I still remember what I was doing two years ago when my phone rang with a voice on the other side saying "Hello, a puppy has appeared in my house!". At this time I lived in a rural neighborhood in the city of Campinas, where many dogs and cats were commonly abandoned. After a few years of helping many of these animals, I was already known by the neighborhood as "the girl who caught the street dogs".
So, I left my job behind and went to pick up the new puppy that had been abandoned at the home of a neighborhood resident. I already had a lot of pets at the time and I didn't intend to adopt any more, so the initial plan was to rescue this new puppy, take care of it and then put it up for adoption.
However, if you are here reading this post two years later, you can already imagine that the plan did not go as well as I imagined.
When I arrived to pick up the puppy, I came across this little thing all wet and scared. She had been abandoned in a thicket and the whole morning had been very rainy. I didn't even think much and I picked her up and put her in the car. And then, I took your first photo:
As you can see, this little thing has changed a lot since the first day I found her. And the first photo in this post proves it. She had a short, marjoritly black pelage, but that changed over time.
On her first day at my house, Margarida Irene (as I immediately called her), was greeted with curiosity by the other residents.
She had fleas, ticks, worms and also severe anemia, as a result of the neglect with which she had been treated until then. She was taken to the vet to receive the necessary care and here she is resting after the first bath of her life.
As the days went by she improved her health and started to make friends with the other pets in the house.
She got along well with cats and most other dogs, but it was with Bethânia, an older lady, that she created a stronger bond. They have become inseparable and BFFs. They started to share the sofa, the sidewalks and even the place in the car.
As you can imagine, the bond between the two has narrowed each day. I also got more attached to Margarida over time, but even so I made an announcement for her adoption and we had a total of zero interested people. I don't know how anyone can resist that face, but here in Brazil the abandonment of animals is very common. Therefore, the supply of dogs and cats that need a home is also immense. Thus, Margarida had many competitors in search of a loving home.
I moved to another city and brought Margarida with me, still hoping that a responsible adopter would appear. But when I arrived at the new house, Margarida became the joy of my days and I no longer had the courage to donate her to someone else. Two years later, she is still with me and now she is very different. Her hair grew and became lighter in the region of the face. She has become a noisy and spoiled girl and spends her days following me wherever I go.
I apologize for the poor quality of some photos, but they were always made with the equipment I had at hand: usually my old cell phone. I hope you enjoyed meeting Margarida Irene.
Keep following my posts. See ya! :)
