lost one day, to teach you to look into our eyes and see reflected in them that you will never have to be afraid again.  And when you least expect it, one day you wake up and look around you and you can hardly remember this word, this feeling.. fear. That will be the day when your eyes will show the pureness of your soul without any fear, the day that you can say:  I have noticed I have no fear left in me.

Dolly arrived from Scooby Zamora already 5 years ago, she was rescued from the pound on the verge of death, and if this had not been enough suffering already, she had suffered from a something that called himself “human”, who without scruples or feelings decided on the lives of animals, taking them in without caring for or thinking of the fact that these are beings with feelings, fears and dreams and a will to live.

Dolly has always been considered a dog that could not be adopted, for only one reason: her fear. But remember, you cannot feel fear and love at the same time.

Dolly only needs your love, she needs to find somebody who is aware that she is very scared, someone with infinite patience who is able to give her a lot of love. She only needs to be understood and helped, she just needs you to give her your heart and for sure she will give you hers.

Help her!

VIDEO OF DOLLY: http://youtu.be/rS-6RJILz-Q

A special offer for 2012

For just £5 a month, you can join the Scooby project 3000 AND sponsor a waterproof coat for a Scooby galgo.

Each coat will be fleece lined for warmth, waterproof for the wet weather and embroidered with YOUR name, thanks to Scooby volunteer Helen Forrester.

 £5 a month!

What´s more, you will receive your own photograph of your sponsored coat on a galgo all the way from Scooby. How wonderful is that? You´ll be supporting the ongoing work of Scooby AND keeping a galgo warm and dry all for only

Interested? Please contact the following contact for your country with the following details:

·         Your name (if your bank account is on a different name, please mention):

·         Information about whether you´d prefer to pay on a monthly or annually base and the amount:

·         Your e-mail address to receive our newsletters and special deals:

·         Your Country:

·         for US supporters please add your paypal e-mailaddress for your invoice:

For  Germany, Switzerland, Austria and countries not listed below, send a mail in German, English or Spanish to sabine@scoobymedina.com and pay to the following account

Scooby
Volksbank Mönchengladbach
Kto-Nr. 140 704 2014
BLZ: 310 605 17
IBAN: DE52310605171407042014
BIC: GENODED1MRB

For the USA you will send your sign up form to saskia@scoobymedina.com  and we will send you a monthly paypal invoice to pay to.

For Canada, you will send your sign up form to saskia@scoobymedina.com and you can pay to the following account:

Bank of Montreal account number 

Scooby # 3061-8627-953

Or Make cheques payable to:
Scooby
c/o Eva Andrews
460 King Edward Street
Paris, Ontario
N3L 3E3

For the U.K. You will send your sign up form to info@greyhoundcompassion.com and cc saskia@scoobymedina.com and you can pay to the following account, it’s the best way to set up at standing order and pay to

Greyhound Compassion's bank account number: 65262362 / sort code: 08 92 99

For cheques:

Greyhound Compassion
PO Box 959
St. Albans
Hertfordshire
AL1 9HP

To read about the project 3000 please check the following link:

http://scoobymedina.blogspot.com/2011/08/project-3000.html

Little Mars

I am, just like my other doggie mates here at Scooby, an abandoned animal. I am a full bred Shih Tzu, but it didn’t help me. Nowadays there’s not a lot of difference between full bred and non-bred, there is no discrimination for abandonment.  My name is Mars and I had a home. Not a really loving home but at least they fed me and I had a nice bed to sleep in.

One day like many others, my owner took me out, took me in his car and took me further than where we used to go. I didn’t really mind since then I could smell new things and get to know new places. My owner opened the door of his car and I jumped out, ready to smell new things and I didn’t notice that he just went and left me there.

I got very nervous when I found out that he was gone and walked around like mad trying to find him, following the trail back to where he had parked the car and I thought he must have been confused and left without me. So I lay down at that place, hoping he would come back and telling myself that he had just made a mistake and forgot about me momentarily and that he would be back for me.

I lost all track of time, I don’t remember how long I had been there without food or water, but I didn’t loose hope.  I was hungry and thirsty, but what if I moved from this place and at that exact time he would come back for me? So it was better not to move and wait there, he surely would come soon...

I feel weak, I am afraid, tired and cold..I can hardly get up, but all of a sudden a pair of warm hands lift me up, and I see a girl saying: poor thing, he has been left here! . I am trying to tell her that I have not been abandoned and that they are coming back for me but she didn’t pay attention and took me with her. She took me home and fed me and gave me water and little by little I recuperated.

She brought me to this place where there a more dogs and there was this boy that she called “vet” and he said I had a heart murmur and that must have been the reason they had left me. I suddenly realized.. I thought my owner cared for me and I would not have left him if he fell ill. And now I feel sad, how could he have done that?

I feel better now.. I only have to take one little pill every day to help my heart, but I am a happy and loving dog. The person that will adopt me will have my undying devotion and I hope that he or she will show me what it is to have a real home, where I will be loved and will be the happiest dog in the world.

THIS IS MY DREAM AND I WILL NEVER LOOSE HOPE. I KNOW THAT MY GUARDIAN ANGEL IS OUT THERE AND I WILL JUST HAVE TO WAIT.