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Santa Maria - My Spanish Dog on the 'Camino'

Hello to you all and may I introduce Santa Maria my dog on the 'Camino' in Northern Spain.

I travelled to Northern Spain just recently and walked the 'Santiago de Compostela' - 'Camino'  a road that  St. James the Apostle first walked in the 9th century and spans the northern landscape of Spain.   Quite a feat to walk but wonderful all the same as I have never experienced such energy on a walk as this one delivered.

Why I have this photo of Santa Maria is I meet this lass at O Cebreiro a small but very old village 1300ft above sea level in the province of Lugo, lying outside the pre-Romesque church called Santa Maria looking very sad.   It amazed me that so many people walked passed and never even acknowledged her but I did and a friendship developed which to this day haunts me.

I noticed as I passed her that her neck looked sticky and on further investigation I noticed this dog was very sick.   She was termed by the Spanish as abandoned and for everyone that lived in this village they hated abandoned dogs with a passion as in O Cebreiro and most of northern Spain there are alot.   Prominently German Shepherds, these dogs if lucky work guarding cattle and sheep for farmers but most are tied up as guard dogs or abandoned.  

Santa Maria was a dog who I suspect managed to free herself of her terrible steel spiked collar and escaped as this was why her neck was raw and outlined the size of the collar around her neck.

I immediately took action and dived into my pack for a tube of Uguvities cream which she let me put around her neck and didn't flinch a inch.   I then noticed she was fairly thin so left her to seek out our Spanish guide to go and talk to the hotel kitchen and ask for meat scapes which after a long conversation and a few bribes managed to come up with a complete bag of meat for me.   I snuck up to the church and called her over behind trees by the grave site and emptied the bag and she tucked in to my enjoyment.

The next morning she was back at the church waiting patiently for anyone to give her food and a pat and when she saw me rose to greet me for a cuddle and let me once again put another thick row of cream around her neck.

Walking back to the front door of the hotel for breakfast I was rudley interrupted by a huge dog that belonged to the owners of the hotel .   He barged through in front of me, through the dining room to the kitchen and returned with a huge meaty bone twice the size of him.   This did amuse me but a plan was formulating in my head to obtain this bone and give it to my new friend.

I watched patiently and observed that he was king pin around the village and was showing off  to the other abandoned dogs the large bone he had in his mouth until such time that a abandoned dog came too close to him and he put the bone down and ran after him.   What an opportunity I thought .   I set off grabbing the bone and putting it under my jacket all of which Santa Maria saw me doing and as I headed back to the church she followed after me to where the grave sites were and sat patiently as I delivered the bone to her for breakfast.   Mission accompanished I gave her a cuddle and walked back down the road.

Setting out for the day I headed back to church to say goodbye but she was gone.   I was sad but knew she had food in her stomach and hopefully the cream would heal her wound.    As I walked I never knew I would come across her again but as I was taking a break she came from nowhere and sat by me and so my new friend and I walked the rest of the day together.   Unfortunately my crew at the end of our day walking were moving to another village so goodbye's were in hand and as I attended her neck once again and fed her sadness came upon me as I said my goodbye's.

My last day on the Camino saw me having another last break before walking into the city of Santiago and who should come and sit on my feet but Santa Maria.   I was in shock not to mention everyone around me.   My dog had walked 102kms to find me.

In the photo attached to this story you see her eating a big piece of meat which was my last gift to her before entering the city.   I felt ill as with tears in my eyes I said goodbye and asked two Spanish guys to tell her to go back on the Camino.   From this moment on I realised that Santa Maria had given me an awesome walking experience which I will never forget and didn't really understand until I returned home.

There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about her and would love the opportunity to return to the Camino to find her.

Perhaps thats my next adventure?

Enjoy.

Kimberly Mitchell

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