Post by oldjay on Dec 1, 2005 17:36:49 GMT -5
Okay, here are some ideas off the top of my head to help the greyhounds and galgos in Spain. Petra or anyone else, please feel free to correct any misconceptions or add whatever comments you wish:
1. Spread the word. Keep the story alive. Mention it whenever you can without overdoing it. This can be through message boards or in everyday life. A lot of people still don't access the internet and those who do, would never think to look for this information without knowing the problem existed.
2. Do a search for on line petitions and check to see if they are current and/or accurate. Sign them yourself and/or refer people to them. If manual signatures would help, print the petition and share if with family and friends. I printed out the bullfighting petition (yes, I think it helped the galgos) and gave it to my mom who is a big animal lover. She brought it in to her hair salon and they were so gung ho about it that they put it up on their wall and asked every customer who came in to sign it. Once they had several sheets filled up, they gave them back to mom and we forwarded them to Anna Clements in Spain. The deadline has since passed but, bless their hearts, that salon kept getting more and more signatures, which was fine. Eventually, I did send them some copies of news articles about Barcelona banning the bullfights and the petition was mentioned in them. You never know what can come from sharing news like this with others. You could have some very valuable supporters joining the forces and not even realize it.
3. Make up promotional posters and any other educational materials that you think might help Spanish advocates spread the word about what great pets both greyhounds and galgos make. There are a few web sites that have beautiful pictures of them and they may be willing to let you use a few if you ask. Or you could take your own pictures. Save your CG magazines and calendars. They can use them to make their own posters. You can mail them to me if you want and I'll forward them to the people in Spain who can use them.
4. Write letters! Write them again later. The AEGA web site has a listing of contact information and Spanish Embassies all over the world. I wrote them all a few times. This was when the laws were seriously lacking but maybe we can come up with a more appropriate message that we want to convey. Perhaps an expression of concern about the continuing cases of abuse or the need for enforcement of their current laws. Even a reminder that we are all out there watching and hoping for changes to continue in the right direction. I think it's important to keep in mind that some new people are now representing their government and environmental agencies. They may already have a more humane attitude, but we cannot expect them to see things our way only. I am sure they have plenty of other considerations in their work. So I would think any letters should be courteous and understanding that they probably had nothing to do with creating this situation for the dogs and may even be doing all they can to improve it.
5. Write or email travel agencies or expensive hotels in Spain and express your concern that their country has such a high rate of aminal abuse. Ask them if they can tell you anything to ease your mind before you decide to vacation there. The point here would be to inform them of a problem that may be effecting their business without sounding like some kind of wacko animal rights activist.
6. Visit web sites like AEGA, Scooby, SOS Galgos and GIN to keep yourself updated on the latest news. They will have even more ways to help, depending on what is going on at the time. Do some simple internet searches to see if anything new is going on.
7. If you know of anyone involved in the media or even a student of journalism who might be interested in writing an article (it's pretty interesting news, I think), suggest it to them! I would be happy to get them in touch with people in Spain for first hand reports or whatever else was needed to make the story worthwhile.
8. Have a few t-shirts made with a drawing or picture of a galgo. Have it say whatever you want.... "I love galgos" or something. Wear it in public and see if you aren't asked what a galgo is a few times. We aren't trying to bring them all over here. We just want more people to know what is going on over there. You can always refer them to web sites for more information. Make sure to warn them to be careful about opening up any disturbing pictures, if they are sensitive about that sort of thing.
And on that same subject, I have had some negative reaction in the past, when bringing up the subject of galgos. Specifically, when discussing their adoption in the U.S. The fact that we already have more than enough greyhounds to place, makes the idea of bringing more in from other countries, highly debatable. This is all well and good but considering the minute number of galgos we do actually adopt here, it is not going to have an astounding effect on our overpopulation. Other countries are taking the galgos in and making the biggest difference, not us. But the point that should be made is that we bring these few into the U.S. because 1.) individuals request them and pay the extra cost; and 2.) we want people to learn about them, so that they can offer their support in other ways if they wish to do so. Our dogs aren't in the same mess that their dogs are. We have a lot more to work with and the racing industry has vastly improved in all reas of animal welfare. We have far more people who would welcome a greyhound into their home rather than shoot one or throw him into a well. The difference is like night and day but the dogs are still the same. And thank God there are people like us working to save them. Simply put, they need our help and that is the bottom line.
Jay
1. Spread the word. Keep the story alive. Mention it whenever you can without overdoing it. This can be through message boards or in everyday life. A lot of people still don't access the internet and those who do, would never think to look for this information without knowing the problem existed.
2. Do a search for on line petitions and check to see if they are current and/or accurate. Sign them yourself and/or refer people to them. If manual signatures would help, print the petition and share if with family and friends. I printed out the bullfighting petition (yes, I think it helped the galgos) and gave it to my mom who is a big animal lover. She brought it in to her hair salon and they were so gung ho about it that they put it up on their wall and asked every customer who came in to sign it. Once they had several sheets filled up, they gave them back to mom and we forwarded them to Anna Clements in Spain. The deadline has since passed but, bless their hearts, that salon kept getting more and more signatures, which was fine. Eventually, I did send them some copies of news articles about Barcelona banning the bullfights and the petition was mentioned in them. You never know what can come from sharing news like this with others. You could have some very valuable supporters joining the forces and not even realize it.
3. Make up promotional posters and any other educational materials that you think might help Spanish advocates spread the word about what great pets both greyhounds and galgos make. There are a few web sites that have beautiful pictures of them and they may be willing to let you use a few if you ask. Or you could take your own pictures. Save your CG magazines and calendars. They can use them to make their own posters. You can mail them to me if you want and I'll forward them to the people in Spain who can use them.
4. Write letters! Write them again later. The AEGA web site has a listing of contact information and Spanish Embassies all over the world. I wrote them all a few times. This was when the laws were seriously lacking but maybe we can come up with a more appropriate message that we want to convey. Perhaps an expression of concern about the continuing cases of abuse or the need for enforcement of their current laws. Even a reminder that we are all out there watching and hoping for changes to continue in the right direction. I think it's important to keep in mind that some new people are now representing their government and environmental agencies. They may already have a more humane attitude, but we cannot expect them to see things our way only. I am sure they have plenty of other considerations in their work. So I would think any letters should be courteous and understanding that they probably had nothing to do with creating this situation for the dogs and may even be doing all they can to improve it.
5. Write or email travel agencies or expensive hotels in Spain and express your concern that their country has such a high rate of aminal abuse. Ask them if they can tell you anything to ease your mind before you decide to vacation there. The point here would be to inform them of a problem that may be effecting their business without sounding like some kind of wacko animal rights activist.
6. Visit web sites like AEGA, Scooby, SOS Galgos and GIN to keep yourself updated on the latest news. They will have even more ways to help, depending on what is going on at the time. Do some simple internet searches to see if anything new is going on.
7. If you know of anyone involved in the media or even a student of journalism who might be interested in writing an article (it's pretty interesting news, I think), suggest it to them! I would be happy to get them in touch with people in Spain for first hand reports or whatever else was needed to make the story worthwhile.
8. Have a few t-shirts made with a drawing or picture of a galgo. Have it say whatever you want.... "I love galgos" or something. Wear it in public and see if you aren't asked what a galgo is a few times. We aren't trying to bring them all over here. We just want more people to know what is going on over there. You can always refer them to web sites for more information. Make sure to warn them to be careful about opening up any disturbing pictures, if they are sensitive about that sort of thing.
And on that same subject, I have had some negative reaction in the past, when bringing up the subject of galgos. Specifically, when discussing their adoption in the U.S. The fact that we already have more than enough greyhounds to place, makes the idea of bringing more in from other countries, highly debatable. This is all well and good but considering the minute number of galgos we do actually adopt here, it is not going to have an astounding effect on our overpopulation. Other countries are taking the galgos in and making the biggest difference, not us. But the point that should be made is that we bring these few into the U.S. because 1.) individuals request them and pay the extra cost; and 2.) we want people to learn about them, so that they can offer their support in other ways if they wish to do so. Our dogs aren't in the same mess that their dogs are. We have a lot more to work with and the racing industry has vastly improved in all reas of animal welfare. We have far more people who would welcome a greyhound into their home rather than shoot one or throw him into a well. The difference is like night and day but the dogs are still the same. And thank God there are people like us working to save them. Simply put, they need our help and that is the bottom line.
Jay
