Issy & Poppy: The Great Charity Walk 🐾

Helping Galgos del Sol — A Kids Adventure Story from Rural Andalucía

Scene One 🌞 – Lazy Afternoon at Casa Adora - a greyhound rescue story

The November sunshine is getting weaker, a few degrees lower than last week, but still warm enough for the greyhound detectives to lounge and exchange idle nothingness in the courtyard at Casa Adora.

👨‍🦱 Dad is on the roof terrace sipping tea from a mug and eating a Rich Tea biscuit. He’s reading his book – How to Be Right.

Friendly pet ghost 👻 Stanley the tortoise is asleep inside a cardboard box under the workbench in Dad’s workshop area. The girls had never seen Dad lift a tool in anger.

🐾 Poppy: Do you know where China is?
🐾 Issy: Dad’s china teapot is where it always is, collecting dust at the back of the cupboard. Dad’s saving it for when royalty visits.
🐾 Poppy: No, Is, I mean the country!
🐾 Issy: Oh, it’s over there. She points vaguely towards the east.
👨‍🦱 Dad (interrupting): Hey girls, I’ve got bad news. After the recent storms in Murcia, our friends at Galgos del Sol have been flooded. The rescue dogs they were sheltering had to be rescued themselves. There’s a big clean-up operation going on, but worse, they have no water.
🐾 Issy: I thought you said they were flooded?
👨‍🦱 Dad: No drinking water, Is. They have no water at all. Their main water pipe has burst and the supply is now contaminated.
🐾 Poppy: That’s really bad. Can’t they get a tanker delivery?
👨‍🦱 Dad: Yes, of course, but so is everybody else in the area.
🐾 Issy: What’s the solution?
👨‍🦱 Dad: Volunteers are delivering water in containers – it’s not enough, but they’re muddling through.
🐾 Issy: Like Spiny Norman. He muddles his words. Importanter!

At that point, 👒 Sacri arrives.
She is the president of the Asociación de Vecinos de Monte López Álvarez (Association of Neighbours), abbreviated as AVVA. The girls always say, “So good they abbreviated it twice.”

Scene Two 🚶‍♀️ – The Big Idea

👒 Sacri: The committee has decided we need to raise money for Galgos del Sol rescue charity. Have you heard?
👨‍🦱 Dad: Yes, Sacri, I was just telling the girls.
👒 Sacri: Well, we were wondering if you would help.
👨‍🦱 Dad: What do you need?
👒 Sacri: The children of the village want to do a walk of all the surrounding hamlets and villages, stopping at each one to collect money. Would your girls be willing to supervise the children and keep them safe?

🐾 Issy & 🐾 Poppy (together): Yes!
🐾 Poppy: We can bring some of our pet friends too. Russ and Glen the sheepdogs, no doubt Pecky the pigeon and Joey the budgie will come along.
👻 Stanley the tortoise: I want to be treasurer.
🐭 Gary the Gerbil: I’ll help Stanley with the accounts.
🕊️ Pecky & 🐦 Joey (fluttering about excitedly): We’ll report back as you raise funds!
🐹 Master Whisker-Wan the Jedi hamster (stroking whiskers sagely): I shall supervise operations.
🐇 Jasper the bonkers rabbit (hopping in, yelling): I’LL BE CHIEF FUNDRAISER! YAAAH, RAISE FUNDS!!!

👒 Sacri (pulling out a map): The children have a plan. Start at the plaza in Monte Lope Álvarez, then walk to Los Cortijuelos, Las Peñuelas, Mingo Yuste, Santiago de Calatrava, Albendín, Los Noguerones, La Bobadilla, La Laguna de la Venta, El Coracho, and back to Monte Lope Álvarez.
👨‍🦱 Dad: Wow, that’s some walk.
🐾 Issy: Yeah, they’ll need a backup vehicle.
👒 Sacri: That’s already sorted. Paco has volunteered his tractor and trailer. He’ll drive it too.
🦔 Spiny Norman: Which Paco? There are at least twelvety in the village.
👒 Sacri: Paco el Jefe.

They all take a sharp breath. The Boss.

👒 Sacri: A couple of the mums will be on the trailer distributing water and snacks.
🐾 Poppy: And biscuits?
👒 Sacri: And biscuits.

Scene Three 🌄 – The Charity Walk Begins

The next morning, they assemble at the village square. The whole village has turned out to see them off. José the odd-job man has erected bunting.

The mayor from Martos, Emilio Torres Quesada, stands beside a hastily erected video screen. The crowd quietens as Tina, who runs Galgos del Sol, appears on screen together with her team.

🐶💖 Tina: Issy, Poppy, and all you wonderful children – we cannot thank you enough. What you’re doing today means everything to us and to the galgos in our care. The storms hit us hard, but seeing communities like yours come together gives us hope.
🐶💖 Tina (smiling): You’re walking for dogs who can’t walk themselves right now. You’re raising funds that will help us rebuild and keep rescuing. Make sure you have good footwear, stay hydrated, and remember – you are in good paws!

The crowd erupts in applause. Several villagers dab their eyes.

The walk begins with cheers and waving. 🚜 Paco el Jefe’s tractor rumbles into life, the trailer decorated with hand-painted signs reading “Paws for a Cause” and “Galgos del Sol – We’re Walking!”

Scene Four 🌍 – Through the Villages

At Los Cortijuelos, young Mario stubs his toe on a cobblestone and lets out a wail that could wake Stanley from his deepest hibernation.
Dolores and Piqui leap from the trailer like a Formula 1 pit crew, armed with plasters, antiseptic wipes, and – crucially – a lollipop.

Mario (sniffling): Will I be able to walk?
Dolores: Of course, mi amor. You’re made of stronger stuff than that.
Piqui (whispering): Unlike his father, who once called an ambulance for a paper cut.

At Las Peñuelas, little Christina’s bottom lip trembles.
🐾 Poppy (lowering herself gracefully): Hop on, pequeña. Royal transport, this is.
Christina (beaming): I’m riding a racing dog!
🐾 Issy (muttering): We’re retired, thank you very much.

Each village greets them with extraordinary generosity – homemade rosquillas, bottles of water, oranges from backyard trees. The elderly press crumpled notes into the children’s hands. At Mingo Yuste, Señora Inmaculada insists everyone stop for tortilla de patatas.

👨‍🦱 Dad (to another parent): This is going to take all day.
Parent: That’s the point. When was the last time you saw the children this excited about something that didn’t involve a screen?
👨‍🦱 Dad: Fair point.

Money flows into the big pot on the trailer – coins, notes, even a cheque from the pharmacist in Santiago de Calatrava.
🐇 Jasper hops circles around it, screaming “MORE FUNDS! YAAA!” until 🐹 Master Whisker-Wan calmly suggests he channel his energy into dignified supervision.

🕊️ Pecky becomes the expedition’s own news service, flying back to Casa Adora every hour.
🕊️ Pecky: Stanley! Gary! Eighty-three euros so far!
👻 Stanley: Eighty-three euros. Excellent. Gary, update the ledger.
🐭 Gary (importantly): Updated!
By the fifth flight, Stanley is asleep and Gary is eating the ledger.

At Los Noguerones, Russ and Glen the sheepdogs prove their worth when three of the smaller children wander towards a ditch.
🐕 Russ: Oh no you don’t. Stay with the flock.
🐕 Glen: Honestly, children are worse than sheep.

🚜 Paco el Jefe, steady as ever, calls down:
🚜 Paco: Life is like driving a tractor – slow and steady, and everyone thinks they can do it better until they try.
👨‍🦱 Dad: That’s… actually quite profound, Paco.
🚜 Paco: I have my moments.

By La Bobadilla, the children are flagging, but someone starts singing. Soon the whole procession is belting out “Los Pollitos” and a slightly off-key “We Will Rock You.”
🐾 Issy: Remember when we thought this would be dignified?
🐾 Poppy (grinning): I regret nothing. This is brilliant.

Scene Five 🎉 – The Celebration

As they round the final corner back to the plaza, cheers erupt. The mayor is still there, as are most of the village. Even Eusebio Cañaveras, born in the 1920s, waves a flag with surprising vigour.
Eusebio: I remember when we used to walk everywhere! This is nothing!

The children stumble into the square, exhausted but triumphant. 🐇 Jasper still hops – barely. 🐾 Poppy gently lowers Christina to the ground.

👻 Stanley emerges from his box, ledger in tow. 🐭 Gary stands proudly beside it (slightly guilty about the chewed corner).
👻 Stanley: The accounts are in order, Mr Mayor.

The mayor’s eyebrows climb higher with each page he reads. The plaza falls silent.

🏛️ Mayor Emilio Torres Quesada: Ladies and gentlemen, children, and… distinguished animal volunteers. The total raised today is…
🏛️ Mayor: Two thousand, three hundred and forty-seven euros!

The plaza erupts. People embrace. José’s bunting flutters wildly.

On the big screen, 🐶💖 Tina appears again, tears streaming.

🐶💖 Tina: I... I don’t have words. This is... this is extraordinary.

Christina runs to her mum; Mario brags about his toe.
Mario’s Mum: Was it really that bad?
Piqui: He was very brave.

🐶💖 Tina (composing herself): This money... we can use it to drill our own well. If we can find the water table, we’ll never—
🐾 Poppy (whispering): Water. Table.
🐾 Issy: I’ll explain later, Pops.

Before Tina can finish, a voice calls out:
🧱💧 Bernadino: Tina! It’s Bernadino here. I have a well-drilling business – Perforaciones Jienenses Marchal SL. I’ll head up to Murcia and drill your well. Completely free.

The plaza falls silent. Tina covers her mouth.
🐶💖 Tina (sobbing): Bernadino... gracias. Gracias. We’ll use the money to improve the roof and keep our dogs more comfortable through winter.

👨‍🦱 Dad (quietly): This is what community looks like.
👒 Sacri (smiling): So good, we do it twice. Like our abbreviation.
🐾 Issy: AVAV?
👒 Sacri: Exactly.

💤 Home Again

That night, Issy and Poppy curl up on their blanket, content and full of stew.

🐾 Issy: We walked, we fixed a well, and we helped Murcia.

🐾 Poppy: And we didn’t get haunted once.

🐾 Issy: Not even a little.

🐾 Poppy (sleepily): Maybe tomorrow we help the cat shelter.

🐾 Issy: Let’s not get carried away.

Outside, the stars over Jaén shine bright. Somewhere, water flows again — and every rescued dog sleeps a little easier.

🐾 The End

This greyhound rescue story is part of the Issy & Poppy: Kids Edition collection — bilingual adventures with Issy and Poppy in Andalucía. You can explore the whole collection in the Kids Edition Hub.

Esta historia forma parte de la colección Issy & Poppy: Kids Edition — aventuras bilingües con Issy y Poppy en Andalucía. Descubre toda la colección en el Kids Edition Hub.

More about Galgos del Sol here.

You can help them via Teaming. Just donate 1€ every month. Click here.

Footnote: AI images, my stories — The Flexible Chef