Sunday, September 2, 2018

Spring 2018: Best of Times with Marie in Germany and with Nancy and Nancy in Spain

Spring 2018 Trip
Galgo Puppy :-)

In April, 2018, I made a visit to my dear friend, Marie in Aachen, Germany, and then met up with my two other dear ones, Nancy Young Hanson and Nancy Waddell, fellow Scooby volunteers, in Medina del Campo, Spain. I am so overdue in telling you about this wonderful trip.

Germany
Me and Marie!


Flew into Aachen via SFO to London. Great flight with extra seat in between made it more relaxing. Fun to be in London for a brief time. I so want to spend more time there!  Crazy gate change had all of us running to our connection to Aachen. All worked out and, once again, had an entire row to myself on the connection. Arrived to meet up with my dear, Marie and beloved Scooby dog, Abba, at the airport. I'm always so delighted that Abba remembers me, every time I visit. Dogs have such an amazing memory!  Marie and I had such a wonderful visit, as always. I had a lot of time to rest and catch up on sleep, while she tutored her pupils on the piano. Brilliant work, and she loves and cares for each and every student so much. The highlight of this visit was having one of the best dinners ever with Marie's Mother in Trier.  She had a very special 4 course dinner for us, and it was so fabulous. I will never forget it! We also had a lovely tour of Trier, which is a magical German  village that everyone would love to visit. On the morning of my flight to Spain, we ran into terrible traffic on the Autobahn, which caused me to miss my flight by about 15 minutes. Marie came to the rescue and we had another unexpected day to enjoy together, which ended up being another gift.  Thanks you so much, Marie, for your hospitality and for everything. Looking forward to our next visit!

Marie's Mom, Me and Marie!
Spain and Scooby
Since I had to change plans for my connecting trip to Spain, I decided to fly in as soon as possible, which ended up being late evening, and then booked a hotel room right by the train station, so that I could leave from Madrid to Medina del Campo early morning. Worked out great. Price was right, nice hotel and walking distance to the station. Got into Medina early afternoon, checked in, freshened up and met up with Nancy and Nancy, my two fellow volunteers from the East Coast, USA. We had a nice chat and then on to Scooby to meet the dogs! We spent some time there, as they had already been the day before, and then went back to the hotel and town for dinner and then rest.  Two lovely companion travelers, and we all had so much fun! :-)
Happy Scooby Galgo :-)
We had a fulfilling visit and time working at Scooby. We met and fell in love with the dogs, cleaned pens, socialized them and helped where needed. For all of us, it is soul food to be at Scooby with the animals.
Scooby Galgos Going to Forever Homes :-)

Surprise Trip to Segovia
Much to our surprise and delight, our friend, Sabine, who lives near Medina del Campo, offered to take us on a special trip to Segovia, one of the most beautiful places that I've ever seen! She picked us up at the hotel and took us on the grand tour of the entire village. It was unbelievably gorgeous! Thank you so much, Sabine, for this wonderful, magical day! :-)


A Few Days in Madrid
We had three nights in Madrid, staying at a wonderful Hostel, downtown, that Nancy Young Hanson booked for us.  Loved the staff, place, room, peacefulness and so economical. What a find! We walked all over town and into interesting places that I've never been. Madrid is so walkable and safe. I always feel at home there. We went to the Prado Museum and enjoyed our day there, as well as visiting our familiar haunts. We saw another excellent Flamenco show, visited some very cool restaurants and bars that Nancy Young Hanson had the genius to find, and had a fabulous time. 
Our Hostel

Me and Nancy and Nancy :-)

Flamenco Show in Madrid

Bringing Timon and Aurin to California
On this trip, I brought two very handsome galgos to the USA, Timon and Aurin. I had met Timon in June, 2017, and knew that he was a very shy male, found with a little girlie puppy, Nymeria, who has a wonderful life in Vancouver. They thought he may be her daddy. To date, he is still being fostered and will be placed in the perfect home in NorCal.  Aurin is the other galgo that I brought, and he has since been adopted to a wonderful home in NorCal. We traveled from Madrid through JFK and then to SFO, and all went well. We brought both dogs to our home for one night, and then Julie, from Greyhound Friends for Life, picked them up and took them to Windsor.  Both are happy and doing well! Thank you GFFL!

24 Scooby Galgos Come to the USA!
On another note, we had the good fortune to join forces with Daphne Legacy Tour Group, headed by Christina Azharian Taylor. She and her partners rescued and brought back 24, yes 24, Scooby galgos for adoption in the USA. Their efforts were astounding and we love them so much for loving and finding loving homes for the 24, including Jayne, adopted by Christina and Dray. We love you so much! :-)
Timon!
Aurin and Timon!
Hasta Luego! Thank you for reading my blog. Bless sends her blessings! Sara sends smiles!  Bones sends kisses and hugs!
Our gorgeous Galga, Bless!
Our gorgeous Galga, Sara!


Bonesey sends hugs and kisses!


Traveling to Spain? Consider becoming a Flight Angel and transporting dogs to the U.S.A. 

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Sunday, February 18, 2018

Bringing Bones Home



Scooby 14th Visit: On a Mission to Bring Bones Home
My Bones, My Heart



Gotta Get Bones!
In September, 2017, I returned to Scooby to bring my heart dog, Bones (Huesos), home to California. It was another of my very best trips to Spain. The weather was perfect and all travel went smoothly.  In my previous blog posting, I wrote about Bones and how I had fallen in love with him. Fermin, Scooby President and Founder, agreed that I could adopt Bones because he knew that I would take excellent care of him and he would have such a great life with us in California. Off I went on another Scooby adventure!
NOTE: Follow Bones on Instagram: BonesTheScoobyGalgo. Hoping to get enough followers to raise funds for Scooby.
Bones When Rescued from Murcia

Bones Looks So Sad and Sick -  But.... He is a New Man Now!




Bones was rescued by Scooby from Murcia in the Spring of 2017. Of course, he was surrendered by his galguero, I guess. He was a horrific case of neglect, with Leishmania and was heart worm positive. They did the one month Leishmania treatment on him at Scooby,  but his kidneys were compromised. They did not expect him to survive. 



Enter Margie Easter, friends with super-hero volunteer, Melissa Beamish, in June 2017. Melissa introduces her special Bones to Margie and she falls deeply in love with him -- so much so that she left and decided to go back to Scooby to bring him home, if he could make the long journey to California, half-way around the World.  Fermin had more blood tests run on Bones and I reviewed them with my local Vet to ensure that he could make the trip. He felt that they could truly help Bones, so I booked my ticket and returned in September to get my Boy!
Melissa is the One Who Saved My Bones for Me - Thank You!


Journey to Scooby
Had a smooth flight on American Airlines from SFO to JFK and then on to Madrid. Took the train from Madrid to Medina del Campo and then a cab to the comfy Reina Isabel Hotel in Medina, freshened up and then Melissa fetched me from the hotel to Scooby.

Downtown Medina del Campo
The first place we visited was Bones' pen in Quarantine #9. He remembered me!  It was such a joyful reunion.

Melissa took me around to visit all of the dogs and shared their most interesting stories. I was tired because of the 9 hour time change, so she took me back to the hotel and I turned in early to get a good night's rest and to be ready for my first full day at Scooby.  

Days at Scooby

I am Going Home!
Galgos All Ready to go to Forever Homes
Gorgeous and Friendly Brother and Sister

Fantastic days at Scooby, working with Melissa and the other volunteers. Lots of loving for the dogs, cats and other animals, including visiting the farm horses, goats, sheep, cows, ducks, geese and perimeter dogs.  
The Scooby Farm
Special volunteers this visit included four ladies from Slovenia, two from Belgium and a couple from Switzerland. Everyone worked so hard and seemed to enjoy their experience at Scooby.

Bones is Spoiled by the Belgian Volunteers


Bones Being Spoiled by the Slovenian Volunteers

Nymeria:  A Happy Story Resulting from My Blog :-)
Nymeria (was Linda) Now Lives a Grand Life in Vancouver, Thanks to this Blog!

I met Linda (now Nymeria) in June 2017 on my Summer visit to Scooby. She had come with an older male galgo, Timon. Everyone assumed that he was her father, but who knows? He was very shy and she was a firecracker puppy, all full of joy and play. She looks to be a podenco mix and is gorgeous. Serendipitously, a woman in Vancouver found and read my entire blog. She so wanted to adopt a Scooby dog, and she specifically selected Linda for adoption. We spoke on the phone. I told her about Scooby and the adoption process and she was determined to get her girl. During my June visit, I spoke with Fermin about her wanting to adopt her in Vancouver. There was a good chance that she would have gone to Holland within the week, but with the Canadian contacts, lots of effort from the adoption Mom (even a GoFundMe) and other things, Linda, now Nymeria, lives happily in her home in Vancouver, B.C.  I could not be happier about the outcome! (BTW - Timon still needs a home. He is an excellent boy. Check him out.)  



Morena (now Lilly) Adopted by My Friend, Mora


Morena (now Lilly) - Selected by My Friend, Nancy, in June, Brought Her to California
My Friend, Mora, Fostered and then Adopted Her


Another happy story! When we were at Scooby in June, my friend, Nancy, selected this very sweet girl, Morena, and was determined to get her adopted. Since I was returning in September, she was the perfect choice to travel with Bones to California. Ended up that my friend, Mora, fostered and then adopted this girl and she is living the BIG life in her new home. So happy! :-)

Bones and Me
Here are gratuituous pictures of me and Bonesey at Scooby. I love him SO MUCH!







I Love Madrid!


Took the train from Medina to Madrid. Once again, I stayed two nights at one of my favorite hotels, the ME in Madrid. They even upgraded my room so that I had a view of the Plaza. Did a huge walk-about and thoroughly enjoyed every minute.

The Journey Home
On this trip, I flew American Airlines from Madrid to JFK to SFO.  All went well!  The young Steward at the JFK airport was golden. He even took us to a dog park so that I could take the dogs out to refresh them for the second leg of the trip to SFO. It was another very long day, but it was worth every single second to get two precious souls to their comfy and loving forever homes.

Thank you to to Scooby for saving these two lovely galgos. Thank you to Melissa for saving Bones for me. Thank you to Nancy for selecting the very special Morena/Lilly, and to Mora for adopting her. Thank you to Yoshi for saving Linda/Nymeria.

Next 
I may have great news about a possible linkage with UC Davis Vet School. Stay tuned!
I will be visiting Scooby again in late April to volunteer again with Nancy!
Bones is doing fantastic! Cali Boy! Look at him!

Hasta Luego! Thank you for reading my blog. Bless sends her blessings! Sara sends smiles! Bones sends hugs and kisses!
Our gorgeous Galga, Bless!
Our gorgeous Galga, Sara!
Bones, Our Handsome Galgo

Traveling to Spain? Consider becoming a Flight Angel and transporting dogs to the U.S.A.