My partner had been floating the idea of fostering dogs for a few years. Until that point, I was a staunch “no”. I had fostered a dog in the past and knew how hard it was to say goodbye. He had never fostered before. I told him we shouldn’t foster until we are prepared to adopt, knowing that was a likely outcome. But in Prague, and after a few years and a few beers to forget, that resoluteness faded. When we got back to the apartment one night, we contacted the association I had fostered for before. They replied almost immediately with a list of dogs who needed foster homes and asked if we could take one the next day. 

We asked them to give us a few days to return to Barcelona and they asked us which dog we would like to take. We told them whoever was in the most urgent need. They told us Cloe, a sweet, clever little bodeguero/podenco mix. In Lepe (southern Spain), she had given birth to 11 puppies, 5 of which survived and they were now all in a foster home in Catalunya. The puppies were old enough to be weaned and adopted off, and Cloe was causing trouble - scaling walls, chasing after her foster mother’s car when she left for work. She needed a different home.  

We took her in and were in love immediately. She was a truly special dog with so much love and awareness. She had a human-like connection and presence. From the first moments we were negotiating with ourselves, could we adopt her? We travel a lot and have family all over the world, could we make it work? The honeymoon phase wore off and we were presented with the reality of a dog who had lived through more than her share of trauma. 3 days in we asked the association if they had a dog trainer they worked with because her behavior was above what either of us knew how to manage. A few weeks later when an adopter showed interest in her, we were faced with the choice we were avoiding. 

The potential adopter ended up choosing another dog, and we were safe for the time being. But now the pressure was on to decide whether to make things official or not. After many difficult conversations, we decided to adopt her. She was so full of love despite her hardships and was so clever and emotionally attuned. Even strangers on the street would stop us and tell us that they felt a very special energy from her. Many times, before she was in our life, people had said similar things about my partner and me. They couldn’t pinpoint what it was, but they felt an obvious and refreshing connection seeing us together and existing in our space. It felt so reassuring that people were noticing that Cloe was adding to this baseline aura that seemed to be around us. 

 The hardships with her behavior kept coming. It was hard to see any improvement. After several months, we were still doubting our decision. It seemed the city was not the right place for her - she was not adapting. At some point, we even asked the association if they could find a more rural home for her wellbeing. Never in a million years would I have imagined that I would “return” a dog. We had rescued so many animals living on a farm as a kid. It was instilled in me to never ever give up on an animal. And here we were at our breaking point. I could not believe it. It was heartbreaking. 

I am non-religious, but at times am convinced of varying levels of energy and connectedness that transcend the physical. My love for animals is the strongest force that moves through me. Me and my partner lived these months almost in a depression, turned off and crying almost daily at some points. Absolutely unsure of our choices, I prayed. Not to a god, but to my soul animals. My childhood dogs Mitzi and Gracie who died a few years prior. They gave my family all the love in the world for 10 years through some of the hardest times we experienced. From multiple international moves to financial catastrophe they were a calm presence throughout it all. I now asked them to help us pour all the love they gave to us into Cloe. To give us the strength to find a way through these most difficult decisions. To help us get past her traumas and give her the happy and calm life she deserves.

Nine months into our journey together, her issues disappeared. Sometimes in big noticeable jumps, but many times slowly fading to the background and leaving unnoticed. We realized she was ingrained in our life as if we had always had her. She felt safe and seen and flowered into her full personality. She had become not just a city dog (for the most part) but an everything dog. From fetch in el Retiro, to hanging out at traditional Basque festivals, to hikes in the Pyrenees, to beach runs in delta del Ebro. She learned to enjoy people watching in the plazas while we have dinner or drinks (don’t worry she also gets her sneaky snacks under the table). She knows all the barrio abuelas and cafes with treats for her. 

Every person that has taken care of her has fallen in love with her. She can feel your emotions before they bubble up to your own consciousness, pressing her body against you to help calm you down. She uses her front paws like tiny hands, with a freakish dexterity I have never before seen in a dog. At home she is not allowed on the bed at night, but when we take trips together, we let her sleep with us. This pure soul gets so excited to sleep with us that she cannot contain herself and spends the whole night awake, wiggling and wagging her tail. She is energy and comedy, peace and affection. 

She has brought us countless new connections and ingrained us deeper into our community, two tangential effects we never would have imagined. She is responsible in part for a complete overhaul in many aspects of our life, one being - my occupation. I had wanted to quit my job in tech for some time, and her training needs at the beginning played a part in the reasoning of that departure. One year later I’m no longer writing code, but painting custom pet portraits, inspired by Cloe and other rescue pups. 

This journey with her became that much more special when, through Woof Book, we learned a missing part in her story. We knew she was found in Lepe and was taken to Catalunya with her puppies, but we never knew anything previous to that. When we came across her daughter Sombra’s story (Paw #207), we learned what state she was in when she was found. Abandoned, tied up under a dried tree in the scorching sun, traumatized by abuse, never knowing love or care. It broke my heart to know this was her life. What an absolute miracle it is that she is now so friendly, giving love so freely to any and every human. She just needed someone to give her a chance.