The end of the year is almost there, so that means it is that time of the year for reflecting on all that happened over the past year. And it is quite a lot that happened…  Bubu and I decided we should do something to help the griffons of Spain early in 2015, and back then we had no idea where this journey would bring us. We set up a group on Facebook,  called Adopt a Griffon,  and this site with the same name, which is slowly beginning to take shape. It was a good decision, a much needed one too…

Through Facebook we have shared many griffons and they have become a little less invisible. The group, meanwhile, has grown to 466 members as we speak (thank you!!) and we saw the birth of several other groups on Facebook, Un Toit pour nos Griffons, a French group that aims to share and find adoption for the many griffons in French pounds and shelters, and Griffon Adoption UK, a group that helps to rehome griffons in the UK.

Rafa, enjoying life at last in the UK

It all started with Bolito, a griffon mix that a friend of us found wandering in Galicia but could not keep. Bubu and I got to know one another while finding him a home. That is when we decided all these other griffons needed to be just as lucky as Bolito, and we set up the group. Then we realized how little info is there on Griffons and how-to’s for keeping them as a family dog. So we created this site. Now, almost a year on, our efforts slowly start to pay off. We shared and shared on Facebook and several of the many the griffons in shelters and pounds have found a home in Spain. Chusmi, Shana, Bilbo, Pandeiro, Astralo ….

Rubio on being told he will have a family and a real home

Then there was Stan, a pup that was found wandering covered in ticks and mal nourished who found a wonderful adoption in the UK with Pam, and with his journey the UK group on Facebook started. And then there was Falco, rescued in the nick of time of a certain death in a Galician kill shelter, who was happily adopted in the Netherlands. Then came Pegy, and Rubio, and Rafa, and Golfo, and Griffindorf – all have been adopted or have found a foster family in the UK. We got to know people who helped us to rescue some of them and found the doggies transports to their new homes.

Falco, rescued in Galicia from a kill shelter, now happily adopted by a lovely Dutch couple

Looking back at 2015, we can say that griffons are not as invisible as a year ago, but at the same time we realize there are so many Chusmis. Stans, and Golfos that need a home who have wasted away their years in shelters or are at the brink of being killed by their owners because they are deemed unfit for hunting. In 2016 we will continue our effort to find a real home for all these kind, magnificent griffons in Spanish shelters, and we hope you will keep helping us to share them on facebook, and help end the myth that these ‘hunting dogs’ are unfit for family life by submitting your stories about your life with a griffon. For now we wish you all the best for 2016, and to all those griffons in need, a happy, furever home…

We like to thank all of you who helped us find homes for all those Spanish Griffons in need, who fostered them, bought them  their ticket to freedom out of kill stations, arranged transport to their forever homes, looked after them before they were ready to travel and especially, who adopted them. Our special thanks go to all of you who help sharing them on Facebook which made the adoption of several impossible cases possible! Thank you all so much!!

Bubu, Bibi, Bobo and all others involved in this project.