When you have to write down the reciprocal feelings that arise when living with a four legged friend, most people use fiction, saying that their friend can talk. I don’t criticise this expression, it’s just that to refer to one of my friends who lives at home, I will do so as Luna’s friend and owner.

Luna is a “rubbish” Galga, called this way by her former owner, and arrived in Scooby in awful conditions. We all know how Fermín and Maria José devote fully to the shelter, but even with the great job they do, they are sometimes overwhelmed by the cruelty of the dog “owners” and the exploitation of them, especially with Galgos.

Talking about Luna as rubbish is a synonym, for us, of VALUE and of LIFE TOGETHER in a daily task, and so she has shown it with the elder people who have Alzheimer, which, as it is well known, is a neuro-degenerative illness which affects the sick person but also his environment, destroying their life together and almost always plunges them into apathy in all aspects of life.

Luna carries out such an important therapy task, and she hasn’t received any special training, she does it instinctively. I’m talking about her excellent and comprehensive treat, loving and selective, being intuitive of the mood of the person she approaches to ask for a caress or a love word, not to overwhelm them with their insistence.

I’m sorry if I go ahead with Luna’s story. It was one of the various visits to Fermín and Maria José at Scooby when we asked them for a quiet dog because we wanted to add him to our Day Centre (Alzheimer) to help our users in their therapy. Maria José got quickly involved with this plan, and as usual collaborated, as “the mother of all” that she is. She very proudly presented us a Galga with a faded colour, with the snout and breast deviated, beaten a thousand times on her hindquarters, lame from her left back leg, scary, small and alone in the kennel.

Luna’s appearance wasn’t one to fall in love with, the truth is that she wasn’t even taken into consideration for adoption, if we would have only looked at her physical appearance.

I must say that at that time I didn’t think she could adapt to the task she was awaited for. Taking into consideration the difficult situations she must had gone through, plus her terrible physical condition and imagining that her character had suffered severe damages.

I’ve always thought that even when we believe that we can choose, our destiny has already been decided in almost everything in our lives, all the more when we talk about the “partners” which are to “travel” with you in this adventure called life.

This is how my wife Virginia, (another defender of lost causes), knew by intuition that with this little dog she could validate her conviction that a Galgo can develop as any other race, the function for which we wanted her, and thrilled for having seen in Luna something special, said that Luna was coming with us, and that she had found her therapist-collaborator for our elderly people in the Day Centre.

To shape up Luna, she had to go through a surgery, where the vet took out some splinters from the head of the femur, which was so destroyed that the remainders had to be taken out meticulously. The vet told us that such a destruction was due to a powerful impact which had grinded the head of the femur and to avoid that the splinters kept on damaging the muscles and producing intense pain which would prevent her to walk and live a normal life, he had to remove a big part of the bone. He also sutured the wounds she had and did a thorough check-up, bath included, deworm, etc.

After a convalescence period and lots of physiotherapy in order that Luna’s leg would recover her mobility, we could affirm that she would limp for life. In our family we couldn’t care less, yet she tries to substitute her handicap showing us a special love and affection for us. Her curious way to show us her love is by giving us small bites in the hands or wherever, without the fangs having caused any pain to any of the members of her family. Among us we call her “Nibbles”, making us very happy because she reacts well to both names.

I don’t want to make it too long on Luna’s good qualities, I only remember what a marvellous appearance she gave us the first day we introduced her to the elderly people at our Day Centre. Her coming out was something impossible to narrate, she looked as if she had been doing therapy the whole life, for she said hello to each and everyone of the 40 elderly people who live in our centre, as if she was recording the individual image of each of them. She then approached the most apathetic ones and tried to begin a personalized empathy with each of them. She achieved her purpose with a NINETY NINE % of the people, minus one, whom, because of her special condition, she is very special in her daily routine.

This first time we didn’t put her on the leash, and she didn’t need of any order from us for her to make these people fight to be able to caress her, and that she would pay each of them more attention. In fact, there were some disputes for the “ownership” they had over Luna. So much so, that the breakfast bread rolls were left untouched, and they would put them in their pockets to blackmail her with them, so that she would pay more attention to one and not to the others. This situation was solved by giving each person a biscuit to give to the dog and so she would have her complete breakfast. We should bare in mind that there are 40 people, that day Luna ate more biscuits than necessary, but knowing it was her first day as a therapist.

When it was time for the daily walk we take with them, when the weather is good, Luna’s behaviour was exceptional, allowing each of the people to walk with her to feel at ease, always staying at her side, not getting scared, not pulling of the leash, and always attentive to the one walking her.

This is Luna’s daily task, which she does exceptionally well, plus, she learned on her own that when she feels overwhelmed due to the excess of love, she leaves them and comes to the office till things calm down a bit and then she restarts her rounds.

In our house there are 8 four legged friends plus two cats, since 34 years ago we decided to share our lives with them and we’ll keep on doing so.

This story is not meant to touch the heart of those who read it, I’ve only wanted to show that our great friend the Galgo is useful for more than being the removable toy of those guys, who have no sensitivity to respect a life, even if it is an “animal”.

I wish that every person finds the four legged partner for this trip that we must all do, no matter if we like it or not.

Regards,

Luis