Click to read some of the wonderful stories from our lovely new homes...

Starlie (now Lara)

Roda

Dexter

Jimmy

Freddy

Mea

Julietta & Odin

Oliver (now Pedro)

Ginny

Betty (now Betsy)

 

 

Lara, a 2 year old typical Spanish podenco, was found in the Spanish Campo in such a terrible state, emancipated, with open wounds and exhausted. She was taken in by a very kind English couple who looked after her, and with the help of SOS Animals UK she received the medical care that she needed to make a full recovery. We were very worried about her and sadly she also tested positive for leishmania. However after months of medical treatment she slowly started to look better, put on weight and gain in confidence.
Lara was living with the English couple and their cats until she was ready to travel to the UK. Everyone who met her adored her - she is such a special girl and just amazing given how she has came round from being on deaths door.
Lara is such a special girl, we knew that sadly she would have no hope of survival if left on the streets, but also no chance of finding a home in Spain with her medical condition. We also feared it would be hard to find her a home over here. However a wonderful family in London fell in love with her and after careful research on her medical condition and advice from us on treatment, they decided they would love to adopt her! After making sure that Lara would fit into there family life we began working on getting Lara over to the UK.
Several months on and in her new home Lara, now called Starlie, made an amazing transformation! These photos show before and after pictures and you can clearly see how she has really blossomed and from the moment she arrived in her new home has slotted in perfectly and been an angel! She has gone to regular dog training and coped brilliantly. She is great in the house and turns heads out and about - a truly stunning and special girl. Sadly stories like Lara are very common in Spain and she really is one of the very lucky ones.
Thank you for supporting SOS Animals and making things like this possible.
Please help us so we can help more dogs like Lara.

 

 

 

 

 

 

When Roda came to live with us in February 2010, we knew instantly that she held a very special place in our hearts. Initially she was very frantic, whenever we left her side, but now she has really settled down and even allows us to leave her for a couple of hours-without howling!! From day one she has ignored the cats and they her, as our biggest fear was that she would try to attack them, or vice versa. Thankfully however all is well and Roda and Gilbert have even sniffed noses on occasions-what a break through! We love to take her walking in the forest, the park, or the beach. Her enthusiasm for us is overwhelming and we cannot believe that she was in a pen for 4 years. We love to spoil her with fresh bones from the butchers once or twice a week-to see the sheer delight on her face is wonderful. We took her to the vet recently and she has put on 3 kilos since we have had her. I think the little person in our house found too many biscuits to give her, which we have now hidden. Anyway, the vet was not concerned and said that she looked really healthy. Roda is gentle, obedient and loyal and from day one we let her off of the lead and she never leaves our side. She absolutely loves tennis balls and all the furry toys we have gathered for her. She constantly makes us laugh with the little things she does, like when she is hungry she will go over to the food bin and bang the lid up and down with her nose, as if to say "come on feed me". Also initially she brought in our shoes to us as if to say "come on take me walking". Whenever I go out walking with Roda I tell people her story and promote the work of the refuge. We feel privileged to have found her and honoured to be making the second part of her life her best years. We are grateful to Alan and Jane at Pepis Dog Refuge, in Spain, to have taken her in and looked after her for so long and we can assure you that this is one dog who has found doggie heaven.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We met Dexter for the first time in October 2009 after a phone call with Tania led us to offering to help out with some dog walking for a group of Spanish dogs en-route to their new lives in the UK. We'd had to say goodbye to our dear old lady, Daisy, aged 16 years, earlier that year & were both beginning to feel ready to start thinking about another dog. So, one Saturday afternoon, we met up with Tania & Sam & set off on a rather muddy walk with the Spanish pack, Dexter being one of them! It was wonderful to be in the company of dogs once again & over the next few weeks I returned many times & began to form a bond with lovely Dexter … he very quickly wriggled his way into my heart with his comical ways & we fell in love! It didn't take long to persuade Ant that Dexter was just 'meant' to be with us & on 21st November we officially adopted him & brought him home to meet the rest of the family … Tango & Bianca, our cats! He was extremely well-mannered with them & after some initial hissing & back-arching, they began to accept him too & are now great friends.

Dexter has brought such joy & laughter into our lives & is so full of love & affection & it has been amazing to see him blossom & grow in confidence day by day. We are so glad that we gave him the chance that he so deserved & to this day, we cannot believe how he could have been over-looked for so long although we are grateful that it brought him into our lives & cannot thank Tania enough for the huge part she played in it all. We have recently moved to the Swiss Alps & Dexter has taken it all in his stride & is happy & settled here & is growing a thick woolly coat in preparation for the snow! He's certainly come a long way from his life in Spain not much more than a year ago. If you are reading this, then perhaps you are thinking of fostering or adopting an SOS dog? We hope that you do & feel quite sure that it will bring you as much pleasure & joy as it has us.

 

 

 

 

 

Jimmy was rescued from the dog pound where he was found as a stray in August 2009, he was due to be euthanised the very next day he was 6 months old and such a sweet lovely boy, we could not let it happen. So we had no choice and he came into our care!

He is a soft, sweet, gentle boy and we are so happy he found his perfect family to live with and their 8 year old daughter who adores him. He lives in Kent and as you can see has regular trips to the beach, Jimmy is a very special boy and we are so happy he got his chance of such a wonderful home and as you can see is enjoying his life to the full.

 

 

 

 

 

'Freddy' was rescued from SOS in September 2009. He is now a very happy boy living in North Yorkshire with Lynne & David, where he is completley adored and as you can see enjoying his wonderful new life! He spends his time going on lovely long walks in the Yorkshire Dales and the rest of the time getting lots of cuddles. Freddy has finally got the forever home he deserves.

 

Freddy was originally brought into SOS by his owners who no longer wanted him, luckily for Freddy, his new Mum visited the SOS shelter in Spain and fell in love with him, the rest is history!

 

 

 

 

Mea came to us just 3 months ago - a delightful, but very excitable 1-year old cross, who'd been abandoned as a puppy and never lived in a proper home. All our dogs have been rescue dogs, but this was the first time we'd taken one on without meeting them. We needed a dog with a pet passport, so we could take it to Europe with us in the summer. SOS Animals had gone to a lot of trouble to find one that fitted our requirements and give us as much information about her as possible, so I was confident. But it was still a risk.
Although quite stressful to begin with - dashing everywhere, barking at everything, chewing anything - Mea was so friendly and good-natured, we grew fond of her at once. It was obvious she'd been well treated by the rescue centre. Also, having grown up with other dogs, she easily hit it off with ours. She's now a lot calmer and seems to have got the hang of most things. Everyone in the family adores her and we're very grateful to SOS Animals.

 

 

 

We adopted Julietta and Odin from SOS UK in June 2009.

They are the most wonderful dogs and bring us endless pleasure and happiness. I can honestly say they have enhanced our lives immensely, we thoroughly enjoy getting outside and walking with them and they have such funny little personalities, they love their cuddles, and like nothing more than a good run and to curl up in a little ball and sleep for hours.

We were originally only going to rescue one dog but when we met the two of them we fell in love with them both. We had lots of support and advice from Tania at SOS to help Julie and Oddy to settle in with us, as we were first time dog owners it was brilliant to know she was only a phone call away should we need advice.

They have become somewhat local celebrities in our area after Julietta won prettiest female in a local charity fundraiser, we also get stopped all the time by people wanting to say hello to them.

We also enjoy the rewards of fostering and recently had a little Podenco called Linda staying with us until she found her forever home :o) We wouldn't be without Julie and Oddy, they are a big part of our lives and family and we are so very happy to have them.

Thank you SOS UK for all you do to help the homeless Podenco's and for bringing Julie and Oddy into our lives.

 

 

 

We decided after much procrastination to get a second rescue dog as company for our lovely rescue dog Jess. We heard about Podencos through a dog walking friend and thought they'd make a great pet. After a bit of research we found SOS Animals and spoke to Tania. Over the following few days we discussed with Tania and the team in Spain different dogs and their suitability for our circumstances.

We were immediately drawn to a little chap called Oliver (who happened not to be a Podenco, but needed a loving home just the same). He looked like Jess's younger brother! He was dumped along with his two brothers, and were living wild before they were eventually caught by the volunteers. He was reserved for us and due to be 'delivered' within the month. He had his routine medical to get his documentation for his passport to enable him to travel, but unfortunately he tested positive for heart-worm (often fatal if not treated early). If he'd not been picked for adoption he may well still have the condition unchecked. This news delayed his departure due to his medication program, but we were sure we wanted Oliver and were prepared to work out the best way to get him to the UK as soon as possible.

The SOS folks were very helpful and worked with us and our plan to make the 3000 mile road trip to collect him (and some other dogs) ourselves. In the end it made more sense to let the experienced team bring Oliver over with the eight other dogs that needed to make the trip, and all arrived safe into the UK.

We met Kelly and Phil at a service station on the A1 and straight away Jess and Oliver started to get on - they cuddled up in the back of our car to make the journey back to Nottingham.

We've now had Oliver for just over three weeks and he's settled in so well. He's got into his routine of walks round the nearby field and nature reserve, and has really bonded with his big Sister Jess. They play fight and cuddle in equal measure.

Some people have said why get a rescue dog from Spain when there are plenty that need homes in the UK. But for us a dog in need is a dog in need, regardless of where they are based - it really helped to be able to discuss what we needed from a dog with experienced dog handlers that understand the characters of the dogs. We got good practical advice regarding what dogs might be suitable to fit in with the personality of our other dog, which has really paid off.

We look at Oliver (now called Pedro due to a Nephew being called Oliver) and think about his history and the story of how we got him - it just makes us love him more.

 

 

This is Ginny. She is 4 and has spent most of her life at SOS kennels. She now lives in Milton Keynes with Jackie & Sean and her new friend Hugo. They regularly go walking in the Lake Districts and Ginny has settled in really quickly, she loves her life and is a very happy girl!

 

 

 

We decided to adopt Betsy the beautiful Podenco from SOS Animals in July this year as she seemed the perfect fit for a very large hole left by the death of one of our beloved Galgos, Raven. Raven was gentle and loving and kind and brilliant with our cats and the description of Betsy (Betty as she was then called) seemed to indicate that she had a very similar nature. So we travelled down to London and brought her home with us to Cumbria. What must have been going through Betsy's mind on the long journey north with complete strangers is anyone's guess but she put a very brave face on it and put up with Gracie the Galga grumbling at her in the back of the car with very good grace. To begin with, as always when adopting an adult dog which has experienced difficult times, it was a learning curve for us and for Betsy as we got to know each other. Having been Galgo and Greyhound owners over the past 20 years and being so used to them and completely under their spell, it took a while to adjust to a different breed and learn about her different characteristics.

From the first, Betsy adapted well to her new surroundings, to her new 'sister' Gracie and to her new 'family' of cats but she was extremely fearful of strangers and vehicles - obviously due to her bad experiences in Spain - and she would panic easily at both. Her response to this fear was to run away because at this early stage, she was still in the process of bonding with us and understandably, did not realise that we would keep her safe. In the short space of time (just two and a half months) since bringing her home however, it has been a delight to see Betsy starting to grow in confidence. She is definitely not so fearful and the bond between us grows stronger with every passing day. Initially, when taken out in the garden at night before bedtime, she would attempt to make a bed under a bush - obviously believing she had to stay outside all night. It was necessary to go and put her on a lead to bring her in. Now she goes out, does what she needs to do, comes running back in and goes to her bed just like Gracie does. She jumps on the bed upstairs, lounges around on the sofa downstairs and is as eager as Gracie to jump in the back of the car to go for a ride out with the promise of a walk somewhere along the way. In the early days, she was very reluctant to get in the car, probably assuming she would be taken somewhere and not be brought back home. Now she knows she will always come home no matter where we go so that fear has gone. There is still some way to go to achieve our goal of making Betsy 100% confident especially where crowds of people and lots of cars are concerned but we are well on the way and it is such a rewarding process. Just like Galgos, Podencos are the sweetest natured, most loving dogs possible - there doesn't seem to be a nasty bone in their bodies despite the suffering many of them have endured, which is remarkable. Like Gracie, Betsy is hugely friendly, very funny and extremely loveable and we wouldn't be without her. It is a delight just to watch Betsy's tail wagging, to see her sleeping with one paw over her face, to watch her stretching out in her bed in a relaxed manner, to see her caramel coloured eyes follow you around the kitchen. She has taught Gracie to bury things in the garden and there is constant rivalry (never nasty) between them over possession of chewy things and toys and which of them occupies which bed. If anything, Podencos seem to be more independent, more their own 'person' than do Galgos but this just adds to their character. Without a doubt, they are such lovely dogs and being given the chance to make just one of them a happy, confident little soul after experiencing the bad things of life is incredibly worthwhile.

So we are very grateful to Tania and SOS Animals for bringing the lovely Betsy into our lives. We have the greatest respect for the work they do in rescuing and bringing the dogs safely to the UK which cannot be at all easy. In all our dealings with Tania, it was clear the devotion shown to these dogs and the care which is taken in re-homing them is quite simply, nothing short of admirable. Their interest continues in the dogs long after re-homing and they are always on hand with advice if needed because they know their dogs, their breed, their characteristics and how best to overcome any problems which may possibly arise in the early settling-in stages of taking on a rescued dog. To quote a well known advertisement - Podencos - "you're worth it"