Tara's story is one like no other. After a rough life on the streets of Portugal, she was lucky to be taken in by the German organisation,Lucky Dogs, that tries to findstreet dogs from Portugal and Romania a new home in Germany.Leaving her old life behind, she was taken to a shelter in Berlin and adopted. But her new family wasn't aware ofher horrible past.When Chris and Esther decided in November 2015 to become foster parents toa dog for a year, they were expectingto take in Fadder, anadult male. But on the morningof the adoption they received an emergency call asking if they could instead helpTara, the 1-year-old puppy from the Portuguese streets.
Source: Esther J.
Since the couple had already decided to become a host family, they welcomed the dog into their home. Esther told Holidog Times in an exclusive interview:
We were told that she was a very severe case and might never trust humans. At this point we didn't know what she had been through.
Source: Esther J.
Tara's fur was dirty and matted and she desperately needed a bath. She alsosuffered from an eye infection, ingrown nails and ear problems. But Esther and Chris didn't hesitate to welcome her into their family, even with all her medical issues.The longer Tara lived with the couple, the more they learntabout her. They found out that the pup was terrified of water because someone had previously tried to drown her and every time they opened the tap,she would run out of the room. They tried several approaches to get the dirty pup clean: Dripping warm water on her coat and even took her to a dog parlour.
Source: Esther J.
It wasn't until they tookher to the vet for a check-upthat they were able to wash her fur. Tara was put under anaesthesia thoroughly examined. They made a couple ofshockingdiscoveries, the first of which being that she was in fact four and a halfyears old and not a puppy as they were initially informed!The most shocking revelation, however were the X-rays... They discovered that the dog had 14 bullets in her body. Esther remembers:
I started crying when I saw the x-rays. She is the friendliest dog in the world, which is so hard to believe if you know what she's been through! She just wants everyone to be happy.
Source: Esther J.
Having been diagnosed with a lot of allergies, Taracould only be fed horse meat and was put on medication right away.The couple was very patient with her and the pupstarted to get used to her human family. She especially took to her new dad, Chris. During her recovery she got muchstronger and gained more than 7kg.The intelligent dogeven learned to use the bathroom in their apartment.
Source: Esther J.
Both Esther and Chris are very involvedin the German crossfit communityand took Tara to the gym with them from day one. There the pup even "lifts" weights and becomes stronger and healthier day by day.There are still some scars of Tara'shard life on the streets. She is still scared of loud bangs, doesn't like water and now that winter is on its wayshe's starting to lose her fur. From time to time, the couple still see a bit of stray behaviour in their beloved pup. Esther told the Holidog Times:
We always have to be careful that she’s not hiding food. She eats everything! One time I made her some rice treats and turned around. Next thing I know she wants to leave the room with a huge mouth full of rice but pretending, she didn’t take anything.
Source: Esther J.
The mostcommonconversation with their dogstarts with: "Spit. It. Out!"Since finding out that Tara is in fact already almost five years old, the couple has decided to keep her.Her life expectancy is not very high but the couple love her very muchand want to give her the best life possible so that she can forget her difficultpast.
Source: Esther J.
Source: Esther J.
Tarahas even become the mascot of their entreprise CrossBerlin and is well known in the German crossfit scene, where everyone loves seeing her friendly face during their workout.Her parents call her their "little attention seeker" because apparently this pupposes formore selfies than any other German crossfit athlete!Esther and Chris love having their furry companion as apermanent member of their team.Many dogs in Lucky Dogs shelter are still waiting to be adopted. Here you can support the organisation Lucky Dogs and take a look at the dogs that are eager to meet their new foreverfamilies.
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