Ozark County stray finds home half a world away

Blue, a spunky little dog with sand-colored fur and mismatched eyes, has found a home in the salty air of the Spanish costal town of Cambrils – and, more importantly, in the heart of 16-year-old Angela Gutiérrez. But it wasn’t that long ago that Blue was wandering the backroads of Ozark County, looking for a home and a forever owner.

‘We thought he was just visiting…’

One early May day, Blue (who wasn’t named Blue yet) made his way to the front yard of the Tecumseh-area home where Angela lived with her host mom, Sandie Steele, and her foreign-exchange-student “sister” Giulia Cecchin, who was from Italy. Angela and Giulia were beginning the emotional process of preparing to leave their friends, host family and studies in Ozark County, the place they’d called home for the 2017-18 school year, to return to their biological families and home countries halfway acround the globe. The girls were also busy with a whirlwind of end-of-year school activities when the spirited pup showed up.

“We didn’t really pay much attention to him,” Angela told the Times. “We thought he was just visiting and was just going to go back wherever he belonged.”

But every time the girls went outside, Blue would dart out into the yard and run around. Each night he’d curl up and sleep at the back door of the Steele home. After four days, Angela, Giulia and Sandie decided to try to get the dog to come to them so they could give him some food and water. 

“We planned to just feed him and let him go back to his home,” Angela said. “But he wouldn’t leave. He just stayed in front of the back door, spending the night at our house each night.”

Looking for a good home – and finding it

Sandie posted photos of the dog on Facebook and put flyers around town with hopes she’d find his owner, but no one responded. He didn’t have a collar, tag or any other identifying markers, and he didn’t seem to want to leave. Sandie, who is the happy owner of a Lab named Brandie, knew she couldn’t take in another dog. 

Hoping to find the stray dog a new home, Sandie and Angela began to ask friends and family if they would adopt him. But they weren’t able to find a good home right away, and the little guy was seemingly content at the Steele house, running around the yard during the day and returning to the back door to sleep at night. The longer he stayed, the more his sweet personality started to come out. He’d run to the girls when they got home from school, nuzzle his face against them and bounce playfully around the yard.

Just as he had entered the Steele yard, quick and unassuming, the playful pup entered the hearts of Sandie, Giulia and Angela. The girls soon decided to name the dog Blue for the icy color of his left eye, which contrasts to the dark brown color of his right eye. 

“We were all getting really close to him,” Angela said. “I wished I could keep him. I knew it wasn’t going to be possible to bring him back to Spain with me, but I asked my family anyway.”

Angela said she wasn’t surprised when her mom’s initial answer was no. But Angela continued to share photos and videos of Blue with her mom and two brothers in Spain, and soon enough the dog’s infectious personality began to shine through the photos. After a few days, Angela’s mom’s decided to rethink her original answer.

“They all fell in love with him, just like I did,” Angela said. “One day, after sending my mom some photos of Blue, she said maybe we could figure something out so I could bring him home. My brothers were really excited, and I was too!”

Jumping through international hoops and enduring a long flight

Sandie and Angela began researching what it would take to get Blue, the stray dog from Tecumseh, to Angela’s hometown of Cambrils, Spain. Sandie said there were definitely some hoops to jump through, plus lots of paperwork, but they worked hard to complete the international process. Blue went to the veterinarian’s office for a round of immunizations and a check-up to make sure he was healthy and had no fleas or ticks. 

Meanwhile, in Spain, Angela’s mom, Dolors, was working on her end to arrange transportation logistics. 

She hired Happy Trails Travel, Inc., a company that specializes in helping families through the complicated process of international pet shipping. With Happy Trails’ help, Sandie, Dolors and Angela were confident they’d navigated the USDA rules and regulations, completed all the pet import and export documents and had all the required permits.  Blue was cleared and ready to board the airplane for thes long flight to his new home. 

“He flew a few days before I did. He was with other dogs, and they treated him great, even though he was scared,” Angela said. “I was worried, because I wasn’t with him, and he’s scared of everything. I didn’t know what his reaction would be, but he did well.”

Blue arrived in Barcelona, Spain, the day before Angela did. 

The next day, Blue, along with Angela’s mom, younger brother Tomas and best friend Ines, greeted Angela at the airport. Angela said she was so happy to be reunited with her family, including the family’s newest member, Blue, who seemed to have recovered from any anxiety he’d had about flying and was back to his high-energy self. 

Forever in her heart

Angela says Blue has settled into his new life in Spain perfectly, and he’s especially fond of the beautiful beaches where they spend a lot of their free time. 

Even though he was used to the rural backroads of Ozark County, the city of Cambrils has proven to be a great home for Blue. 

“It’s a city, but not a huge one, and there are a lot of dogs here,” she said. “He’s made a lot of new friends.”

Angela says the whole family is crazy about the dog, and he gets a lot of love and attention from Tomas, who is now 12.

“I told Tomas he must practice his English because Blue is American, not Spanish,” Angela said with a chuckle. “But Blue has learned some things too. We still talk to him in English, but we also speak to him in Spanish – and sometimes German. He is really smart, so I’m sure he understands all the languages.”

Angela keeps in touch and sends photos of Blue and the rest of the family to Sandie fairly often. She says she often thinks of and misses Sandie, her friends and life here, but she’ll always have a part of Ozark County with her in her heart – and at the end of her leash.