EXTREMADURA, SPAIN

Extremadura is one of the blackest spots of Spain as far as animal cruelty is concerned.

Here they often go one step up from cruelty and are true sadists.

What they do to the animals there is unimaginable, only monsters that look like humans but are not, would devise the different kinds of hell they put the animals in. The names of their unspeakable places of torture and slow deaths: pudrideros (places to rot in), el tranco (the step), ahorcaderas (places to hang them in ) still exist and are used in this part of Spain, no matter what the Spanish Government says! Angel, a 12 y.o. escaped from one of these places. In his case they had put a piece of wood in his mouth in a way to cause a very slow and dreadful death, mostly done to Greyhounds we are told. Angel was found in the street, by Rescue workers, and his mouth was totally infected by the splinters that got embedded when he desperately fought to get the wood out of his mouth but his body was also badly dehydrated, anaemic, wounded and infected and the worst part perhaps, when the ladies got close to him he lifted his head that was hanging to the ground while he dragged one of his legs, and cried and screamed in sheer terror that would not stop, pitifully fighting to get away. A man, perhaps his tormentor, laughed at them with great amusement and said "he´s only an old and mangy dog!" It makes one wonder what people like that would to do to their own grandparents if they could, as they believe that being old and sick is a good reason to being sadistically tortured to death.

UPDATE JULY '10: Angel stopped responding to treatment and so in a last deperate effort to save him he was transported to the Veterinary Hospital at the Veterinary University in Madrid where he would receive 24hr care.

Two weeks on he is still there  but is responding to treatment. A lot of people have been visiting Angel and all these people who didn't know one another have been crying at his side. It's been so emotional, and these people have felt as though they have known each other all their lives! By meeting this very special doggie they now understand the fight to keep him alive. He has been eating from their hands, ham and turkey that the people have brought to convince him to start eating and trust humans again. Pilar is proud of  all those that are supporting Angel. She believes that he will recover and that there is no way back because of all this spiritual push everybody is giving him. Pilar also hopes that the special union created by so many people because of Angel will galvanize us into action to fight and stop these savage crimes against all animals. Angel is just one of so many others that have no one to help them and die terribly with never knowing even one day of peace, love and dignity.

It is with a breaking heart that I am writing this to say that Angel passed away yesterday (23/07) Since his story emerged towards the end of June, Angel has touched so many hearts and so many were willing him to survive so that he could know what it was like to live amongst love and kindness. These are the last pictures that were taken and one can see that his misery was fading from his eyes and that he knew people loved him. Angel, you will live on in the hearts of many.  R.I.P. x♥x♥x♥x

There are not enough words to thank Maria Daines and her husband Paul for writing and recording this beautiful song in Angel's memory

http://www.maria-daines.com/music-109.html