Athéna came into my life because of a photo. A photo that made my heart jump. She was close to death, abandoned in a touristic town where everyone walked past her without stopping. I had the space to take her in, but I couldn’t go get her myself. Six hours of driving and a whole pack to leave alone. Another rescue stepped in and brought her to me.
Athéna was suffering from rickettsiosis, a tick-borne disease. She wasn’t just extremely thin, the illness also caused coordination and perception issues. I started her treatment. One week later, she disappeared. Normally, I let her walk around the land freely. I think she got lost, or tried to find her old home. Dogs are like that. Loyal, no matter what.
I searched everywhere for two weeks. I had almost lost hope when someone finally recognized her, managed to catch her, and contacted me. When I got her back, she was even thinner than before. Just skin and bones.
The recovery was long. For the first twenty-one days, I carried her four times a day so she could go outside. She ate six small meals a day. I gave her her treatment, and every evening I massaged her legs to help blood circulation. In front of me was a dog who barely reacted to anything. Almost absent.
Then the puppies arrived. They stuck to her because she was calm, stable, an adult. Little by little, she opened up. Today, she wiggles when she sees me. I get lots of kisses. All the puppies and fragile newcomers invade her space, steal her bed, climb on her, sleep pressed against her.
Without ever deciding it, Athéna became the nanny of the Rancho.
Her space is now the daycare.
