Galgos - A New Hound in Town?

Have you heard?  There’s a new hound in town!

People in the mid-Atlantic region are fairly used to seeing retired racing greyhounds walking about on their long, elegant legs.  They’ve become a very popular pet since people have discovered how sweet and calm they are.  But next time you see one, if he seems too big to be a whippet but too small to be a racer, look a little more closely and you may discover something exciting.

Credit: Scooby Medina

In the last several years more rescue organizations have popped up along the Atlantic coast to help rescue galgos from Spain.  Galgos are Spanish greyhounds and look very similar to our beloved breed, but they have no common bloodlines.  Galgos are used for hunting hare in Spain, a popular sport, so they have great stamina.  They are a little slower than our racers; Galgos top speed is around 35mph while racers can peg 45mph, but galgos can run for up to 5 miles nonstop while our racers poop out after about 35 seconds.  Galgos tend to be playful and clownish and very social with other dogs, while greyhounds tend to be more serious and often standoffish with other dogs.

Why is this exciting?  It means that if the perfect dog for your family is one with a calm and mellow disposition, good with other dogs, and can be a jogging buddy, you should probably consider a galgo!  Like greyhounds, they come in all colors of the doggy rainbow and have easy grooming and care requirements.  Unlike greyhounds, it’s easier to get one as a puppy, but many adult dogs are also in need of good homes. 

Finally, by adopting a galgo you help rescue another dog from a horrible end in Spain and help to show the Spanish authorities that they actually ARE good pets!  Galgos in Spain are bred indiscriminately by the thousands and disposed of by the thousands every year, often in quite brutal ways.  Many are simply abandoned and roam the streets of small rural towns in feral dog packs, slowly dying of disease and starvation.  This has the unfortunate side effect of making the Spanish people think that they are vermin and not suitable for pets.  There are many rescue groups that are trying very hard to solve this problem through education and public relations campaigns in Spain.  Meanwhile they’re also trying to rescue and re-home as many as they can to people all over Europe and the United States who recognize these animals for what they really are:  sweet, adorable dogs that are worthy of love and a good home!

Want to learn more? You can find more information by visiting these organizations that operate in the U.S., Scooby North America

Save A Galgo Espanol (on Facebook only at the moment), 

Sighthound Underground, and Galgo Rescue International Network.

The Author: Sharon Conger has worked in greyhound adoption for over five years in the northern Virginia area and is head over heels in love with her two retired racers. It was through the greyhound adoption community that she learned about the Galgos in Spain. Now that the greyhound racing industry in America is in decline, allowing the adoption network to keep pace with the breeding rate, Sharon is spending more time in Galgo rescue. She volunteers for Scooby North America and occasionally helps out Save A Galgo Espanol. She can be contacted for more information at Sharon Conger.