Thanks to the care and perseverance of veterinarian Ariani and the love of Olinda Marques da Silva, 78, a stray dog named Linda’s life was transformed. All the sadness she once experienced was surely transformed into love.
In an interview with Amo Meu Pet, veterinarian Ariani said she works for the city hall of Barra do Turvo, São Paulo, and that’s where she met Linda. The pet had been rescued from the streets (in deplorable conditions) and mistreated by many passersby because of her appearance.
“She was in front of a restaurant living off food scraps provided by the employees, but the customers didn’t like the presence of dogs begging for food and so they contacted the city hall requesting that it be removed,” Ariani recalled.
As soon as they arrived at the city hall, Linda and other dogs received the necessary medical care to recover and through training techniques they learned how to behave, according to Ariani: “so that they would charm their future adopters”.
“Then people started showing up interested in adopting them. All the dogs found homes, except Linda, because everyone thought she was ugly and old-looking,” Ariani said. “Despite her unknown age, she’s younger than she looks.”
Time passed, and the dog remained on the city hall premises until she became pregnant. The veterinarian explains that the facility isn’t equipped to meet the requirements for spaying and neutering campaigns, which is why Linda hadn’t been spayed. Ariani found homes for the four puppies, but no one was interested in Linda.
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At one point, the management of the place began to demand that Linda be relocated to a permanent home, but Ariani knew how difficult it was for people to show interest in her, so she decided to find a family for the pet on her own.
“I arranged for her to be spayed and started posting videos and adorable photos of her frequently in city groups.”
The effort — so far — was worth it, as a woman expressed interest in adopting her, which made Ariani very happy!
“The girls at the front desk, Valéria and Dirce, gave her the most thorough bath of her life to make her smell great. I took her to sleep at my house that day and then took her to her new home. She was so well received.”
The joy of adoption lasted only four hours; the woman gave up and called the doctor to pick her up. After a week, hope resurfaced; a man living in a rural area offered to adopt her. However, a few days later, another disappointment awaited.
“A few days later, on a very rainy day, I saw her lying in a square, abandoned in the city center.”
Unsure of what to do, Olinda’s daughter, Ana, appears. Ana also works at city hall and knew Linda’s story firsthand. Her mother had just lost Dogão, the family dog. She was certain Linda would do a world of good for the elderly woman grieving the loss of her canine friend.
“She was so sad and lonely. She had a daily routine of caring for Dogão,” Ana told Amo Meu Pet. “And suddenly she no longer had that daily joy of spending time with him… and she told me she was very lonely and missed him and wanted to have a puppy to care for.”
Every cloud has a silver lining! In the end, the rejections brought the little dog to Olinda. What joy!
A month has passed since the adoption and the elderly woman is all smiles in the company of her new friend.
“Linda feels like she’s always been ours, and we’ve always been her family,” Ana said. “Even my mom’s sleep improved after the adoption. She would wake up and stay up all night thinking. Now she even ‘loses track of time,’ as she says,” she concluded.
Overjoyed with the adoption, Ariani filmed the couple’s reunion and shared the video on her Instagram profile , reaching over 1.6 million views. Ariani states:
“I am a veterinarian, I do not consider myself an animal protector, but I do what I believe is my duty as a human being when it comes to helping animals, within my reach.”
