About Adoption
Spanish Greyhound, Podenco and other Sighthound Rescue
Dog Adoption Criteria and Process
We require all garden fencing to be 6 foot and robust all the way around, including gates. There must be no gaps or areas where a dog could escape from (for example furniture next to fencing). If fencing is not the required height, we advise the use of trellis which is more cost effective. Any garden adjustments will need to be made prior to adoption.
We do not accept electric fencing or sheep wire fencing.
All our dogs must wear a safety kit – either our own which are available to purchase (very reasonably at £30) or one which we approve of. This must include an escape proof harness (again approved by us), house collar with ID tag and GPS Tracker (which must be used for at least 3 months after adoption).
It is compulsory for all our dogs to wear a GPS tracker (used for at least 3 months after adoption). These can be bought from us, purchased by yourselves, or we also offer them on loan.
All adopters must be aware of the financial responsibility and long term commitment that owning a dog brings. This means food, vet bills, insurance, annual PCR and 4dx testing (each test costs around £100), new collars (!), jumpers, coats…!
We do not re-home our dogs to families who use their dogs for hunting.
We only re-home our dogs to suitable applicants where the dog will be part of the family and not kennelled/housed outside.
Owing to our dog’s pasts, we do not re-home our dogs to families with babies/toddlers. However, we do consider families with older children, though it is essential these children are completely respectful around the dog and are at all times supervised and given guidance of appropriate interaction.
We do not agree with crating.
No dog should be left more than 4-5 hours at time. In the event you need to leave your dog for longer, we expect you to make satisfactory provisions.
No dog once re-homed should be left unsupervised in the garden – this is neglectful and carries significant risk of dog theft.
We are able to re-home our dogs in the UK, including Wales, the Isle of Wight and Scotland. In the UK, Wales and Scotland, we do ask you to be willing to travel to meet the dog you are interested in, prior to dog adoption, in their foster homes (currently in Essex, Sheffield, Wales, Hertfordshire, West and East Sussex, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Surrey, London, Kent, Somerset, Devon, Cornwall and Derbyshire). We ask that you are willing to take your existing dogs with you for the meet.
To adopt one of our dogs, the following steps are:
- Read the above criteria and if agreeable, submit an adoption application.
- This adoption application will then be considered by the Team – please do allow a couple of days as we may be needed elsewhere.
- We will then be in touch to advise whether your application is successful or not.
- If successful, we will then conduct a homecheck – a volunteer will visit you at your home at a mutually convenient time and check the security of your garden and go through some questions. We will need a form of ID for verification purposes.
- The homecheck report will then be considered by the Team and we will endeavour to advise you of the outcome as soon as possible. Please allow a day for this.
- If successful, we will advise of suitable dogs, then put you in touch with the foster carer to discuss the dog of your interest. If both parties are happy to proceed, you will be able to arrange a meeting. Depending on the needs of the dog, your own perhaps, and foster carer availability, there is opportunity to meet more than once.
- Should you wish to adopt, we require an adoption fee to be made on the day (non refundable), and an adoption contract needs to be signed. If the dog is not neutered for any reason, there will also be a neutering agreement which requires signature from your vet and yourself.
- You will receive the dog’s passport and we will arrange for microchip transfer of keepership on the appropriate Microchip database.
Dog Adoption Fees
Please note we are a Not-For-Profit Charity; we are all volunteers (mostly in full time work), meaning none of us receive any wage from Project Galgo. The money we raise via fundraising or adoption fees simply goes towards providing care for those in foster and towards helping more dogs.
The Minimum Fee asked for an adult Galgo is £450 and £475 for a Galgo pup. In addition to this, you are required to either purchase a GPS Tracker for £80 (including a year’s subscription), or have one on loan for 3 months for £50 (refundable upon return of Tracker in working order). You will also be required to purchase an escape proof harness (our recommended brands), or you can purchase their bespoke safety kit from us for £30 (which includes escape proof harness, house collar, lead and tracker pouch).
This covers a fraction of the costs involved.
The full breakdown of the total costs are as follows:
Donation to Spanish Shelter to go towards medical treatment, including neutering/castration, vaccinations: £180
Transportation from Malaga to UK with DEFRA Approved vehicle and company: £320
TRACES paperwork admin: £68.57, Customs £35 per trip plus £20 per dog
Microchip Registering: £19.99
Safety kit £30, Tractive GPS Tracker £44.99, Year’s subscription £86.99
TOTAL £805.54
The Minimum Fee asked for an adult Saluki is £525 and £575 for a Saluki pup. In addition to this, you are required to either purchase a GPS Tracker for £80 (including a year’s subscription), or have one on loan for 3 months for £50 (refundable upon return of Tracker in working order). You will also be required to purchase an escape proof harness (our recommended brands), or you can purchase their bespoke safety kit from us for £30 (which includes escape proof harness, house collar, lead and tracker pouch).
This covers a fraction of the costs involved.
The full breakdown of the total costs are as follows:
Transportation from Bahrain to UK – Flight is £500+ and DEFRA Approved vehicle £550+
Microchip Registration £19.99
Safety kit £30, Tractive GPS Tracker £44.99, Year’s subscription £86.99
TOTAL £1228.97
What about Mediterranean diseases / vaccinations?
After the dog adoption is complete, we are able to provide you with copies of their health certifications. All our dogs are tested via PCR and 4dx tests whilst in shelter in Spain. Should they test positive for any disease, they receive treatment. They will then be re-tested by the shelter.
Should any dog test positive for Leishmaniasis, they will receive the necessary treatment in Spain and once fit for travel, be maintained on a low dose of Allopurinol. Any dog who tests positive for Leishmaniasis in Spain who is re-homed via Project Galgo will require evaluation tests every 6 months after their last one in Spain, until they have three clear results at which point they can be evaluated annually. Please see section About Leishmaniasis and Other Endemic Conditions.
We advise all new adopters to also have a 4dx test carried out 6 months after their last one in Spain. After this point, if both results are negative, then the tests must be done annually. If any test is positive, your veterinary surgery will be able to provide treatment which is very effective.
Our Bahrain Salukis are also tested for any endemic diseases and receive full treatment as necessary. They require annual 4dx testing.
All our dogs receive vaccinations prior to travel to the UK.
All our dogs, unless for any medical reason or a puppy, are neutered.
Safety Kit
A vital aspect of dog adoption is safety, it only takes a split second for a dog to bolt….
More and more do we see reports of missing dogs and so many of these are sighthounds.
Unfortunately, in 2020, a Galgo escaped from her foster mum’s car before she had even made it over the threshold and bolted. This was hands down one of the most worrying times of my life. She had been in a shelter for a couple of years and had finally got to the stage of recovery where she was ready for the next step.
Her name was Willow. She was out in the Forest of Dean, an area completely alien to her, a day after she had arrived from Spain after a long and confusing journey, as it is for all who travel over. She had not built up the remotest relationship with the foster mum and was now lost. She spent weeks on the run, though thankfully there were many sightings and she stayed mostly local to the area she had escaped from. Every day she was running along busy roads and being in the frame of mind she was and nervous, nobody could get near her and the more people out searching and trying to capture her drove her away.
She was miraculously captured by a great man who came down from Scotland to help who had worked with Galgos del Sol. After this dreadful experience I decided that all dogs of Project Galgo would have GPS Trackers. Had Willow had one, her movements would have been more efficiently tracked and her capture would have been a great deal easier and less stressful or life threatening for her.
Another recent tragedy was Galgo Toby who had been with Galgos del Sol for a long time, where they worked with him on his fear issues. It took a long time before he was ready for homing but the time came and he was homed in Belgium. Within a few days, he bolted whilst out on a walk. The family had unfortunately not adhered to advice and had been walking him on an extending/flexi lead and an ill-fitting harness. Something spooked Toby and in a nano second, he was gone. He had pulled the flexi-lead hard and the plastic handle fell to the ground, making a big noise which spooked him all the more. A scared dog can run fast and far. And that is exactly what Toby did. There have been no sightings since.
More recently and tragically, two Galgos have escaped, one, ‘Cooper,’ was killed very soon after after being hit by a car, and the other, ‘Gepetto,’ was on the run for days – they were so close to catching him, but he was also killed by a car. Gepetto had not been in his new home more than 12 hours.
Their safety is everything to us and the shelter who rescued them. So much has gone into their rehabilitation. These accidents can happen months down the line. Something that reminds the dog if their past, or just something that spooks them. These safety measures are in place for the dog’s benefit.
Don’t forget how resourceful these dogs have had to be. Make sure they are never near or have access to the front door when you are going to open it and never leave windows open or invest in some safety locks at the very least.
On researching GPS Trackers we found Tractive to be the best and most reliable with a good battery life. Unfortunately their XL trackers which had around 6 weeks of battery life were discontinued, but their newer model can last up to 5 days.
Nikki at Houndstuff created a safety kit for rescue dogs, so we jumped at the chance of purchasing these. The safety kit consists of adjustable escape proof harnesses, house collar (which have Project Galgo ID tags), lead and a tracker pouch for the Tractive GPS tracker to fit neatly in and clip onto the house collar. We strongly prohibit the use of flexi/extender leads and are against any aversive equipment or training methods.
What happens after my dog adoption?
We like to maintain contact with all our adopters – part of the joy in what we do is to see them blossoming and thriving in their forever homes. We also like to pass updates onto the shelters we work with.
Following adoption, we offer a free behavioural support package via two of our Trustees, Samantha Walker-Arends and Pennie Clayton (also our Patron). Both Samantha and Pennie are P.D.T.E affiliated and qualified Dog Behaviourists so you can be very sure you and your dog are in safe and very experienced hands.
We are also now working with Sophia Chalk, at Behaviour Matters
In the very sad event you are unable to continue to care for your adopted dog, we ask you to contact us to make arrangements for the dog to come back into foster care with us. We will always endeavour to make this difficult parting as easy as possible for you both.
It is essential for all Spanish dogs to have annual PCR and 4dx tests and for Bahrain dogs, annual 4dx tests.