Birds eye video. 112 Carlota Galgos is a nonprofit association launched in 2012 which works for the protection of the Spanish galgo.
Lets talk LEISHMANIA
A disease which can ocurr to all canines in Spain. LEISHMANIA.
It is a disease relative to the dogs which read as a “negative.. as much as those who read positive.”
Leishmania is nothing to be feared ever, its to be understood. In order to treat your leish positive dog. Or your negative read dog.. who can become positive in time. With correct treatment a Leish dog can live a great life. But understaning a dog from a Mediterrean country is imperative to a healthy happy life. So if youre considering adopting either a positive Leish dog… or Negative dog… please read the link and understand what could occur. This is imperative to a happy healthy life.
Common Mediterranean diseases
Leishmaniasis in dogs is a disease caused by the infection of a dog due to the Leishmania infantum parasite and by the response that establishes the dog against this parasitic infection. This parasite is widely distributed throughout the Mediterranean basin, but needs a particular insect, which in Spain is the mosquito Phlebotomus perniciosus, sting an infected dog and then a healthy one so it can spread among the population. Once infected, the dog’s immune system detects the presence of the parasite in its blood cells, and begins to establish attack measures to destroy it. The dog can do this by making antibodies, a type of protein capable of detecting the parasite, or by forming special cells that will directly engulf the infected cells and the parasite inside. The first system, the antibody, fails to eliminate the parasite, so that the infection progresses, and the dog goes on and on making antibodies trying to defeat it. Paradoxically, it is these antibodies manufactured that fail to destroy the parasite, which will cause much of the problems that the dog will suffer. However, if the dog manages to organize a good army of killer cells, the infection will either be kept at bay or even eliminated.
This disease can also be suffered by people. It’s call a zoonosis. In this we speak of leishmaniasis. The difference is that healthy humans use the cell defense system more efficiently and can end the infection quickly. People with immune system problems, whether congenital, as a result of other debilitating diseases, or medications given for other diseases, may not have such an effective defense system and end up developing the disease.
One of the most frequently asked questions to veterinarians is whether leishmaniasis is spread from dog to dog. In this respect, it is important not to forget that direct infection between dogs, or between dogs and people is almost impossible, because the parasite must spend part of its life cycle inside the insect that transmits it, to experience a series Of changes that allow him to infect a new dog or a person. Hence the fight against these insects is one of the most important battles in the spread of this disease.
In rare cases, a mother can be infected with a puppy during pregnancy, and also between dogs due to blood transfusions.
Since it is a disease that depends on special climatic conditions (the insect that transmits it has to complete its cycle), it is difficult to find it in very high areas or in very cold climates. Anyway, the increase of the global temperature can favor the expansion of the area in which it is endemic.
It is likely that dogs originating in the Mediterranean basin, having several generations exposed to this disease, have a greater tendency to respond adequately to infection than breeds from other geographical areas. It is estimated that approximately 70% of dogs in endemic areas have been infected at some point, although more than half of them have not developed the disease. Only 10-15% of dogs end up suffering from the disease because their immune system opts for the least appropriate defense mechanism to fight the infection.
Symptoms of leishmaniasis in dogs
Antibody fighting is the least effective, and it causes the most problems and symptoms in infected and diseased dogs. The most common symptoms are skin lesions, some with a characteristic distribution around the eyes or atrial pavilions, but they can appear anywhere on the body. In addition, affected dogs often suffer from problems in the kidneys, which are unable to effectively eliminate that large arsenal of antibodies generated without success. On the other hand, these antibodies, when they accumulate in the blood vessels, can cause symptomatologies. One of the most typical is bleeding from the nose. But they can also build up in the joints and cause arthritis to the dog.
If your dog is suspected of having leishmaniasis, the veterinarian will perform blood tests to see if he has had contact with the parasite, and what kind of response he is generating. The tests (of immediate character), usually to know if there has been contact or not with the parasite, although they do not provide data on the type of response of your dog. If it is positive, it must be confirmed by sending your dog’s blood sample to a reference laboratory, which will measure the level of antibodies in the blood and can determine if there have been any involvement of other vital organs. In some cases, more sophisticated testing is needed, which probes Leishmania DNA into bone marrow or lymph nodes, or performing special biopsy stains.
Treatment of leishmaiosis in dogs
If the disease is confirmed, your dog should receive at least two types of medication intended to combat Leishmania, in addition to those needed in case of involvement of vital organs. The first phase of treatment is more intense and usually lasts a month. It is then extended to a minimum of 6 months with milder medication.
Once affected, your dog will become a chronic sufferer, leading a normal life for the rest of his life, but always with the risk of relapse in the event of other debilitating diseases.
The best way to prevent leishmaniasis in dogs is to combine two or more strategies. The primary strategy is the prevention of sandfly stings through the use of collars, pipettes or sprays with insect repellent substances. Another strategy is to use a vaccine that attempts to target the dog’s immune response towards the use of destructive cells instead of antibodies. Vaccination is estimated to reduce the likelihood of disease by about 4 times. But since it is not a vaccine that provides 100% protection, it must always be associated with the use of repellent substances. An additional strategy is to administer 2 or 3 times a year a drug that stimulates the cell defense system.
Lastly, remember the importance of rapid diagnostic tests that the veterinarian can do before the slightest suspicion of this serious disease. The sooner you diagnose, the better your dog’s treatment responses will be.
Read more information about Clinical research on Leishmaniosis
Señor Galguero!
Señor galguero, I sat waiting and waiting today as time passed and my hunger grew. You never came, even though we who are here fear your footsteps. You may just bring us those crumbs of bread which we all have to fight for, even though we wish there was enough for us all.
It’s cold in here tonight and the floor is damp, I cannot sit and I cannot lie down but for you”my master” I will wait in the cold and feel the hunger. When I saw you last you came and took my mother, I still await her return but she just has not come back. I don’t understand Señor Galguero, for I am a good Galgo and I try my hardest.
Can you bring my Mother back for I miss her terribly, and amongst the other dogs we are all chained up and behind bars? Can you bring her back Señor galguero for I miss her, I will do all I can for you in return? The morning follows and its colder than cold, my body is trembling and am so very hungry. My bones hurt when I try to sit but for you Señor Galguero I will not complain.
As dawn arrives I hear what are familiar voices and the door screeches open, I think we are going to play today. I don’t understand why you are so very angry with us all and your boot has more than once thrown me across the floor, as now I see you angry with the pretty white galga in the corner, I didn’t see her do anything wrong but while she feels the pain, today it is not my turn.
The door opens and we are all told to get into the box with wheels. The mud is wet and we scramble into the tiny trailer. Señor Galguero did you forget a rug to sit on? For you Señor I will sit with the rest – this way we are warmer as we are crampt together. We arrive at the fields and its play time, we run and chase and are ordered to catch the running hare that crosses the field. The pretty white galga who felt the boot is struggling to win, for she is lame and bleeding.
Señor galguero I hear you all laughing and cheering, and I don’t understand it? I feel cold today, and so very very hungry. We move across the fields for what seems like forever, the white pretty Galga could not keep up, she was left behind to find her way. They didn’t wait for you “pretty white Galga”, though I tried, but Señor Galguero hit me with a stick and I am shivering so I must run faster and faster, I am sorry pretty white Galga.
At the end of the longest day I am so hungry I feel so empty and raw, I am so tired and weak, did I not run fast enough master, for I tried all I could? We return in the box minus the white galga, and thrown into what is our hole with chains and irons.. A stick of bread all green and blue is thrown at us, but the biggest and faster ones reach it first. For me, my hunger reigns on.
Señor galguero as you laugh with the men – did you forget my share? I did good today for I didn’t get left behind like the pretty white galga, I did good didnt I Señor galguero? I didn’t catch your lunch but I ran as fast as my legs would carry me, all for you my master. The night is colder than ever and the floor outside is covered with crunchy white clouds, it’s all frozen and Ive not lived long enough to know what that is, I am sure my Mother would have explained. Where did she go, she never came back? I hear the footsteps yet again and I crouch in fear yet I hope there is food for my empty stomach.
Today its my turn, alone, Señor galguero grabs my collar pulls me and gives me a beating for I have not been as good a galgo as I thought. I limp to the cold crunchy white grass and we move along into the woods. I think this is a special day today as we are alone, and I hope I can catch his lunch for him today if my weakness lets me. We reach a hidden bearing of trees, and I smell a smell I don’t recognise, but there is a familiarity as I see a body there on the tree, what is she doing Señor galguero like that? I am so cold and hungry I don’t know why we are here, it smells not nice.
Señor Galguero puts a wire round my neck and I sit patiently as perhaps we are going for a longer walk. I shiver as I am frozen and I almost can’t feel my body in cold. All of a sudden there is a rope placed on the wire, I don’t understand this.. but the tree is getting closer like the galga on the other tree. I am hoisted into the air, my feet begin to scramble I cant place my front paws on the ground for the wire is hurting my neck.. Señor Galguero what’s wrong why can’t I breathe? I hear him say “play the piano Galgo” and I don’t understand as he walks off saying “there’s more of you!”
I try and try and try but I cannot reach the gound, the pain is intense around my neck now and I cannot breathe, cutting m skin he blood runs warm down my neck chocking me in my mouth. I was a good Galgo I tried my best, I just didnt keep up with the rest. I am scrambling and my back paws are weak for they are what is holding me up. I have been here hours now, and I am giving up, Señor Galguero I think I am giving my life for you.
I close my eyes, and yet in the distance I see the most beautiful figure, so sleek and bright there is a white glow around her, she looks in the distance like the other on the tree..closer and closer she comes for me, she came back after all this time, my mother my beautiful Mother has come for me. It’s alright now she tells me, Señor galguero has gone and we head on now to “Rainbow Bridge” where no more Galgos suffer, we are all happy and run free.
Come and see! I close my eyes as the sun sets, I fought all day to stay with my master and its taken all this time. I’m free now, I feel no pain and my Mother says we will look down now and help the good people try to save more galgos who need rescuing. we will be like Guardian angels from above. Goodbye Señor Galguero.
This letter is written in dedication to all those galgos who are suffering like this, for now the end of the hunt season has finished the slaughters begin. It feels at times like there is no way forward, as I cry tears, they are of fight and desire and will to impact the plight of the Galgos.
I cannot do this alone. So I constantly look for publicity, TV breaks, daytime shows, Radios, someone famous to back this cause. Above all, I have promised the galgos, every single day of my life I will work to protect them.
In dedication to the serene Galgo, the associations who work 365 days a year and no fame nor thanks for what they do. This story is multiplied by the tens of thousands of Galgos right now as you read this, for the end of the hunting season is here, and the slaughters and abandonment begins.
Last year’s rescues alone reached a massive 50.000 galgos abandoned, those rescued. Numbers unknown are the stories like this one, or thrown in wells and the cruelty continues. While hunting hares with Galgos continues so will the slaughters and the number increase.
Señor Galguero”s” you have blood on your hands. Man’s best friend, let down by man!”May you the Galgo rise back up in society and become the household pet you so deserve to be!”
Carlota and Ambo Ambasadog.
112carlotagalgos.com – in Patas Arriba Canal Sur TV
We had the amazing opportunity of being able to participate in the television program “Patas Arriba” on Canal Sur TV Andalucia.
We want to thank Patas Arriba for the opportunity to publicize the particular situation of Libby, a galga that was rescued and who was close to die by hanging from a tree. A situation that unfortunately many galgos in Spain suffer from.
Important Information
Crates/transportines/benches and galgos
Please remember galgos are not greyhounds and come from an entirely different background. Using Transportines/Crates as beds…Many a galgo has been rescued from a severely dark place and time in their life. Many many are rescued from dark small hovels, under ground and in some cases with pallets on the top.
Some have been rescued from boots of cars where they’ve been kept inside while parked in an under ground parking block. Some, in cages, some in cave type squallers. It’s not common to rescue galgos from places which are light and airy and where all their needs are met. When a galgo is rescued 9 times out of 10 they are petrified. Unsocialized with people, they can be scared of pack situations, or they may have come from the streets alone.
Living life as best they can having been dumped or escaped from the darker side of life. At 112 Carlota Galgos sanctuary the galgos live in their bays. Each galgo has their own bed, and their own blankets. Each galgo learns their name and the command come, and each one goes to their correct bay and come on command. Some in the orchard grounds where the bays lie, some cannot be touched outside in big spaces, but they all learnt their names and come to the call. It is Paramount.
We believe that part of rehabilitating a galgo is that they must “learn to feel safe within themselves” find security within themselves, this is a big part of them becoming comfortable with who they are. A dog first and then a pet.
112 Carlota galgos does not recommend using anything other than open beds for the galgos in our care and when they go home because if they were then in a crate it would erase all the work done to make these souls feel safe within themselves Having an área created which is a “safe place” where they can get into, is kind of like a hiding place. If they feel safe within themselves they don’t need to “hide” they can lie in their bed and rest accordingly and feel happy about it.
Sometimes when crating a dog as a bed, even with a door open, and a dog in question is inside it can present a negative for getting the dog out. For example if the dog doesn’t come out willingly you then have to find a way to encourage the dog out, perhaps for a walk. So another possible negative created.
1.getting the dog out of the crate when its hiding and doesn’t want to come out
2.Going for a walk with the lead on having made the dog come out
3. If you’ve not got the dog to come out it wins and stays inside itself. The other side is, crating a dog while adoptants go to work for long period of times is not a possibility for a galgo. When a dogs family has gone, that dog should have the freedom to walk around the space it has been left, play, sit, eat, drink. If it is crated it has mínimum space and no choice.
Confined to a space of sorts. It is entirely different crating a dog for reasons of health for example Heart worm. A condition where the patient must remain stationary and in complete rest. Or a fracture. Or medical reason. Once the galgos have learnt freedom at the finca it is encouraged to continue this and recall practice of their name and come, and they opt to settle relatively quickly as they’re hearing familiar phrases.
Having your galgo in their own bed allows you the freedom to go and sit with them as and when it is chosen adequate timing for them to be with you.
In a crate this is difficult to do. Placing dogs into crates can trigger a smaller environment and can bring back a negative despite the conforts placed inside. Many a galgo can turn a crate over in panic, and if the family members are at work a galgo thrashing around in a crate can cause harm and unecessary stress. Each case may present itself differently, and as mentioned some medical cases may require no movement. Most galgos will welcome a comfy bed, in an open environment with the family. Such amazing pets deserve to be there, a part of the family and most issues can be worked through with patience and timing if there are any. This is a stance of our own feelings towards bed care for the galgos going home, to allow them the freedom to be even closer to their new parents as possible. Once you’ve felt that nose against you, that head on your lap, that nudge, its simply magic. Your new family member is home.
In Galgo Affection”
These are brief details of the dogs that we currently have for adoption. For full information on all of the dogs that we currently have for adoption, please visit my Facebook page or email me
….. Its a promise… of a forever… it doesn’t matter if you’ve had your galgo/pod 3 years, or 3 weeks or 3 days or 3 minutes….
KEEP THEM SAFE. Please. It’s not much to ask…it’s not much to committ to, to do, To just honour them, and keep them safe.
Remember 1 lead with 2 clips at either end… Is STILL 1 lead. It can be snapped with one bite of a galgo.. and you have no other. 2 leads always.
112 Carlota Galgos is supported by ESSENTIAL FOODS
