Our Guatemalan dog love story didn't turn out as expected... Shanti, a.k.a. Perla, took off from a café in San Marcos a week before our rescheduled departure (rescheduled, so that we could bring her back with us). We spent days wandering the streets looking for her, asked so many people, put up dozens of posters and were generally in much disbelief at our silly situation. We were sad and confused, anxious and distressed at times, seriously questioning our decisions, and wondering what the lessons were in all this... I began to think that opening my heart to a dog was the mistake in the first place. (It wasn't.) Certainly, this was all part of the learning experience, but it was a spin we had not anticipated. We were grateful to meet a nice 12 year old boy, Francisco, who says he bought her as a puppy for 100Qs and cared for her when she was younger, before she started running off into the streets. She had a life of her own here and clearly wanted to stay. Who are we to judge? Our intentions were good, but those also pave the road to hell, don't they? We met kind people willing to help and offer support and compassion along the way. We had to swallow our pride, do our best, keep the faith and accept the outcome. As in all of life, I suppose. And although in the grand scheme of things, this is certainly not a very big deal, it's been a trip and it has taught me a lot. Long live #Shanti! ❤🐕🙏 (And a little extra love to all those who have lost dogs along the way... I may not fully understand what that means, but I do get it a little bit more now.)
