Dog Women, The Rescuers

In her book "Women Who Run with the Wolves" Clarissa Pinkola Estes talks about the untamed female spirit, the wild side of our nature. These are the kindred spirits of women who live with the dogs.  

The “Dog Women” have strong loving spirit connecting them to nature, to the beings which have adopted us as their own. Some are the strong wild wolf spirits and others may be timid shy women, but all have loving hearts open toward God’s creatures.

“What a face,” these women exclaim when gazing at the features of an animal.  More than appreciating looks or personality women who live with dogs are concerned with animal welfare. They are the activists, the animal rescuers.

I had the opportunity to spend the weekend with one such ‘Dog Woman,” Adri Galler Lastra of Amigos de Los Animales in Carolina, Puerto Rico.

Adri’s day begins early with cleaning and feeding her rescues. These are the dogs whose lives she’s saved. As we feed, she tells me each dog’s story. It’s clear that each one is special. Her keen gaze inspects the animal for subtle changes in condition. One dog with modest eye discharge gets drops swiftly inserted, a pet on the chin and she’s on to the next.

A man shows up at her gate to turn over a litter of puppies to her care. The phone begins to ring. The life of this animal activist is busy. On Monday she’ll take four dogs to the vets to prepare for their trip to the states. Forever homes await the lucky dogs.  

With the morning chores completed, we walk to the beach with a couple of Adri’s senior dogs, swimming for arthritic joints, Adri calls this down time.  

For Dog Women such as Adrienne Galler this labor of love has become a way of life. Her canine charges look at her with adoring eyes. God has a special place for women like Adri.