Barbara’s Spain

Anyone who knows myself and Elle knows that we’re fairly positive people. We get tired of all the doom and gloom stories about life in Spain in the UK media at the moment. It seems at times (we receive the media requests constantly) the media looking for horror stories about unlicensed properties, the diminishing values of pensions or some other ‘disappointed middle class’ angle.

Of course there are plenty of takers amongst the whingeing expat communities willing to spill the beans on how bloody awful Spain is. Some have reason to complain; some are just, well, expats with bugger all better to do than moan incessantly. I hope anyone who fits into the above categories might think twice before moaning their winter fuel payment doesn’t buy as many cheap bottles of wine as it used to, and may think again before moaning in future having read this.

For us, moving out here was perhaps one of the best things we’ve ever done; and bar a couple of regrets on my part, it has worked for us. We get infuriated about the bias towards the ‘my dream life in Spain turned into a nightmare’ stories, but it would be remiss of us to blinker ourselves to the fact that there are some genuinely awful stories out here – and certainly since we’ve moved to Almeria we’ve seen some real examples of poverty and misfortune.

I’d heard recently of a German lady who spends many of her days sat outside Coviran supermarket near Arboleas, begging for food for the many dogs she has rescued. It’s no secret we’re dog lovers. I wanted to meet this lady to find out how she came to be in this situation. Yesterday I went to meet her. It was an eye opener to say the least.

I guess before I met Barbara I had ill-conceived ideas about what she might be like. It’s only natural with only the basic knowledge I had. This lady is daily sat outside a supermarket begging for food and reputedly has over 80 dogs. Given that limited information it’s hard not to feel judgemental or have some expectations of how she might be. I knew deep down that there must be more to the story than this just being a ‘mad dog lady’. I was right to have my doubts about the ‘headline story’, and I was so pleased I spent the time to go out and meet her. Let me say straight away, whatever you may make of the remainder of this post, that Barbara, in spite of a number of misfortunes that have beset her over the years (and there have been many) is a true lady in the most positive sense of the word, and is without doubt in my mind the owner of one of the biggest hearts I have ever encountered. I spent almost two hours talking with Barbara and found her story both fascinating and tragic at the same time. Throughout this time I could sense how this woman was on the edge of breakdown as she fluctuated between tears and laughter. Her physical health was also teetering on the edge, having collapsed several times the previous weekend.

Originally from near Munich, she arrived here in 2001 with her son and her dog Eva. When I asked what Barbara did prior to moving she told me she did social work with the homeless, addicts and teenage prostitutes back in Germany, and in the early days in Spain she was doing various jobs; whatever she could find at the time – everything from building to bar work. As the story goes she’d bought a property in need of renovation and had been let down, or you could say ripped off, by a couple of builders and the money soon ran out. I’m told her property still remains unfinished and since her arrival she has lived without any power.

Barbara was extremely candid with me and told me of many problems in her early years, including being the victim of a couple of horrendous crimes, which for a number of reasons went unpunished. Although being told it was fine to write about these events I don’t feel it appropriate to relay the details here. Suffice it is to say I was horrified by the tale!

So how many dogs does she have? In total, at this moment in time the count is 86 dogs and 26 puppies. Two puppies had died recently and Barbara was fighting back the tears describing how.

Her first stray had followed her home soon after she arrived in Spain, and in the following year or two she was to acquire another five strays. Around 2003 she began taking in dogs from a couple of charities for which she was receiving support in the form of veterinary care and food. Numbers swelled to around 14 in 2006, and at around the same time work dried up, and the charity she was taking dogs in from stopped providing support. Barbara obviously finds it very difficult to say “no” or turn away a stray, and kept taking in more dogs up to 2009 when the count was standing at somewhere around 39.

Worse was to come when a Spanish chap took one of her dogs in. With the very best of intentions this person got an article into a local Spanish language magazine in the hope that someone reading it may have been able to provide some help and support. Unfortunately, despite the finest of motives behind it, this article had the opposite effect. The magazine included a photograph of Barbara’s property. From that day until now, once people knew where she lived, there has been a constant stream of abandoned dogs and puppies being dropped over her wall by both Spanish locals and the Brit expats ‘doing a runner’ and heading back home – we’ve all seen them at some time or another.

Barbara’s life is far from simple. In fact it’s pretty damned miserable. She now begs for food for the dogs. She feeds herself from skips. She receives no benefits despite being entitled because, she says, Junta Andalusia told her they ‘can’t afford it’ despite the fact that they get such payments refunded by Germany. She has accumulated many thousands of Euros in fines from Seprona for  unsuitable living conditions for the dogs and insufficient (obviously she can not afford it) veterinary care. She is obviously in need of some proper healthcare herself too. All in all it’s a very sad tale. The saddest part being that this lady is unable to say “no”, and unable to see a dog die – so I can’t see her situation improving any time soon.

Her dream: To somehow get back to Germany, with the dogs, where she can apply for charity status and receive government funding. I was told the forms are already completed and waiting.

Whilst talking I was trying to think of ideas she may have missed and it occurred to me that as a social worker there might be a union or professional body that may have some sort of fund for a colleague in need. I quizzed Barbara a bit more about her previous profession to find out if this might be a possibility.

It transpired that Barbara was not in fact a social worker professionally, she did office work. The social work was something she did in her own time. She’d work the streets feeding the homeless, try and get teenage prostitutes help to get them off the streets, and she’d try and persuade addicts to seek medical help.

Now it all made a little more sense!

Is Barbara crazy? I don’t think so.

Is she eccentric? By most peoples standards I’d have to say “yes”.

Is Barbara one of those rare breeds of people that simply cares too much – so much so they end up suffering themselves. Absolutely!

When I told Barbara I’d be writing this article she asked me to point out that although she is very grateful for any support she gets from begging outside Coviran, she really doesn’t expect anything from anyone. If you’re passing say “hello” to her – it doesn’t commit you! She also asked if I knew anyone who had a starter motor for a 1992 Transit. Anyone?

This is obviously all from the ‘horse’s mouth’ and therefore one point of view, and uncorroborated, so you’ll have to make your own conclusion on that basis. If you want to offer Barbara some help, I’m happy to pass on her phone number.

Alan Gandy

Alan, along with Elle, is the owner of Spain Buddy. He was born in the North of England (Lancashire) and travelled extensively before eventually settling in Almería. Alan has 3 sons from the first of his 18 marriages, (Sam, Joe & Ben) who are all now adults. You can read more articles by Alan on his personal blog at AlanGandy.com and see more of his photography on his photography website as well as on Instagram.