Gisela Mehnert

Animal Protection has been a very important element of my life for many years. When I lived in Germany, I was already actively involved in a political movement for Animal Rights. I moved to Spain almost 20 years ago and started volunteering for ANAA, an association in Madrid.

In contact with the “greyhound world” I came across a very shy greyhound who lived abandoned for years in the area of a shopping mall, which we managed to catch with a lot of effort.

Unfortunately in those times the greyhounds had no prospect of being adopted.

They were considered mere hunting tools and not suitable to be a family dog. So I adopted her, called her Bianca and she made me interested in the history and destiny of this race. I could not believe that these noble dogs were and still are today – victims of abandonment and cruelty of many kinds. They are raised en masse waiting for the “champion”, and they get rid of them anyway.

Within my means I decided to get involved in the fight to help them. With a colleague from Andalusia we started to rescue greyhounds from kennels, fields etc. and prepared them in residences for adoption.

Since 2009 we have our shelter near Dos Hermanas which is for me a dream come true. For everyone it is emotionally hard work, to see every day with what contempt the greyhounds are treated, those who enter with serious injuries of mistreatment or atropello, but at the same time it is satisfactory to be able to create future to them. IS THE ONLY THING THAT COUNTS IN THE END.