Indira and Inaky are 4 year old half-siblings who were rescued as puppies from an overcrowded sanctuary in Puerto Rico through our rescue partner All Sato Rescue. Both are very intelligent, soulful dogs with whom we have had the great honor to forge deep friendships. Their extreme shyness of strangers requires a special home to work through their fears and provide them with a happy sanctuary. While Inaky is the worry-wort in this relationship, he is more ready to trust and accept a person's kindness. Indira, despite acclimating to life in our shelter, is best characterized as a semi-feral dog who only accepts touch from a few people who have known her and worked with her consistently for many months. They are a bonded pair, and two of the most dog-friendly pups we have ever had. They have joyfully befriended small puppies, big rambunctious dogs, timid and quiet dogs, and even dogs who had been labeled aggressive and reactive. The "Blondies", as they are affectionately known, are truly a hidden gem waiting for the right adopter to find them. They have been together since birth, and to this day continue to play together like carefree puppies, curling up together on the same bed at night. 

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Just for fun, we obtained a DNA test on the Blondies through Wisdom Panel! We can confirm they are indeed pure-bred mutts, with some very unique breed combinations. Keep in mind that more than half of their parentage is unknown, so there are much more to their genetic history than this test could reveal.
 

• Inaky's Breed Certificate

• Inaky's Family Tree

• Indira's Breed Certificate

• Indira's Family Tree

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Their Story

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Indira and Inaky are satos - that is, stray dogs from Puerto Rico. Currently, there are estimated to be hundreds of thousands of street dogs on the island, where financial resources to care for and control the homeless dog population is largely unaffordable and not prioritized. Indira and Inaky were fortunately born within a sanctuary sometime in the winter of 2015/2016, where they grew up among their siblings and many other satos to play with. They were well cared-for, but did not receive the ample attention or human-interaction of a dog in foster care or a private home. There were simply too many wagging tails to keep fed and healthy to spare much time for human socialization. At 5 months of age, they were flown with their siblings from the sanctuary, with the assistance of All Sato Rescue, to Buddy Dog Humane Society to find a forever home. Though timid, their brothers Ian and Iron found families shortly after arriving with us. Indira and Inaky, it seemed, would need more time to settle in before opening up to potential adopters. However, as days became weeks, we came to realize that their anxiety and fearfulness of people was not a phase, but a characteristic that was sown into their personalities by genetic predisposition, a lack of sufficient human handling in early puppy-hood, or some combination of the two. 

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Slowly, the pair learned the routine of life at Buddy Dog and began to make themselves at home. Inaky began to develop trust and affection towards the people he saw daily, although progress was still slow and not without a deliberate effort on the part of the person. Indira remained in the safety of her brother's shadow, where she was comfortable enough to learn how to navigate the daily schedule at Buddy Dog - trotting from their kennel into playpens for exercise and socialization, returning to her kennel for feeding and naps. However, it would be long before Indira would allow herself to be approached and leashed, nevermind touched or handled. 

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Their Progress

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It has always been our goal to make the Blondies feel as loved and spoiled as possible. Many of the staff care for the Blondies as if they were their own dogs, so doting on them comes naturally to us! With a network of people who love and cherish them, Indira and Inaky have been making steady progress. 

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Most of their day is filled with playtime. Indira and Inaky are extremely dog-social and have befriended dozens of shelter dogs whom have come through our doors. They are quite the popular couple, and have given many shy, under-socialized, and reactive dogs a much-needed friend. In favorable weather, it is typical for them to spend multiple hours a day outside in our exercise pens. And when they aren't in playgroups, Indira and Inaky joyfully play with each other as if they were still young and care-free puppies. 

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Although Indira and Inaky don't have their own house, we have done our best to turn Buddy Dog into a home for them. In the mornings and on non-business days, the lobby is their quiet sanctuary. During this time, they are accompanied by staff and other quiet dogs in a low-pressure environment. The Blondies are free to relax and have "lazy" social time while staff members are on the computer, eating lunch, chatting, or sitting alongside them. In fact, we have found out that Inaky is quite the aspiring lap dog! As soon as one of us sits on the floor with a blanket, Inaky is there, gently and but not-so-subtly crawling onto our lap (he is 60lbs, lean, and long-legged, so it can seem more like snuggling a gangly baby horse than a dog at times, but we know Inaky is trying his best). Through lobby time, the Blondies get to experience "living" among people without direct pressure to interact. Indira's trust and comfort around people has improved greatly in this way. She has progressed from hiding to laying confidently in the middle of the lobby, even as people walk by her or enter the room. Recently, Indira has become comfortable enough to sit beside staff members, and once is a while, enjoy a scratch under her collar or behind her ears. 

 

In addition, Indira and Inaky have been enjoying lots of extracurricular enrichment in addition to playgroups such as off-property walks (see photos and videos below!), car rides, grooming, and hand-feeding. The pair is also actively involved in professional training with Lisa Rockland of All About My Dog. With Lisa, the Blondies have been learning how to put their trust in their handlers to keep them safe, in order for them relax and let their guard down. Indira specifically is learning to allow handling and manipulation such as wearing and adjusting collars, jumping into cars, and being touched and brushed. As for Inaky, he is working on reducing his fear of strangers and the impulse to bark at unfamiliar people, as well as allowing his handlers to be the pack leader so Inaky doesn't feel like he has to be everyone's guardian and protector (especially over Indira). 

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Their Future

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Today, we feel the Blondies are in a place where they can be adopted to the right home. They will need the guidance of an experienced dog owner to transition into a house environment, full of sounds and smells they have never encountered before. Until their adoption day arrives, we will continue to spoil them and provide them with as much love and affection as we can. 

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At this time, we are working on increasing Indira's acceptance of touching and handling, familiarizing them with car rides, and walking them off property to build their confidence in new environments. When the weather improves, our goal is to bring the Blondies on field-trips and sleep-overs to the households of staff and volunteers to expose them to a home environment and to learn about what unique challenges their future adopter may encounter.