Couple in battle to keep dog rescue centre open
A LANARKSHIRE couple behind a charity to save hunting dogs in Spain face losing their home and kennels within days after one of the venture’s founders died suddenly.
Irene and Steve Allan, who set up the Hope for Podencos charity in Spain and Gran Canaria with friend and benefactor Suzannah Stacey nearly four years ago, said they are devastated at losing their friend and determined to continue their work in her memory.
The couple, who previously ran a dog grooming business in Scotland for 30 years, have been rescuing former hunting dogs that were abandoned and left for dead.
The hunting dogs, or podencos, are described by campaigners as Spain’s “secret shame”.
The breed, brought from the Canary Islands around the 8th and 9th Century, are used to hunt rabbits, deer and wild boar, but thousands face a grim existence and an even worse fate once the hunting season ends.
They are drowned, strung up or thrown over cliffs, the animal workers said.
Mrs Allan said: “Suzannah had committed years of her life to the plight of these beautiful dogs but sadly, during her move to purchase the new centre in November 2018, had not been able to finalise all of the legal documents to secure the funds for the centre in case of her passing.
“I don’t know what we’re going to do. I’m just praying that we get the support to keep it going.”
The podencos are often adopted through a validated system in the UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands, the USA and Canada.
Mrs Allan said: “They are the most affectionate dogs – very clever, very tactile, very good with children.
“They are intuitive and good with disabled children. They are tough dogs, they lived their life tied up in chains for seven or eight years, some of them.
“Some are more traumatised than others but they respond to affection.”
The charity is trying to raise about £100,000.
It has around 40 dogs at its Albacete base and 23 in Gran Canaria, with an online fundraising appeal being launched.
The struggle of the podencos is gathering more international attention and their “barbaric” treatment is being challenged in Spain.
Campaigners claim that the authorities are unable to rein in cruelty in hunting because of its popularity and value to Spain’s struggling economy.
Mrs Allan said that “hunting is a big thing in Spain – it’s like hiring a ghillie to go fishing.”
She added: “They sell ammunition, clothing for hunting, trailers. You can book to go hunting here.”
One of the podencos rescued by the Allans, Celeste, was found with neck wounds from a failed hanging.
She was later found a home in Hazelbank, near Lanark. About a dozen can be rehomed in a year.
Mrs Allan said: “It’s not a lot, but if you can save some, you have to try.”