Scooby Afternoons, November 2012 Visit

Galgo Hugs on a Lovely Afternoon
Margie Hugging Another Beautiful Galgo in the Quarantine Kennel

Scooby Afternoons
Continuing with postings about my recent trip to Scooby in November -- the afternoons were my favorite time of day. After lunch, my fellow volunteer, Melissa Beamish and I would normally clean a couple of the dog paddocks and attend to other chores that needed to be done. 

These Silly Puppies in Paddock 1 Stole My Rake - It Became a Fun Toy
Sometimes Your Work is Interrupted by Shenanigans ;-)

Cleaning the Paddocks has it's Rewards!
Many of these Puppies have been Adopted - Hooray!

Hugging the Galgos
After the chores, we usually had a bit of time to socialize with the galgos and other dogs in the paddocks, quarantine and other kennels. We would give hugs and pets, sometimes sausage treats, and talk sweetly to the shy ones who were to afraid to approach us. 

Margie Visiting the Beautiful Paddock 4 Galgos - They Love Sausages!
Most of these Galgos are now Living in Homes in Italy and Slovenia :-)

Cat Testing
On one of the days, Melissa cat-tested two of the galgos who were soon traveling to Slovenia for adoption. This involved taking the dogs out of their quarantine kennels to the back warehouse, where many of the feral cats hang out, to see if they can get along safely with cats. One was a bit interested in the cats and the other could have cared less. It's interesting that the cats don't seem to care one way or another; probably because they are around dogs all of the time and always have an escape hatch/place to hide if they need to.

Cat Test #1
Note Kitty at Top of Sunbeam and Interested Galgo
Doesn't Mean Galgo Cannot Learn to Live with Cats, Just to Use Care in Training

Cat Test #2
Galgo Could Care Less About Kitties and Passes with Flying Colors

Emotional Prep for The Upcoming Transport to France
It was exciting and uplifting to know that there was a large transport of dogs going to France on 11/16/12 and another going to Italy and Slovenia in early December. The only bittersweet part of all of this was that Melissa had to say, "Au revoir" to her precious galga, Hacinta. We spent most of our time with the dogs who would be leaving soon on the transport, and I took time to take lots of photos and some videos of Melissa and Hacinta and the other dogs in her quarantine kennel. I knew that it would be sad for Melissa to have to let her beloved one go off to her new forever home. While there were tears, they were much more of joy, knowing that Hacinta would soon have a loving family to share her life with. Every day, we talked about the transport, knowing that it was soon to come... 

Melissa Introduces Me to the Dogs in Hacinta's Quarantine Kennel

They all Love Her!  :-)

 
Doggie Dinner Time
Just before we cleaned up and got ready for dinner, we usually helped to prepare the food for the dogs. Sometimes it would be opening cans of food and mixing it with kibble, and other days, we would open hundreds of packages of wet cat food, which is then layered with bread in large barrels. Preparing the food is a nice time to bond with fellow volunteers, as it is fairly quiet in the warehouse area, and everyone is working together in circles.  I always enjoy this time as well. Nilcelio, the Scooby staff member who lives on site, feeds the dogs each day. The entire process can take a few hours for the prep and the feeding, depending upon the number of staff and volunteers. The great thing about having volunteers is that it frees the staff to work on other chores throughout the day.

Melissa Works with Pablo and Nilcelio to Prepare the Day's Dog Food
I'm Nearby Working on Tomorrow's Food


The afternoons went by quickly, and it began to get dark around 6:30 p.m.There were many times when I would go back to the dorm to relax and download my photos before dinner and Melissa would still be out giving medications or taking care of some of the dogs who were recovering from surgery. I so admire her dedication and hard work, and the sincere love and caring that she has for all of the animals. It was such a pleasure working with her every day.
 
The Joy -- The Scooby Dogs
The main reason that I loved the afternoons so much... the Scooby dogs.  In these blog postings, there are but a few of the many photos from my visit. You'll find many, many more photos and videos on my Pinterest board and YouTube. My next postings will be about the transport to France, Scooby Nights, and the journey home, so stay tuned!

 

"Scooby Skies"

This video is a walk-through, showing the main building hallway, walking out to the patio, Austin and Amelia, the beautiful skies and busy grounds and paddock 4 and dogs.

Hasta Luego! Thank you for reading my blog! More to follow. Bless sends her blessings.

Our Gorgeous Scooby Galga, Bless

Please support Scooby!

Know an organization that will donate dog food? Please let me know.