b"While hanging still occurs inrural areas, the preferred family members. less visible method is to throw the dogs down a well, or This past September, Greyhounds in Motion helped inbreak their legs so that they cannot return home, leaving transporting eight rescued Galgos from Spain to the Unitedthe dogs to suffer and die alone. Animal advocacy groups States by way of Miami International Airport.call it Spain's Dirty Little Secret. (It is similar to a dirty lit- ItisadirectflightfromMadridtoMiami,saidtle secret in the United States: after hunting season is over, Robinson. There is no quarantine and their efforts have notmany hunting dogs are left behind in the woods to fend for been affected by the CDC import ban. We do the paper-themselves. Wandering from the woods onto the highway, work in Spain with the USDA. The dogs are fully vettedthey are often hit and killedending up as nothing more before transport, and each one is issued a United Statesthan road kill). passport, Robinson added.The hunters still own many Galgos, and continue to Volunteers meet the dogs at MIA, and take the dogs toallowuncontrolledbreeding.Meanwhile,rescuegroups a hotel familiar with Greyhounds In Motion's work, beforemanage to save, on average, as many as 2,000 of these dogs proceeding on to the next leg of their ground transport.each year. We spend the next few hours just snuggling with theMulti-sensoryhunters,Galgoshavelarge,highly- dogs, and getting to know them, said Robinson.mobile prick ears, keen eyesight and an acute sense of smell. Oftentimes, volunteers who meet the Galgos for theAll have been bred with a combination of speed and agility first time instinctively treat them like a Greyhound. with endurance for trotting rather than galloping. They are While they are similar in looks, they have their ownagile to the point they have been known to climb trees in uniquecharacteristics,saidRobinson.IntheUnitedpursuit of prey and can jump great heights from a stand.States, when rescuing a retired Greyhound racer, were pret-Podencos, perhaps due to their cleverness and persistent ty familiar with the circumstances of their past, and whatfocus,areevenmorepersecuted.Curiousandclownish, they are accustomed to. But, by the time we meet a rescuedthey have a profound awareness of their surroundings and Galgo, more often than not, they have been living on thea sensitivity to their humans. Podencos reward their human streets, and no one knows what theyve been through orcompanions with great loyalty, affection and are wonderful how theyve been treated. gContinued on next page46 THE NEW BARKER www.TheNewBarker.com"