Bring back a lifesaving souvenir on your next trip from Spain!

Are you or do you know someone who is flying from Madrid with a direct flight to Chicago, Washington DC, Philadelphia, New York or Baltimore for your job or vacation?

Several dog adoption organizations in the U.S. are in need of people to escort dogs from Spain to the U.S.A. We are rescuing dogs that have been severely neglected, brutalized and abandoned in Spain. Our volunteers in Spain will meet you at the airport with the dogs and go through the check in process with you.  We handle all the paperwork, legalities and logistics. The airline requires a ticketed passenger to process the dog as an accompanying pet to be checked in the (pressurized, temperature-controlled) baggage hold. Once checked in at the departure airport, the escort will not have to handle the dogs at any point, but to only carry the paper work, until they arrive at their destination airport. Upon arrival at the US airport, the escort will need to accept the dogs from the baggage claim area and show the dog’s passports and rabies certificates to the US CDC official. We will have staff at the destination airport to accept delivery of the dogs.

The adoption organizations in the U.S.A are registered 501©3 Non-Profit groups which are registered with the IRS. The shelters in Spain we work with are also registered NGO’s groups in Europe.

 Why we are looking for Flight Escorts.

At the end of the three month hunting season, many of the of Galgo Español (Spanish Greyhounds) are killed, tortured or dumped as they have not been considered worthwhile to keep on for the next season. It is estimated ~40,000+ Galgo’s are discarded or killed annually.  

The shelters in Spain continue to rescue, rehabilitate, and find homes for these dogs. However, the most urgent need is to find homes for dogs that have been rescued by these Spanish groups. Unfortunately 70% of all the dogs rescued are adopted outside of Spain. At the same time these groups continue to work on the difficult, long-term solution of education, and enforcement of laws. We simply can't ignore the dogs that must be rescued today.

 Who can be a Flight Escort?

We are in need of people with direct flights traveling from Madrid Spain to Chicago, New York, Boston, and Philadelphia and are willing to escort dogs.  We need a minimum of 30 days’ notice to allow us to prepare the paper work and prepare the dogs for travel.  The cargo hold of the plane would also need to be reserved for the dogs no less than 3 weeks before the flight.  We would provide you with instructions for the check in process, volunteer will be with you to assist. Instructions on how to read the dogs passports and where to find the information CDC will need to review. You will receive contact information for the volunteers that will meet you at the departure and destination city along with pictures and the names of the dogs that you would be escorting.

If you would like to be a flight escort, or would like additional information, please complete the contact information below.  We will respond back to you as quickly as we can.

Thank you

Here are several frequently asked questions we receive about being a Galgo Flight Escort.

1)     Why are these does being sent to the USA? Galgos in Spain are mainly used for hunting hares, and at the end of hunting season they are disposed of if they are no longer needed. It is estimated that 40,000+ Galgos killed each year in Spain. There are several groups in Spain that try to rescue as many of the Galgos as they can and try to stop the abuse of these dogs.  70% of all Galgo adoptions each year are adopted outside of Spain.

2)     How do I know the dog is healthy?  Each dog has to have a Certificate of Care in order to fly.  The Certificate of care must be completed by a certificated Veterinarian and vaccinations must be up to date.  The Groups within the USA also will only bring over healthy dogs to be adopted.

3)     Do the dogs have to spend time in Quarantine when they arrive in the USA?  No, once they arrive and you accept them from baggage claim, an onsite Veterinarian will ask to see the paper work.  They will inspect the paperwork and then allow you to bring the dogs out of customs and to the volunteers waiting.

4)     How do I know your group is legitimate? Our group is a registered 501©3 Non-profit in the United States and in the State of Illinois.  Our mission is to bring awareness to the abuse of the Galgos in Spain and to find loving homes to these abused and neglected dogs.  We are strictly an all-volunteer group, we do not make any money from the adoption of the Galgos.  By transporting a Galgo to the US, you are actually helping to lower their adoption fee.  Otherwise we would have to pay for a passenger to fly out to Spain to bring two Galgos back to the US. This would cost too much and our adoption fees would be too expensive to allow anyone to adopt one of these dogs. 

If you would like to be a flight escort, or would like additional information, please complete the contact information below.  We will respond back to you as quickly as we can.