This week we are going to meet Juano (Las Palmas 2014). To start, I want to tell you that he is a great communicator. He is adept at expressing his desire for candy, skilled at indicating that he wants to go for a walk, and also at opening gifts, chasing lizards, among many other things.
Juano is part of a family where he plays a fundamental role. They consider him as the little brother of their 14-year-old son. With his innate sympathy and joy, he came into Oriana Severina’s life at a delicate moment. Oriana, or ‘Tasty Hunting’ (Santa Marta 1983), as millions of people know her on Instagram, TikTok and other networks, is an expert in love with cooking, healthy food, her family and, of course, dear Juano of her.
Juan, Oriana…
How are you?
Very good, happy with Juano.
Oriana, you have recipes that have been viewed by more than 25 million people. In networks, you are known as Tasty Hunting. Juano is known as “Catador”. I understand that part of your success is due to him.
Yes Yes Yes. There’s no doubt. In fact, when one or two days go by without him showing up, everyone starts writing to me saying: “Where is the Catador?”, “We want to see the Catador!”. He is a fundamental part of ‘Tasty Hunting’.
He came into your life in 2014, the same year your parents went to live in another country. How did it help you overcome that new distance with them?
I think that, when he arrived, he was not aware of how much he was going to contribute to me. As the days and months passed, he obviously noticed the absence and felt that emptiness. Since I work most of the time from home, Juano became absolutely everything to me. Even as a puppy and with his antics, it was a encouragement. It was kind of medicinal to me.
How did it help you?
He was glued to me all the time. Without me saying anything at all, in moments when overwhelming thoughts come and you fall apart, I already had him glued to my side and he wouldn’t let go. He didn’t move until he saw that I was more stable and calm. And he was a puppy! He had known me for two days, and we hadn’t created that bond yet. Look at the ability of these animals to perceive our feelings almost without knowing us.
You and Juano spend most of your time together, and you work in a kitchen. Is he a good bastard?
No! (laughs)
In Oriana’s facial expression, you can undoubtedly see that Juano always tries to get his hands on the dishes that appear on Tasty Hunting’s Instagram…
It helps little, really. Well, it’s not true, there’s something good about it. As I am a bit of a neat freak, it is partly good for me because when I start to drop things, he, who is super attentive, takes care of “picking them up”. For that he is a good bastard.
I know you love turkey ham…
Yeah! Besides, she perceives it. Since she knows the routines of everything we do, she stands next to the refrigerator just to see if she “drops” her piece of ham.
There is a saying that some animals are better than some people… What would you like to have about Juano’s character?…
Patience. Sometimes we need a lot more and this dog has it all. It seems to me that most dogs have it. He is noble and waits. He waits, he waits…
We said at the beginning that he is an expert in many subjects… One of them, the garden hose…
(Oriana bursts out laughing)
He can’t even see her! Of course, she has to lock him up because, otherwise, she won’t let me do anything in the garden. When he sees that the hose is moving, and he is 10 years old, has spinal problems and is on medication, that puppy inside him comes out and he starts jumping with the hose and the water stream for hours. It’s amazing.
How do you play with it?
The veterinarian, due to all these health problems, has recommended that he not overdo it, so what we do is play hide objects so that he can find them. Not being able to run all day, we try to give him stimulation in some way. Sometimes I do play in the garden throwing the ball, but never for more than 10 minutes.
There is no doubt that he has a good time… But he also works with you in networks, as we said, as a taster… It seems to me that, once, he even ate the entire breakfast you were preparing…
Look… That was… It was very difficult for me to remove it because, in addition, it suffers from 20,000 allergies… it was more complicated for me… My goodness, really… It has everything! Of course, all those things that he has bad about him, he has good ones. As always, I got into position to take the video and photo, it was an Instagram story, and I dropped all my breakfast on the floor. There was no way to get Juano to stop eating! In the end he ate half of it and, fortunately, nothing happened to him.
I imagine Juano’s expression that day in the purest “Steve Urkel” style, as if saying: “Was it me?”
Currently, he is going through a delicate moment of health since, 4 years ago, different hernias were found in his spine… How does it affect his life and, consequently, yours?
Very much. We have been on a very good medication for osteoarthritis for some time and it is working great for him. We put it on him every month and it has completely changed his life. In reality, Juano, he has been suffering from these pains practically since he arrived. We didn’t know what he was until one day he went completely still and when we took him to the vet, they did an MRI in which we could see what the problem was. At that moment, our lives came to a standstill. Him and me.
Now we have gotten used to it but he loved the beach, we took him to the summit to walk and we took very long walks that, given what we saw, I don’t know how he endured them. Of course, now he is slower, he spends a lot of time lying down and, although I try not to think about it, it makes me very sad.
Why did you name him Juano?
I know the name sounds a little strange (laughing). It’s quite peculiar. It all comes because my husband had a dog, whom he adored, whose name was Juana, and we decided that if a male came into the house, he would be called Juano.
What is the key to taking good care of a pet?
Attention is essential. You have to invest time in them, just like with a small child. Although each person’s circumstances are different, because nowadays we go like motorcycles, you have to spend time with them and, if you don’t have much, make sure that time is quality. After all, they are beings that need company and affection. I assure you that if you give a dog the choice between the hug and love of his family versus a plate of food, he chooses the family without hesitation.
Does he sleep with you?
No. Since he was little, we got him used to sleeping in his kennel. In fact, when it’s ten o’clock at night, if I haven’t closed the door for him to go to sleep, he stays in front of me as if to say, “Come up and I’ll go to bed.”
You are a complete family… What role does Juano play?
He is the younger brother. My son is fourteen years old and Juano has assumed the role of youngest son. It even seems that he is imitating his older brother. He is like the typical little boy who imitates the older one. She is always looking out for him and what he is going to play to join. He is our little boy.
What kind of relationship does your son have with him?
Sometimes it bothers me because they are very attached. Of course, they have grown up together and the bond is enormous. My son comes down every morning and needs to touch him, kiss him… When he comes home from school, the same goes when he goes to sleep. They have a very special bond. There are even games that I only play with my son. Not with me.
Oriana… You have millions of followers on social networks, you are successful both personally and professionally… When you are alone with Juano, at home or taking a walk… When you are alone… To what extent are you intimate?
Juano gives me a lot of peace of mind. As the years go by, he notices everything about me. It is, precisely in these moments, that we do not have to say anything to each other because we communicate equally. We have a tremendous connection. Without saying or doing anything, we communicate perfectly.
What is the time you have had the most trouble together?… Did it have something to do with a chase in some Bungalows?
Oriana blushes and puts her hands to her face, covering her face completely…
My goodness, what a shame. The four of us went to some pet-friendly bungalows here in the south of the island. The complex was new and still had areas in which, although it was delimited, the vegetation had not grown enough. Let’s see, it was difficult for Juano to escape. Normally, even if he sees a cat on the street, even if he smells it, nothing usually happens to him.
Of course, when the cat goes after something, an instinct awakens in it that makes it bolt. That’s what happened. He ran around the hotel, like a crazy person, after the cat until my son told me saying “Mom, Juano ran away!” I ran naked, with a towel, throughout the hotel shouting Juano’s name… Of course! At that moment I was focused on Juano but, now, I remember the dozens of eyes staring at me watching the spectacle. What a shame!
In the end I didn’t know whether to take the towel or the dog.
Does it still surprise you?
He will never stop doing it. I always say that he becomes, for me, someone more special. My father passed away a little over a year ago and the way Juano has approached me has been impressive. He has done it much more than usual. It’s as if he notices this absence.
Oriana… Hundreds of thousands of followers, how many are from Juano?
One million? (Laughs). They love him a lot, really. It’s amazing. We recently realized that he has a liver problem, I’m telling you that this dog is all diseases, and people went out of their way to help him. They have never asked me as much about a recipe, or about a knife, or about anything as much as they have about him. They love him very much.
As a gastronomy expert… Do you prepare special dishes for him?
The poor man can’t. Let’s see now, with the topic of the liver, why I still have to change his diet. But hey, if you have to make sirloin every night, I’ll do it! Whatever it takes.
There is one thing I love and that is that Juano is a great host…
He loves it. Sometimes I tell him, “You shouldn’t be that open with people you don’t know.” Whoever comes home and he greets him wagging his tail and with the first doll he catches. Zero watchdog, come on.
Have you commented, on some occasion, that cooking awakens in you emotions of nostalgia, happiness, gratitude… What emotions does Juano awaken in you?
Oriana stops for a moment, visibly excited by everything that comes to her mind…
Do you know what happens? Not all people feel what we feel, in this case, with dogs, but I love Juano as if he were a son. I love him like one of my family. Now that it is May, I think that his years are numbered and I say “uffff…”. For me he is one more member of my house.
How do you face this final stage of Juano?
He notices that he is going slower, he is more depressed… I try not to think about it but I break down every time I do it. One of the reasons I didn’t want to have a dog was this. Then it is true that, if you don’t have it, you miss out on so many beautiful things.
Will you have a dog again?
That’s a dilemma. I say no even though I know that, in the end, I will fall.
What important moments in your life have you shared with Juano?
I have shared moments of happiness and sadness. For me, it has been a pillar. Every time one of us has a birthday, when we go to sing Happy Birthday, even though his spine hurts, he runs to the table, stands on two legs like one of the others until the song ends. On every birthday the same thing is repeated.
To all the people who want a “Juano” in their life… What recipe would you give them?
I respect. They must be considered animals because they are, but, above all, they are living beings that must be respected. You can’t have a dog halfway. If you have it you must surrender.
Oriana… Tell me a secret of yours
If this comes out… they’ll kill me at home! (He bursts out laughing). Well, okay… I give him more things than I should but nobody knows.
After spending this fun time with Juano and Oriana, we talked about that breakfast anecdote and he told me how much he liked being able to talk about Juano. If we stop to think, there are so many figures, usually anonymous, who discreetly contribute to a person’s success… We could talk at length about this but well… That’s another story.