Tails of love for kids learning empathy from rescued greyhounds

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Saud Khalil Zafar Malik, seven, of the Joan Maragall school, acts as a veterinarian as he listens to the heart of a greyhound during a visit to SOS Galgos. /Nacho Doce/Reuters

Lanky greyhounds placidly let a bunch of beaming children pet them in the SOS Galgos shelter in the suburbs of Barcelona, where the rescued dogs are helping kids learn empathy for animals.

Known as 'galgos' in Spanish, greyhounds are used to track or catch game from rabbits to deer but thousands of them are discarded in Spain every year when injured or just no longer in their prime.

Shelters like SOS Galgos seek to find homes for the dogs.

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Haron Boghlouli, seven, and worker Vanesa Gonzalez, 43, during a visit to SOS Galgos. /Nacho Doce/Reuters

While awaiting adoption, the greyhounds - known for their calm and gentle behavior around children - bring joy to boys and girls who come on field trips to learn to love and respect animals. Such "empathy classes" are part of the school curriculum in Spain under a law adopted in 2020.

"Children who have not had any contact with the animal world, and can even arrive with fear, leave here excited and happy that they have touched a dog... saying 'I'm going to adopt, I'm not going to buy'," said Sara Cadenas, who is in charge of the workshops.

"They learn here and then they tell their parents, kids in the playground on a weekend, which is particularly gratifying," she added.

Students of the Joan Maragall school interact with a greyhound during a visit to the SOS Galgos shelter. /Nacho Doce/Reuters

The shelter, which exists mostly on donations, charges a six-euro ($6.50) fee per child for a two-hour workshop. Schools from poorer neighborhoods inhabited largely by immigrants have their expenses covered.

Hunting dogs have largely been excluded from a legislative drive to bolster animal rights and punish abusers. The hunting industry is worth an estimated annual five billion euros ($5.4bn) in Spain and has a powerful lobby.