Why This Rescue Started - An Ibizan Hound's Lot is Not Always a Happy One
Life in rural Spain can be very hard for these dogs.
They are primarily used for hunting and are usually starved
for 5 days prior to a hunt to keep them “keen”. Very often they live in hovels with little shelter
and spend 90% of their lives on a short chain. It is not uncommon for hunting dogs in Spain to
be kept in a “vallado” (fenced holding pen) in the middle of nowhere being visited only two or
three times a week to be fed left overs and given water. Many of them are literally just about
fed enough to keep them alive.
Should the hound prove not to be a good hunter then he is discarded like rubbish, put in to a trailer and driven out in to the countryside to be dumped miles from home. Occasionally, to ensure that the dog does not successfully chase the car that has just dumped him, one of the front legs is broken.
Older hounds that have slowed down, bitches that do not breed successfully and dogs suffering from
injuries or ill health all suffer a similar fate. It is not unheard of
to find Podencos that have been hung from trees in order to meet their
end.
This beautiful, gentle animal tends to be treated as the lowest of the low in the dog world here in Spain. At our rescue shelter in Almeria we have more and more abandoned and often cruelly treated Ibizan Hounds and Podencos coming through our doors.
For some rehabilitation is rapid for others it is a long term project. For
those of us that know and work with the breed it is very much a labour
of love and admiration with the goal being to find a good home for our dogs.
All of our dogs are neutered, screened for Leishmania (sandfly disease), fully vaccinated and microchipped.