Greyhounds (Galgos)...

Meet Eddy. He's a six-and-a half year-old galgo (greyhound). He's a hell of a dog - as cheeky as he is adorable, affectionate and smart (yeah, yeah - proud daddy).

In Australia, as in similar countries, most people think of greyhounds as racing dogs. Here in Spain though, they're hunters. And that has brought them the worst of luck.

The end of the hunting season (which is as I write this) is a dangerous time for galgos. They're abandoned in the countryside in their thousands – an astounding 50,000 according to recent estimates from animal welfare groups.

This, believe it or not, is better than it used to be. Not long ago, hunters would generally lynch their unwanted dogs (shooting them was not popular as it was considered a waste of a bullet).

There are organisations here dedicated solely to the welfare of galgos. They, along with general animal welfare groups, work very hard to get the hunters to, at the very least, bring them their unwanted dogs at the end of the season.

We got Eddy from one of these associations - ANAA (Asociación Nacional Amigos de los Animales). He was just 2 months-old at the time, so thankfully he hadn’t suffered. His mother probably did however - she was a hunting-dog that been abandoned. Somewhere along the line she got knocked-up and was found by passers-by suckling Eddy and his sister in a hole by the side of a road just outside Madrid.

That was a stroke of luck for all concerned: Eddy came to us and his mother and sister are now living a very happy life in Germany. Interestingly, the Germans are responsible for rescuing a huge number of Spain's unwanted dogs.

Happily, galgos are becoming more and more commonplace in Spanish cities as pets – largely due to re-homing work of the animal welfare groups. The number of galgos I have seen in the city has grown exponentially in the years that we've been lucky enough to have Eddy.

In Madrid, about once a month, galgo groups meet in Madrid’s main city park, el Retiro, for a get-together and to parade the galgos they have in their care in need of new homes.

And galgos are brilliant at home - even in the flats in which most of us in Spanish cities live. All Eddy wants to do en casa is snooze, lap up a bit of affection and occasionally raid the garbage bin. Of course as a puppy, he wasn't quite so placid. He “ate" an entire sofa once. I'm not exaggerating.

Out and about he loves a run of course - although perhaps less than you might imagine. Throw in a bit of socialising at the local dog area and a good sniff about the place (embarrassingly, quite often in strangers' pockets and handbags in search of a treat), and that's pretty much it. A trip to the beach or the countryside will invoke a more-than-usual burst of energy - we took him up to the snow just the other day and he went crazy - but then he'll be pretty much be comatose for the next few hours.

Our local dog area (in Catalan: Area de Gossos). 
Not a bad backdrop, eh? 

The cruelty with which the hunters here treat their unwanted dogs is in stark contrast to the doting way my neighbours treat their animals. You’ll be amazed at how many people have dogs in the crowded Spanish cities. Around five dogs live in our block alone – which has just 15 flats to it.

And it’s not just the dog owners. When Eddy goes out for a walk there is a particular route that we must to follow, at his insistence, which takes in all the shopkeepers, city gardeners and street cleaners who will have a pat and treat for him when they see him.