Sometimes I feel like going for a walk in a park when it rains. The drops of water take me to an almost unreal place, more dreamed than lived. Rain connects us to the earth, to the trees, to nature, to everything that has to do with authenticity.
Wandering around without an umbrella, like a disoriented animal, I see in the distance a middle-aged woman playing with her two dogs, one white and the other black. I go over and talk to her. Vanesa Madrid is Venezuelan, she was born in Caracas, but she has been here for more than twenty years and has Spanish nationality.
She decided to come live in Barcelona for a boy, for the force of love. She tells me, with a shy and sweet look, that at fifty-two years old she loves working in her flower shop “I spend the day selling illusions, fragrances and colors in the form of tenderness to give as gifts…”.
Since she was a child she was always surrounded by dogs. The first ones she remembers were taken care of by her parents. After her she had her first one, who followed her everywhere, never leaving her side. Here in Barcelona she has two dogs that have gotten very old… They are fifteen years old now!
According to science, a 15-year-old dog of medium height is equivalent in age to a 102-year-old elderly human. Incredible! Athena is the white one, and Seiya is the bold one. She gave them those names because she loves that whole magical universe of the Knights of the Zodiac.
Vanesa tells me that Atenea went completely blind due to diabetes, due to a sudden rise in sugar. Seiya was only a month old when a good friend of Vanesa’s made the decision to give it to her.
However, when he first saw Athena he was in a pipican. Apparently she belonged to one of those foster homes. The fact is that he instantly fell in love with her, and since they were looking for her family to take her in, they gave her one right away. “I saw her so fragile, so vulnerable, so absolutely adorable… she was only six months old.”
He tells me that at first the two dogs didn’t get along very well, they would fight over any stupid thing. Now that a lifetime has passed (on their doggy calendar) they love each other. They spend the day at home, they both get on the sofas, the beds, they get everywhere… They have become the true owners of the space. And they even sleep with Vanesa.
She tells me that she never thought she would end up living with two animals, because she knows that they are a lot of work and need a lot of care, but the truth is that they came into her life naturally and now everything is tenderness between the three of them.
Vanesa shares a flat with the owner of the apartment, a boy who has created a real Noah’s Ark, with two dogs, a cat and even a dove. He “Usually keeps her in the cage but often lets her flutter around the floor.” Although it may seem crazy (a crazy house), they have achieved a perfect balance and everyone lives together in complete harmony.
Vanesa confesses to me that her two dogs give her great security. She is at home alone and with them she feels calm and protected. She feels really supported. “I’m not sure if they love me or not, what I know is that I feel comforted by just her presence.”
If he is not with his two dogs, his day changes, and even his mood. Without them she can’t sleep, she feels like something is missing. “When I’m alone, suddenly, I start hearing strange noises, and I get paranoid that someone is going to come in.”
Vanesa tells me that her dogs also give her great comfort. When she arrives tired from work, she lies down on the sofa, they stand next to her, one on each side, and she loves that feeling: “I can spend the whole afternoon with them by my side, I lose track of time, of things.” hours… And I look out the window and suddenly it has become night and I haven’t even noticed. With Seiya and Athena I manage to escape time, I manage to forget about day to day life, about worries.”
Before I leave, it has stopped raining and the sun is coming out, she tells me that her dogs are never jealous of each other, that they know how to share their love for her, love without fights. “The white girl, being blind, hits herself everywhere, and the other one, the black one, her help, is watching over her at every moment.”
