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Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Galgos Pictures FINALLY!
Sorry it has taken so long, but I FINALLY got around to setting up an album of Julies pictures from Scooby:
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Charlie on the sofa!
Here is Annie's foster family, please notice Charlie has already found his spot on the sofa!
All 3 home safe and sound!
Yes! YOu heard me right... all 3 (well 4 including me) are home safe and sound! At the last minute we decided to see if we could bring back Cicerio (now Charlie) and in short, it all worked out! Charlie had a ruff life at Scooby. His was picked on by the alpha dogs and they did not allow him to eat. He is very skinnny and has alo been stitched-up form dog fights twice and has various nasty scars. However even with his limp, his spirit and heart remain strong and we could not bear to leave him. Luck was on his side yesterday, for once, and he joined us for the very long haul back to New Jersey.
All in all, everything went very smooth from the time we left Scooby, to boarding the plane in Madrid to landing in JFK.
Annie's foster Tami picked her up last night around 8pm. And I just got word Annies is adjiusting fine to her foster home. She loves her mixed breed brothers and sisters and savors her dog bed, treats and warmth of her home.
Ginger and Charlie made it through their first night wonderful as well. cCuddling on the new dog beds... My Gina and Gabby are very accepting of their new foster siblings and everyone is getting along very well.
I am glad to be home and am looking forward to celebrating our son's first birthday tonight with the family.
I will post more pictures and some more trip details as I get settled back in to USA time :)
Hugs,
Julie Charile and Ginger
All in all, everything went very smooth from the time we left Scooby, to boarding the plane in Madrid to landing in JFK.
Annie's foster Tami picked her up last night around 8pm. And I just got word Annies is adjiusting fine to her foster home. She loves her mixed breed brothers and sisters and savors her dog bed, treats and warmth of her home.
Ginger and Charlie made it through their first night wonderful as well. cCuddling on the new dog beds... My Gina and Gabby are very accepting of their new foster siblings and everyone is getting along very well.
I am glad to be home and am looking forward to celebrating our son's first birthday tonight with the family.
I will post more pictures and some more trip details as I get settled back in to USA time :)
Hugs,
Julie Charile and Ginger
Saturday, November 29, 2008
It is Saturday evening about 9pm and we just had dinner in town. Tomorrow Anneke leaves us and we will miss her greatly....
Last night was a wonderful adventure --- we hooked-up with the new adoption group from France www.levriers-en-danger.fr that is in partnership now with Scooby. We ate dinner together and had a excellent time. They are so very nice and have hearts of gold. THe best part was one of the gentleman with them, is the forever home to Quinn, the blind galgo that I wanted to adopt! It was fate that things happened that way. The also took a galgo that came from Seville a year ago. He came to the shelter skin and bone weighing only 37 pounds. Debbie was sure he was going to die and when she left asked a nice man Jeff to watch over him. He held true to his promise as today he was loaded on the truck to France --- adopted by the kind French woman we just met last night! We were all so touched from how things worked out... we cried, hugged and exchanged email, phone numbers and will soon be in touch to exchange photos and share the last leg of our trips. We are already talking about a trip to France....
This morning was about the same as yesterday. No electric/water until about 5pm. There were so many dogs that had no water all day... between cleaning the paddocks, putting coats on, checking bedding we had the chance to help the French group load the galgos for their treck across the border. It was such a cool experience. Bittersweet. So happy to see them go knowing they willhave warm homes and love but sad to look over your shoulder to see those left behind.
On a positive note, the French group will be returning in 3 weeks to take more galgos and the news crew will be there then. They did not make it today as thre was a scheduling conflict. Apparently the French newspaper ran an article on Levriers going to Scooby and the Mayor read the article and called one of the men on his cell phone! The Mayor was touched by the fate of the galgo and Levriers efforts that he watned to speak to them. What a huge baby steps in spreading the awareness of the galgo.
Today will be my last email as we have no car to come to town for the remaining trip.
Here I need to tell my little man Anthony that I love him very much and miss him more than anything in the world...and I also miss you too Frank! As well as my girls keeping everybody company on the sofa. I am excited to come home with our new foster addition and change her life forever. This has forever changed me, for the better of course and I can´t wait to see what the future brings in terms of helping the galgos.
Much love and thanks to you all,
Julie GInger and Annie
Last night was a wonderful adventure --- we hooked-up with the new adoption group from France www.levriers-en-danger.fr that is in partnership now with Scooby. We ate dinner together and had a excellent time. They are so very nice and have hearts of gold. THe best part was one of the gentleman with them, is the forever home to Quinn, the blind galgo that I wanted to adopt! It was fate that things happened that way. The also took a galgo that came from Seville a year ago. He came to the shelter skin and bone weighing only 37 pounds. Debbie was sure he was going to die and when she left asked a nice man Jeff to watch over him. He held true to his promise as today he was loaded on the truck to France --- adopted by the kind French woman we just met last night! We were all so touched from how things worked out... we cried, hugged and exchanged email, phone numbers and will soon be in touch to exchange photos and share the last leg of our trips. We are already talking about a trip to France....
This morning was about the same as yesterday. No electric/water until about 5pm. There were so many dogs that had no water all day... between cleaning the paddocks, putting coats on, checking bedding we had the chance to help the French group load the galgos for their treck across the border. It was such a cool experience. Bittersweet. So happy to see them go knowing they willhave warm homes and love but sad to look over your shoulder to see those left behind.
On a positive note, the French group will be returning in 3 weeks to take more galgos and the news crew will be there then. They did not make it today as thre was a scheduling conflict. Apparently the French newspaper ran an article on Levriers going to Scooby and the Mayor read the article and called one of the men on his cell phone! The Mayor was touched by the fate of the galgo and Levriers efforts that he watned to speak to them. What a huge baby steps in spreading the awareness of the galgo.
Today will be my last email as we have no car to come to town for the remaining trip.
Here I need to tell my little man Anthony that I love him very much and miss him more than anything in the world...and I also miss you too Frank! As well as my girls keeping everybody company on the sofa. I am excited to come home with our new foster addition and change her life forever. This has forever changed me, for the better of course and I can´t wait to see what the future brings in terms of helping the galgos.
Much love and thanks to you all,
Julie GInger and Annie
Friday, November 28, 2008
TGIBlackF from Spain!
Hi All,
Well, today was our day off. We were not on the schedule to work so Debbie, Anneke and I decided to drive about 30 minutes away to another town. WHen we woke this morning it was VERY cold and everything was frosted over. I felt bad for the dogs so I talked to girls into going to the kennel just to make sure the galgos were at least OK with water. GOod thing we went, there was no elextric whcih means no running water and plus the pipes were frozen (again) along with allthe water in the water buckets. So, we went around to each paddock and broke the ice so at least everyone could get a drink. Then we headed to the cattery, cleaned the litter, fed and de-iced them. We checked on Annie and she had broke open her wounds. They are clean and do not look infected anymore. We took a coat and you can see where we cut it in half to keep her wounds open to heal faster. It appears to be working. She took her antibiotic like a champ and put her paws around us as if to say, "please lets go home now..." GInger was doing well also. SHe cries and whines everytime we walk away from the cage.
I peeked in the cattery the other day and there was a new litter of kittens. ONe of which had an inflamed eye, bulging from its sockets and in the cage next to them was another kitten with his eye missing...so sad but you have to remind yourself that they are safe now.
There is a friendly male galgo who is black and white in paddock #4 that I hope finds a home soon. He appears to be a little older but very young in spirit! He has a leg that appears to have been broken and healed incorrectly but still gets around quite well. He always is the first to greet us in the paddock and is just glued to your side while you work. ALways trying to give you kisses when you bend over.
THen we headed back to the hotel to shower and off to town. We had a nice lunch(??)at a bar type place. I had 2 green bottles and could have sat there all day but needless to say we had to do some window shopping. Trying to understand people here is hard. I have limited Spanish but we make due with our hands and feet when all else fails.
This internet cafe is pretty cool. You can eat, drink and smoke while surfing the net. Almost just like home.
We are still unsure as to what we are going to do after our friend Anneke leaves us SUnday. All travels will be on foot and staying in the hotel is up in the air.
I have arranged with Frank to tow the enclosed trailer up to JFK with him to bring back both galgos to NJ. Both crates, GInger and Annie plus me, my crap and Frank just wont all fit in the Trailblazer. I knew would shoulda bought the Tahoe!
I imagine we will eat dinner here in town then head back to the hotel.After we check on the girls at the kennel of course. There is a nice jetted tub I would love to soak in for a bit.
Well, must sign off here... hope you all got lots of shopping done today!
Bye for now,
Julie Ginger and Annie
PS has anyone caught on to the Ginger name?? Gabby.... Gina.... LOL
STEVE I loaded more picture to post 55 of them!!
Well, today was our day off. We were not on the schedule to work so Debbie, Anneke and I decided to drive about 30 minutes away to another town. WHen we woke this morning it was VERY cold and everything was frosted over. I felt bad for the dogs so I talked to girls into going to the kennel just to make sure the galgos were at least OK with water. GOod thing we went, there was no elextric whcih means no running water and plus the pipes were frozen (again) along with allthe water in the water buckets. So, we went around to each paddock and broke the ice so at least everyone could get a drink. Then we headed to the cattery, cleaned the litter, fed and de-iced them. We checked on Annie and she had broke open her wounds. They are clean and do not look infected anymore. We took a coat and you can see where we cut it in half to keep her wounds open to heal faster. It appears to be working. She took her antibiotic like a champ and put her paws around us as if to say, "please lets go home now..." GInger was doing well also. SHe cries and whines everytime we walk away from the cage.
I peeked in the cattery the other day and there was a new litter of kittens. ONe of which had an inflamed eye, bulging from its sockets and in the cage next to them was another kitten with his eye missing...so sad but you have to remind yourself that they are safe now.
There is a friendly male galgo who is black and white in paddock #4 that I hope finds a home soon. He appears to be a little older but very young in spirit! He has a leg that appears to have been broken and healed incorrectly but still gets around quite well. He always is the first to greet us in the paddock and is just glued to your side while you work. ALways trying to give you kisses when you bend over.
THen we headed back to the hotel to shower and off to town. We had a nice lunch(??)at a bar type place. I had 2 green bottles and could have sat there all day but needless to say we had to do some window shopping. Trying to understand people here is hard. I have limited Spanish but we make due with our hands and feet when all else fails.
This internet cafe is pretty cool. You can eat, drink and smoke while surfing the net. Almost just like home.
We are still unsure as to what we are going to do after our friend Anneke leaves us SUnday. All travels will be on foot and staying in the hotel is up in the air.
I have arranged with Frank to tow the enclosed trailer up to JFK with him to bring back both galgos to NJ. Both crates, GInger and Annie plus me, my crap and Frank just wont all fit in the Trailblazer. I knew would shoulda bought the Tahoe!
I imagine we will eat dinner here in town then head back to the hotel.After we check on the girls at the kennel of course. There is a nice jetted tub I would love to soak in for a bit.
Well, must sign off here... hope you all got lots of shopping done today!
Bye for now,
Julie Ginger and Annie
PS has anyone caught on to the Ginger name?? Gabby.... Gina.... LOL
STEVE I loaded more picture to post 55 of them!!
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Pictured here is a mother galgo and her pups. Mom is skin and bones but makes it to the door without fail when she hearsyou coming. She craves attention as she spends most of her time alone under the heat lamp trying to nurse her pups and keep herself and them warm. I say a prayer every night that when the electric flickers on and off she and her pups can manage to keep warm.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Well, no turkey for us today, just more shoveling and taking care of the animals. It was bitter cold last night and this morning but warmed up later afternoon. While starting our morning chores we had no water as the pipes were all frozen. So, first business was to break all the ice in the water buckets so the dogs could drink. Then it was off to check on Annie and move her in with Ginger. Maria who works at the kennel told us Ginger´s story: A hunter in Spain who has about 40 galgos came to Scooby one day. With him he had a load of galgos that were not good hunters. Ginger was one of them.... It is history for her from there.
The other galgos that came with her are JUST as sweet and would make greyt additions to any pack. They are all laid back and sweet. We have named them all and they are our table talk at lunch and dinner. We rarely speak of ourselves, just the broken spirits we encounter during the day.
Luckily everyone we came across made it through the nights cold.
We finished our chores this evening and had enough daylight to visit a castle in Medina. We stopped for hot cocoa and are now at the internet cafe. It is soon time for our dinner and will visit a place that has kabobs and pizza.
Our friend Anneke will be leaving us Sunday and we are counting the days till she leaves as we have all become very close and will miss each other. However, we savory our time together as it is greyt to have all this holiday with friends withthe same passion.
Hugs and Happy Holiday to you all,
Julie and Ginger and Annie
The other galgos that came with her are JUST as sweet and would make greyt additions to any pack. They are all laid back and sweet. We have named them all and they are our table talk at lunch and dinner. We rarely speak of ourselves, just the broken spirits we encounter during the day.
Luckily everyone we came across made it through the nights cold.
We finished our chores this evening and had enough daylight to visit a castle in Medina. We stopped for hot cocoa and are now at the internet cafe. It is soon time for our dinner and will visit a place that has kabobs and pizza.
Our friend Anneke will be leaving us Sunday and we are counting the days till she leaves as we have all become very close and will miss each other. However, we savory our time together as it is greyt to have all this holiday with friends withthe same passion.
Hugs and Happy Holiday to you all,
Julie and Ginger and Annie
This is a picture of Annie: She was attacked in the paddock on Monday and these are her wounds. They are healing nicely and she is on medication to help with infection. She is not in pain ... just yearning to get her paws on some NJ soil. Annie and Ginger are in a kennel together and get along together very well, rubbing against each other, eager to give kisses and get human belly rubs.
We found out today that Annie was at another shelter in Spain and was going to be put down. Scooby heard of her destiny and took her in. She has been living in paddock #4 since then. Now her destiny is a foster home in NJ, then to find a furever home.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Greetings All!
Today is Wenesday and am have a few moments at the internet cafe.. today was cold however not snowing (YEAH!) We arrived early at Scooby and started cleaning hte quarranitine section first, cleaning the kennel, hosing it down, putting coats on the dogs and sadly, finding one dead in his bed.... Anneka and I carried him out of the kennel and somone else took care of the rest. A sad note to start the day. Things are looking up for the remainder of the day, we put coats on many more dogs, cleaned all the outside paddocks and tended to the cattery. We all fell in love with a black and white girlie who is SUCH a people person that we can´t leave her there. Her personality shines and she is grins ear to ear when she sees us. She was attacked a few days ago and bled through the coat we put m her to protect her. Today we check her and were able to clean out her wounds enough to see it is infected.... her sprit though is what sucks you to her. SHe just can´t stay... We have named her Annie. She is great with males and felmale galgos and is a total love bug!! We are going to try to bring her back with us to find a forever home but the problem is transporting her back to NJ. I only have room for one when Frank picks me up at JFK... but we´ll see. YOu can tell she is a people person and is just not happy being a Scooby dog. She is smart, beautiful and a lover.... we can´t bear to leave her...
So anyway we finished our chores at 5pm, headed to the hotle to clean up and we are now in town. After the internet cafe we are going to get some pizza for dinner and perhaps some good old french fries!
Tomorrow we have a tough day ahead of us as we have to hose out all the kennels and it is time consuming, but we´ll get it done.
Have to sign off.
Hugs from Spain!
Julie
PS - Steve I posted pics to photobucket if you get this post and have time please putup the pictures :)
Today is Wenesday and am have a few moments at the internet cafe.. today was cold however not snowing (YEAH!) We arrived early at Scooby and started cleaning hte quarranitine section first, cleaning the kennel, hosing it down, putting coats on the dogs and sadly, finding one dead in his bed.... Anneka and I carried him out of the kennel and somone else took care of the rest. A sad note to start the day. Things are looking up for the remainder of the day, we put coats on many more dogs, cleaned all the outside paddocks and tended to the cattery. We all fell in love with a black and white girlie who is SUCH a people person that we can´t leave her there. Her personality shines and she is grins ear to ear when she sees us. She was attacked a few days ago and bled through the coat we put m her to protect her. Today we check her and were able to clean out her wounds enough to see it is infected.... her sprit though is what sucks you to her. SHe just can´t stay... We have named her Annie. She is great with males and felmale galgos and is a total love bug!! We are going to try to bring her back with us to find a forever home but the problem is transporting her back to NJ. I only have room for one when Frank picks me up at JFK... but we´ll see. YOu can tell she is a people person and is just not happy being a Scooby dog. She is smart, beautiful and a lover.... we can´t bear to leave her...
So anyway we finished our chores at 5pm, headed to the hotle to clean up and we are now in town. After the internet cafe we are going to get some pizza for dinner and perhaps some good old french fries!
Tomorrow we have a tough day ahead of us as we have to hose out all the kennels and it is time consuming, but we´ll get it done.
Have to sign off.
Hugs from Spain!
Julie
PS - Steve I posted pics to photobucket if you get this post and have time please putup the pictures :)
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Greetings from Median del campo
Well, we made it safe and sound! Everyone is very friendly and the gal Anneke from France has been a life saver! The electric has been off and on so we had no heat for a bit as well as the wee galgo pups sitting uner the heat lamps. We were able to get a hotel for our health. We have been shoveling poo for 2 days now and will never tire of it as we are spaending all our time with the galgos and other breeds. Debbie and I experienced a dog fight our fist day and we need to get help as nothing we could do to overpsower or divert attention of the 150lb dogs tearing the little girl apart. Second day we had another fight and sad to say that old lady did not make it as we discovered first thing the next morenign....
I have chosen a beautiful personable little female galgo and am soooo excited to introduce her to the life of warmth and love.
Today is snowed all moring and then turned to cold rain, then finally stopped. We spent lots of time today fist giving coats the the needy galgos, skinny and shivering.... it is bitter cold and will only get worse.
Not so keen on the food around here but Anneke has kindly taken us to the grocery for sweets, pop, and munchies. We did have the best pizza 2 nights ago! Anneke cooked us pasta at the kennel in the kitchen and that was very tasty... and very cold wihout heat. It was a hard time trying to work dinner before it got dark and without electric!
I have 2 other glagos that i have fallen in love with ... one is a galgo black and white she was attacked and has a couple nasty wounds but is a follower around the paddock and the other is a perrigalgo... partgalgo. She is a 6 month old sheppard-galgo and is shy but will come to you in 20 minutes time. she reminds me of my heart dog Zelda but I know if I brought her home i would never part with her. I hope that in a few months I can arrange to bring her to her fureverhome afert my foster gets adopted. I cry when I see her but it because it hurts so much I can´t bring her home.... if was meant to be she will be there when the time is right to ship home to NJ.
I have taken tons of pictures but do not see a place to load them from the internet cafe.... I am so sorry. I wish you all could see the galgos hearts as we are now here.
Ouyr day starts about 8 and ends about 5 depends on how fast one can work. There are no vets or technicians here so all colunteering is done as manual labor outside. It has been fun trying to speak to the locals but the best is just loving on the glagos, telling them in plain old english that they are safe and this cold winter too shall pass. And hopefully find a warm home soon.... this is the most gratifying thing I have ever done and will soon be back.
ON that note I must close as we are stinky, cold and ready for a beverage to talk about our days happenings. I hope to be back one more time before we arrive at jfk but if not, thank you again for your support on behalf of the galgos and me.
Love and Licks,
Julie and _________ the foster.
PS Paula, we are looking after Raspa gal till she reaches you at JFK ... bautiful gal and will leave paw prints in your heart for sure.
I have chosen a beautiful personable little female galgo and am soooo excited to introduce her to the life of warmth and love.
Today is snowed all moring and then turned to cold rain, then finally stopped. We spent lots of time today fist giving coats the the needy galgos, skinny and shivering.... it is bitter cold and will only get worse.
Not so keen on the food around here but Anneke has kindly taken us to the grocery for sweets, pop, and munchies. We did have the best pizza 2 nights ago! Anneke cooked us pasta at the kennel in the kitchen and that was very tasty... and very cold wihout heat. It was a hard time trying to work dinner before it got dark and without electric!
I have 2 other glagos that i have fallen in love with ... one is a galgo black and white she was attacked and has a couple nasty wounds but is a follower around the paddock and the other is a perrigalgo... partgalgo. She is a 6 month old sheppard-galgo and is shy but will come to you in 20 minutes time. she reminds me of my heart dog Zelda but I know if I brought her home i would never part with her. I hope that in a few months I can arrange to bring her to her fureverhome afert my foster gets adopted. I cry when I see her but it because it hurts so much I can´t bring her home.... if was meant to be she will be there when the time is right to ship home to NJ.
I have taken tons of pictures but do not see a place to load them from the internet cafe.... I am so sorry. I wish you all could see the galgos hearts as we are now here.
Ouyr day starts about 8 and ends about 5 depends on how fast one can work. There are no vets or technicians here so all colunteering is done as manual labor outside. It has been fun trying to speak to the locals but the best is just loving on the glagos, telling them in plain old english that they are safe and this cold winter too shall pass. And hopefully find a warm home soon.... this is the most gratifying thing I have ever done and will soon be back.
ON that note I must close as we are stinky, cold and ready for a beverage to talk about our days happenings. I hope to be back one more time before we arrive at jfk but if not, thank you again for your support on behalf of the galgos and me.
Love and Licks,
Julie and _________ the foster.
PS Paula, we are looking after Raspa gal till she reaches you at JFK ... bautiful gal and will leave paw prints in your heart for sure.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
On the road to the airport!
Ok - this is it guys!I'm squeekie clean and just about ready to hit the road on time! Woohoo!! I will spare you all the detail of my teary good-byes to Anthony and the girls. You can only imagine...
Will be safe as can be and will be back in touch from Spanish soil!
Thanks again for your support!
Hugs and happy roos!
Jul
Will be safe as can be and will be back in touch from Spanish soil!
Thanks again for your support!
Hugs and happy roos!
Jul
1 MORE DAY!!
Well, kinda. It is 3am Saturday morning so I guess technically I have no more days left since I leave in 8 hours. YIKES! Good news is I am all packed. One bag for me, one for the galgos and one empty carry-on for my overflow. I anticipate being over 50# on both bags so I will cram stuff in my carry-on to make it all work. And I have to say, I am very proud I didn't even have to sit on either suitcase to zip 'em shut :) What a relief! I can honestly say I am totally excited now! I was able to pack all the donations with the exception of a few coats. They were made for big boys 38"x36"! Those will go on my next trip or with somebody else that has a little extra room.
I rushed home after work to spend as much time with Anthony as I could. Frank surprised me with a going away pizza party?! He knew I wasn't cooking tonight so we both took the easy way out. I savored every bite and enjoyed every sip and Anthony indulged too! He had his first slice tonight--- and he LOVED it! Even the girls got pizza bones (aka pizza crust)! After a teary goodnite, I settled in to my packing.I got everything done I wanted to accomplish and some. It took longer because I kept thinking how much I am going to miss Anthony.
We plan to hit the road to JFK by 11am. Frank needs to be back on the road for home by 2pm so he can make it down to College Park Md by 7:45pm to watch the Terps. We depart at 7:45pm and will arrive in Madrid at 9:30am Sunday morning. Then it is a 2 hour car ride to Scooby. Yes! Almost there!
The next time you see me post, I will be hundreds of miles away --- in the land of the galgos :)
Thank you again --- all of you --- for your donations and support. The galgos are truly blessed by all of us!
Nite!
Julie
I rushed home after work to spend as much time with Anthony as I could. Frank surprised me with a going away pizza party?! He knew I wasn't cooking tonight so we both took the easy way out. I savored every bite and enjoyed every sip and Anthony indulged too! He had his first slice tonight--- and he LOVED it! Even the girls got pizza bones (aka pizza crust)! After a teary goodnite, I settled in to my packing.I got everything done I wanted to accomplish and some. It took longer because I kept thinking how much I am going to miss Anthony.
We plan to hit the road to JFK by 11am. Frank needs to be back on the road for home by 2pm so he can make it down to College Park Md by 7:45pm to watch the Terps. We depart at 7:45pm and will arrive in Madrid at 9:30am Sunday morning. Then it is a 2 hour car ride to Scooby. Yes! Almost there!
The next time you see me post, I will be hundreds of miles away --- in the land of the galgos :)
Thank you again --- all of you --- for your donations and support. The galgos are truly blessed by all of us!
Nite!
Julie
Friday, November 21, 2008
Good Luck Julie!
Hi, I just wanted to say good luck and be safe over there with the dogs. You are doing a great thing for the dogs and I am sure they appreciate it. Give them hugs and scratches from all of us here at GAA.
--Steve
--Steve
Thursday, November 20, 2008
2 MORE DAYS!
Oh my .... I got butterflies typing 2 MORE DAYS! Is about 9:15pm and I am past ready for bed and dinner but here goes...
Today went really well. Pretty glitch free in the office (lunch was rushed and crappy-note to self monte cristo is soggy)and I collected yet more money! To top it off, I squeezed in 2 green bottle at happy hour and our sweet bartender Kim donated to help the galgos also! Beer and donations - I could get used to this ;-)
Frank picked-up Anthony from daycare and took him the the HS football awards dinner. Needless to say he was the hit of the evening. Anthony, not Frank that is. By the time I got home Anthony was in bed. I feel very guilty I didn't get to hang with him tonight but I vow to savor every moment with him after work tomorrow. I am soooo going to miss my little 'Tank'.
On the way home I stopped at the store and picked-up a very warm parka and a pair of fake me out Uggs. And I have to say, I like the looks of them 10x better than the real Uggs. I wanted ear muffs too but I just called my mom and I'm getting some loaners. Geez... I hope they don't blow off my head in to a pile of dog poo!
As for shopping for personal items I think I'm all done. Between Debbie and I we should have it all covered. If not, Anneke, the gal from France that will be volunteering the same days as us, I'm sure will share :)We can't wait to meet her. She has raised over 600 euros and has a line dancing fund-raiser tomorrow night!
The mail man must think we are made of money because I had another fed-ex and priority box of donations! Or he is confused because the return address isn't E-bay :)
For the record, I've made no progress packing, everything is still everywhere and tonight I'm going to turn my cheek again to the mess. I can't do it, I'm just hungry and tired...and I think I just heard the microwave ding. My lean cuisine must be done .
Nite!
Today went really well. Pretty glitch free in the office (lunch was rushed and crappy-note to self monte cristo is soggy)and I collected yet more money! To top it off, I squeezed in 2 green bottle at happy hour and our sweet bartender Kim donated to help the galgos also! Beer and donations - I could get used to this ;-)
Frank picked-up Anthony from daycare and took him the the HS football awards dinner. Needless to say he was the hit of the evening. Anthony, not Frank that is. By the time I got home Anthony was in bed. I feel very guilty I didn't get to hang with him tonight but I vow to savor every moment with him after work tomorrow. I am soooo going to miss my little 'Tank'.
On the way home I stopped at the store and picked-up a very warm parka and a pair of fake me out Uggs. And I have to say, I like the looks of them 10x better than the real Uggs. I wanted ear muffs too but I just called my mom and I'm getting some loaners. Geez... I hope they don't blow off my head in to a pile of dog poo!
As for shopping for personal items I think I'm all done. Between Debbie and I we should have it all covered. If not, Anneke, the gal from France that will be volunteering the same days as us, I'm sure will share :)We can't wait to meet her. She has raised over 600 euros and has a line dancing fund-raiser tomorrow night!
The mail man must think we are made of money because I had another fed-ex and priority box of donations! Or he is confused because the return address isn't E-bay :)
For the record, I've made no progress packing, everything is still everywhere and tonight I'm going to turn my cheek again to the mess. I can't do it, I'm just hungry and tired...and I think I just heard the microwave ding. My lean cuisine must be done .
Nite!
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
3 MORE DAYS!
9:15pm.... Well, I started packing. And I am not a happy camper. This sucks. I wish there was a professional packer that you could hire to pack everything for you and be done with it. I mean it is exciting but everything is everywhere and ya never feel like you make any progress till after the preliminary pack---all in? Yep. Zippers up? Yup. Neatly packed and organized? Hell no! Seriously, I would pay someone to do it for me.
Note to self... must set up the international phone -- arg!
So, I opened the mail tonight and it was Niagara Falls again. There was a beautiful note card with a handwritten note "My daughter works at your vet and she told me of your trip to Spain, enclosed is for you to off-set your costs... safe travels" and tucked inside was a generous check. I am still in awe. This person does not know me from Adam. Until you experience the grassroots effects first hand, you will never know what it feels like to be supported for any passion you may have. People tell me all the time (even people that are not 'animal people') ... Jul, this trip will forever change you. I believe them.
I will leave ya all on that note. It is a school night :)
Note to self... must set up the international phone -- arg!
So, I opened the mail tonight and it was Niagara Falls again. There was a beautiful note card with a handwritten note "My daughter works at your vet and she told me of your trip to Spain, enclosed is for you to off-set your costs... safe travels" and tucked inside was a generous check. I am still in awe. This person does not know me from Adam. Until you experience the grassroots effects first hand, you will never know what it feels like to be supported for any passion you may have. People tell me all the time (even people that are not 'animal people') ... Jul, this trip will forever change you. I believe them.
I will leave ya all on that note. It is a school night :)
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
4 MORE DAYS!
Ok, so it is only 7:30pm and I am ready for bed. Is there anything wrong with that? Well, besides the fact I leave for Spain in 5 days and I have got tons to do maybe I should rethink Seinfeld from the horizontal position....
To recap my rat race day: water main break this morning-- had no water from noon till 5:30pm. Ran to the foot doctor for Frank (they didn't take credit cards and I had no cash) wasted trip. I then went to the doctor for my shots and they didn't take credit cards. I popped in at my eye doctor and he was generous enough to give me 2 weeks of daily wear contacts for free! No messing with saline solution for me!! Next stop was the post office. Well, by the time I walked 2 blocks there, they were closed. Ran into Fashion Bug for some cheapie jeans then hit the road for home. Once I hit home I was tickled pink to find my international cell phone was delivered, I had a box of donations delivered from Jan and Annie from Dapper Dawgs had dropped off about 50 coats for the galgos! It was like Christmas for me for the glagos!
Everything is on our sun porch and our girls lay for hours starring in the room.... dreaming of getting their paws into everything! I know it kills them!
I also just received some cool news...Scooby has partnered with a new French rescue group and there will be French television stations coming to film around November 28th and they will also be staying at the shelter for a few days! We might be on TV!! I'll have to save my nice grubby clothes for when they roll the camera??
Tomorrow I have to go to work. I am actually looking forward to it for 2 reasons. More last minute donations and a break from worrying about everything...It will be a nice change of pace to just do one thing all day, without fail. Well I hope :)The beauty of crunching numbers.
Oh yeah, and I buzzed my groomer today and she told me not to worry about an appt for our foster we can just take her as soon as we hit home or the next day... she ROCKS!
To recap my rat race day: water main break this morning-- had no water from noon till 5:30pm. Ran to the foot doctor for Frank (they didn't take credit cards and I had no cash) wasted trip. I then went to the doctor for my shots and they didn't take credit cards. I popped in at my eye doctor and he was generous enough to give me 2 weeks of daily wear contacts for free! No messing with saline solution for me!! Next stop was the post office. Well, by the time I walked 2 blocks there, they were closed. Ran into Fashion Bug for some cheapie jeans then hit the road for home. Once I hit home I was tickled pink to find my international cell phone was delivered, I had a box of donations delivered from Jan and Annie from Dapper Dawgs had dropped off about 50 coats for the galgos! It was like Christmas for me for the glagos!
Everything is on our sun porch and our girls lay for hours starring in the room.... dreaming of getting their paws into everything! I know it kills them!
I also just received some cool news...Scooby has partnered with a new French rescue group and there will be French television stations coming to film around November 28th and they will also be staying at the shelter for a few days! We might be on TV!! I'll have to save my nice grubby clothes for when they roll the camera??
Tomorrow I have to go to work. I am actually looking forward to it for 2 reasons. More last minute donations and a break from worrying about everything...It will be a nice change of pace to just do one thing all day, without fail. Well I hope :)The beauty of crunching numbers.
Oh yeah, and I buzzed my groomer today and she told me not to worry about an appt for our foster we can just take her as soon as we hit home or the next day... she ROCKS!
Monday, November 17, 2008
5 MORE DAYS!
Today is Monday 11/17/08... it is about 10pm and I just finished dinner. Nope, didn't cook. I uninvited the family and requested from Frank a few green bottles, french fries, hot wings on the sofa with the Bills and Browns o the tv. Heaven. At first I felt guilty about canceling out on cooking dinner but then the sofa kept calling my name and I couldn't resist.
Sad to say the only thing I accomplished today was taxi for my grandmom. I did however make it to Old Navy and Target for some jammies, thermals, sweats and toiletries. I supported the economy in record time - 1.5 hours and $300 lighter, I quickly headed for home. Oh yeah, and Frank got the suitcases down from the attic so I did make a little progress. Go me. Well, Frank.
I had some greyt news today. Dapper Dawgs will be dropping off a donation to my house tomorrow! One of their avid fans, Jan, passed the word along about the galgos and Annie was more than happy to oblige. I can't wait to see what goodies she is bringing for the galgos!
I am starting to fight off a cold so I am going to hit the hay early.
Tomorrow's goals: banking, post office, order fresh contacts and everything left over from today that I didn't get to...arg...another busy Tuesday.
Sad to say the only thing I accomplished today was taxi for my grandmom. I did however make it to Old Navy and Target for some jammies, thermals, sweats and toiletries. I supported the economy in record time - 1.5 hours and $300 lighter, I quickly headed for home. Oh yeah, and Frank got the suitcases down from the attic so I did make a little progress. Go me. Well, Frank.
I had some greyt news today. Dapper Dawgs will be dropping off a donation to my house tomorrow! One of their avid fans, Jan, passed the word along about the galgos and Annie was more than happy to oblige. I can't wait to see what goodies she is bringing for the galgos!
I am starting to fight off a cold so I am going to hit the hay early.
Tomorrow's goals: banking, post office, order fresh contacts and everything left over from today that I didn't get to...arg...another busy Tuesday.
Holiday Shop 2008
Here are some pictures I took at the Holiday Shop over the weekend. It wa a great weekend and hopefully everyone had a great time.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Introduction
Hi my name is Julie Costello and I live in South Jersey. I have passion for many things, shoes, Ben & Jerry's, Heineken, my family and anything fuzzy and furry with 4 paws. To date, my pack includes a big boned, lazy cat (Lou), 2 needy greyhounds (Gina & Gabby), a self sufficient 11 months old baby (our 1st - Anthony) and a wonderful, supportive husband (Frank).
This blog was created by a nice gentleman, Steve, who wanted to help facilitate spreading the word about the plight of the galgo or Spanish Greyhound. Bringing glagos back the the USA is a beautiful feat, however, this alone will not solve the problem in Spain. Educating the public and raising awareness are the first steps towards the solution. I am lucky enough to be part of both, thanks to Steve creating this blog.... you see I am going to Spain and from this day forward I will be keeping a diary of my journey. Hopefully many of those who read it will pass it along in hopes to educate one more person about the devastation that is happening to the galgos in Spain.
My journey begins now.
Tonight is Sunday November 16th and I am leaving for Media Del Campo, Spain this Saturday, 11/22/08. I will be traveling with a wonderful gal from Virginia. We will return to US soil (good old JFK airport) on December 2nd. On our return trip I will have two foster galgos with me. Raspa who is heading to a foster home in update NY and my foster, name TBD. Sounds easy, right...??
I think so, however, at this point, I am an emotional basket case. I leave in less than a week and I do not even have my site cases out of the attic! I have started various shopping lists but need a list to remind me where my latest and greatest list is! Our foyer is overflowing with donations and our girls are going crazy trying to get to all the goodies. GAA www.greyhoundangelsadoption.com had their Holiday Shop this weekend and, as usual it was a huge success. Not only in terms of stuff for the kennel but for donations for the galgos as well. There were bags and bags of items: medications, preventative, coats, leashes, stuffies, first aid supplies, collars, money... it was truly amazing to me how supportive people can be in the time of need. In addition to those donations, I've received additional items all the way from Florida to Colorado. It just blows my mind. One kind soul included some euros and map of Spain! I told her it would be my honor to pass it along to the next person I meet fortunate enough to volunteer in Spain. I know this experience will change me forever.
So here I sit with a laundry list a mile long of things to do and I'm "playing on the computer" per my husband *lol* I tried to explain what a blog spot was and he's not getting it. I think by Wednesday after he sees each entry he will get the gist and change his tune.
Tomorrow's goal (Monday 11/17/08) --- cart my grandmom around to the hairdresser, bank and wherever she tells me, pick-up my muck boots at Zane's Western Apparel, get some Carhartt socks and thermals, look for handwarmers, buy a birthday gift for the father-in-law and stop at the in-laws to borrow their bathroom scale---need to preweigh everything so I know I am at 50lbs per suitcase. Oh yeah, then make turkey and stuffing with the trimmings so I can have a pseudo Thanksgiving dinner with my parents and in-laws before I leave. On that note... I better get off to bed. Finally.
This blog was created by a nice gentleman, Steve, who wanted to help facilitate spreading the word about the plight of the galgo or Spanish Greyhound. Bringing glagos back the the USA is a beautiful feat, however, this alone will not solve the problem in Spain. Educating the public and raising awareness are the first steps towards the solution. I am lucky enough to be part of both, thanks to Steve creating this blog.... you see I am going to Spain and from this day forward I will be keeping a diary of my journey. Hopefully many of those who read it will pass it along in hopes to educate one more person about the devastation that is happening to the galgos in Spain.
My journey begins now.
Tonight is Sunday November 16th and I am leaving for Media Del Campo, Spain this Saturday, 11/22/08. I will be traveling with a wonderful gal from Virginia. We will return to US soil (good old JFK airport) on December 2nd. On our return trip I will have two foster galgos with me. Raspa who is heading to a foster home in update NY and my foster, name TBD. Sounds easy, right...??
I think so, however, at this point, I am an emotional basket case. I leave in less than a week and I do not even have my site cases out of the attic! I have started various shopping lists but need a list to remind me where my latest and greatest list is! Our foyer is overflowing with donations and our girls are going crazy trying to get to all the goodies. GAA www.greyhoundangelsadoption.com had their Holiday Shop this weekend and, as usual it was a huge success. Not only in terms of stuff for the kennel but for donations for the galgos as well. There were bags and bags of items: medications, preventative, coats, leashes, stuffies, first aid supplies, collars, money... it was truly amazing to me how supportive people can be in the time of need. In addition to those donations, I've received additional items all the way from Florida to Colorado. It just blows my mind. One kind soul included some euros and map of Spain! I told her it would be my honor to pass it along to the next person I meet fortunate enough to volunteer in Spain. I know this experience will change me forever.
So here I sit with a laundry list a mile long of things to do and I'm "playing on the computer" per my husband *lol* I tried to explain what a blog spot was and he's not getting it. I think by Wednesday after he sees each entry he will get the gist and change his tune.
Tomorrow's goal (Monday 11/17/08) --- cart my grandmom around to the hairdresser, bank and wherever she tells me, pick-up my muck boots at Zane's Western Apparel, get some Carhartt socks and thermals, look for handwarmers, buy a birthday gift for the father-in-law and stop at the in-laws to borrow their bathroom scale---need to preweigh everything so I know I am at 50lbs per suitcase. Oh yeah, then make turkey and stuffing with the trimmings so I can have a pseudo Thanksgiving dinner with my parents and in-laws before I leave. On that note... I better get off to bed. Finally.
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