Episodio 69: Pet Rescue (Rescate de mascotas)

Duolingo English for Spanish Speakers Podcast

Era el año 2020, el primero de la pandemia por el coronavirus y como muchas personas en Nueva York, Chris Mather y su esposa Laura tenían más tiempo libre en su casa de Brooklyn.

Juntos, decidieron que ¡por fin había llegado el momento de adoptar un perrito!

My wife and I had dogs when we were kids, so it was always our dream to adopt one together.

But we could never do it because we both spent so much time away from home.

So, when the pandemic happened, and we suddenly started working from home, we had a lot more time to take care of a dog.

That’s when we made the decision to adopt a dog from a shelter.

Los refugios para animales, o animal shelters, son pequeñas fundaciones que rescatan mascotas en situación de abandono y les buscan un nuevo hogar.

Durante la pandemia del 2020, millones de estadounidenses decidieron adoptar una mascota.

We quickly realized that it was going to be really hard.

During the pandemic, so many others also wanted to adopt a dog.

But it was really important for me to have a dog.

And we wanted to give a dog a home that didn’t have one.

We started looking right away, and that’s when we saw the perfect dog.

At that moment, we knew that we needed to adopt her!

Welcome, les damos la bienvenida a “Relatos en inglés”, un podcast de Duolingo.

Soy Diana Gameros.

En cada episodio podrás practicar inglés a tu propio ritmo, escuchando historias reales y fascinantes, contadas por las personas que las vivieron.

Hoy dedicamos el episodio a dos historias de mascotas que llegaron a iluminar sus hogares: un perrito de pastoreo que necesitaba un nuevo hogar y un gatito tratando de sobrevivir en los campos de Canadá.

Chris creció en la ciudad de Baltimore en el estado de Maryland en una casa amplia, acompañado por dos perros.

Ya de adulto, se mudó a Nueva York, donde conoció a su esposa, Laura.

Definitivamente una de las cosas que los unió fue el amor por los perros.

My wife Laura and I both really love animals.

We have taken care of our friends’ dogs.

We knew the process to adopt a dog was hard, especially during the pandemic.

But it was our goal to find our new family member!

Lo primero que hicieron fue consultar con el dueño de su edificio.

Y como vivían en un pequeño apartamento en Brooklyn, Nueva York, necesitaban asegurarse de que su perro tuviera suficientes espacios abiertos al aire libre.

We had a very small apartment, but it was near some parks with dirt and grass for the dog.

And also, there was a big one called Prospect Park nearby.

It’s a nice place where dogs can run or go for long walks.

Chris y su esposa pasaban las tardes buscando perritos en adopción.

Para eso, escribieron un texto que compartían por redes sociales, correo y en formularios para los refugios.

We thought that getting a dog was going to be easy and fast, but we were wrong.

We needed to show the dog shelter that we could take care of a dog, so we wrote a short profile about ourselves.

We said that we lived in a pet-friendly building and that we loved running and hiking.

This showed that we could give a dog an active life.

Para Chris era casi como estar en una aplicación de citas románticas, o dating app.

Él veía la foto de un perrito y ¡se enamoraba!

Looking at dog profiles is almost like looking at a dating app! There are pictures and information about what each dog likes.

And then you send a message to a shelter to apply to meet a dog.

After you give them your application, the adoption process begins!

Muchos refugios de animales en los Estados Unidos evalúan rigurosamente a las personas para asegurarse de que estén capacitadas para cuidar a un perro.

Por eso, Chris tuvo que completar solicitudes, enviar referencias y asistir a entrevistas.

While we were filling out our first application, we thought, “Do we really want to do this now?!” It was very serious, like applying for a job or a school.

There were questions on the application like, “Are you prepared to take care of a dog if it gets sick?” Or, “What are you going to do if the dog makes a mess in your apartment?” We knew that the process was going to take a long time.

We applied to meet a lot of dogs, but many shelters didn’t even reply to our messages.

It was disappointing, but we didn’t want to give up.

We really wanted to get a dog!

Chris y su esposa siguieron viendo perfiles de perros en las fundaciones y aplicando durante ¡seis meses! Comenzaron a pensar que ya no encontrarían un perro.

In the beginning, we wanted a specific type of dog, but after a while, we were willing to adopt basically any dog.

We just wanted a dog with a sweet personality.

Nothing else mattered.

And then, one day, my wife showed me the profile of this beautiful dog named Faith.

Su nombre, Faith, significaba “fe” y era una perrita australiana de ganado, que es un tipo de perro de pastoreo, o herding dog.

En la descripción decía que era una perrita dulce que vivía en Texas.

A veces era muy mandona, o bossy, con los perritos más chiquitos.

When we saw Faith, we thought she was the coolest dog ever.

She’s a herding dog, and she looked so awesome and unique, with white, gray, and black hair.

In her profile, it said that she was really friendly.

And I thought, “I can’t believe this beautiful dog is also super sweet!” The other thing they mentioned was that she was bossy around smaller dogs.

I thought that was kind of funny.

My wife and I decided that we really wanted to adopt her.

So we applied!

En cuestión de días, el refugio llevó a cabo todos los pasos para la adopción.

Entrevistaron a las referencias de Chris y al dueño de su edificio.

Todo iba muy bien.

Suddenly, it seemed like we could actually adopt Faith! So we had hope.

But then, we got an email from the shelter that said, “We think you’ll be great dog owners, but there’s one problem.”

La raza de la perrita que querían adoptar necesitaba grandes espacios para correr, así que su cuidadora pensaba que el pequeño apartamento de Chris y su esposa no era el lugar adecuado para Faith.

We were so upset.

We were already imagining our life with Faith.

But suddenly, it felt impossible.

We didn’t agree with the shelter’s opinion.

We thought we could still give Faith a great life even though we lived in a small apartment in a city.

So, we decided to do something!

Todos querían darle una buena calidad de vida a la perrita.

Así que Laura, la esposa de Chris, le escribió una carta a la cuidadora de Faith, invitándola a reconsiderar su decisión.

Laura wrote a beautiful email to explain that we both loved dogs so much and we wanted this dog to be a part of our family.

She promised to take Faith on long walks to the park nearby and even on hiking trips outside of the city.

She explained that Faith was going to have an active and happy life with us.

We only wanted what was best for her, and we felt confident we could give her a wonderful home.

We really wanted them to reconsider their decision.

Tan solo diez minutos después, la fundación les escribió.

La cuidadora y el refugio se conmovieron tanto con la voluntad de darle una vida activa, que decidieron darles a Faith en adopción.

¡La carta había funcionado! El traslado de la perrita tomó cuatro meses, hasta que por fin, llegó a su nueva casa.

We fell in love the second we met her! She was 2 years old and super sweet, just like her profile said.

We got her a little bed and some dog food, and both of our parents sent toys for her.

It was an important day! We took hundreds of pictures with her.

They gave her the name “Faith” at the shelter, but we decided to welcome her to our family with a new name.

We called her: Ruby.

Pero pocos días después de la adopción, Chris y su esposa notaron que Ruby tenía un problema al caminar: Apoyaba una pata trasera menos que otra, como si le produjera dolor al apoyarla.

It was difficult for us because she was in pain.

We realized that she needed surgery.

We were really sad because we waited so long to have her and then she was sick.

We couldn’t afford to pay for an expensive surgery, but fortunately, the shelter decided to pay for it.

She had the surgery and slowly started to recover.

Muchos perritos rescatados tienen graves lesiones provenientes de su vida en abandono.

Ruby se pudo recuperar.

Pero el veterinario recomendó que a pesar de que era un perro de pastoreo, Ruby ya no saliera a dar largas caminatas todos los días, sino que tuviera una vida más tranquila y hogareña.

In the end, our city apartment was the best place for Ruby! And she loves it here.

She’s such a fun dog.

There’s this thing that Ruby does: when she’s tired or frustrated, she sits down and makes an unhappy sound — like a human! And right before it’s time to go for a walk, Ruby goes up to me and my wife.

It’s like she’s letting us know that she’s going out! She’s a herding dog.

And now we’re part of her herd.

Para nuestra siguiente historia, viajaremos a las inmensas praderas de Canadá central, donde vive nuestra protagonista: Amber Garofano.

Era una mañana calurosa en el verano de 2021.

Ella estaba en su casa, revisando sus redes sociales cuando vió un anuncio que la conmovió.

I saw a post from a woman in my neighborhood.

She said that while she was driving, she saw someone get out of a car and leave a kitten in the middle of the road.

I was shocked, so I started messaging the woman, and she said she looked but couldn’t find the kitten.

That’s when I decided that I was going to help her.

Amber tenía cincuenta años y vivía con su esposo en una casa en el campo y trabajaba medio tiempo en la oficina de correos.

Después de que sus dos hijos se mudaron fuera de su casa, Amber agrandó la familia.

Tenía dos perros, un gato y dos caballos: todos habían sido rescatados.

As a kid, I used to rescue animals and bring them home all the time.

One time, I rescued a dog that I found in a bag outside.

Another time, I found a dog outside, and he just followed me home.

I’ve always loved animals, and I think it’s so important to protect them.

Así que cuando vio la noticia del gatito desaparecido, Amber quiso saber más.

Buscó la ubicación en internet y se dió cuenta que estaba a quince minutos en auto de su casa.

I immediately grabbed my phone and my wallet, and I drove to the place where the woman saw the kitten.

While I was driving there, I was so sad that the cat’s owner didn’t want it.

I knew that if I could find the cat, I was going to take it home.

I could take care of the cat and give it a great life.

But I was also worried: What if we couldn’t find the kitten?

Cuando Amber llegó al lugar indicado, era casi el mediodía.

La temperatura afuera alcanzaba los 35 grados centígrados y el punto de encuentro estaba cerca de un inmenso campo de canola.

Amber estacionó su auto y se unió a varios vecinos que buscaban al gatito.

I met the woman next to the road where she saw the cat.

There was a big field nearby, but we weren’t allowed to go on the field because it was private property.

So, we could only look in the area next to the road.

I walked into some dry and tall grass and started searching.

There were also a few other people looking for the cat.

Al ser un pueblo pequeño, los habitantes son conocidos por colaborar.

Por eso, al poco tiempo, eran más de diez personas en el escuadrón.

Buscaron durante dos horas pero no encontraron al gatito.

After a while, the other neighbors became tired and stopped searching.

But a few of us didn’t want to give up.

It seemed like we were so close to finding the kitten, so we continued to look.

We searched everywhere near the road, and the only other place to look was that private field.

Las flores de canola son largas y crecen de forma vertical, pero en la base, la planta tiene muchas hojas.

Era muy posible que el gatito se hubiera escondido allí.

Pero estaba oscureciendo y no podían entrar a la propiedad privada.

One of the ladies climbed the fence and started searching.

But soon, the owner of the field arrived in his car.

He said we were not allowed to go in there.

We explained that we were trying to rescue a kitten, but he said no.

At that point, we thought it was impossible to rescue the cat.

We were almost ready to give up.

Una de las vecinas decidió ir a hablar con el dueño del campo de canola otra vez y pedirle permiso para buscar en el campo.

Pero el hombre les dijo que no.

Ella estaba dispuesta a rogarle, o beg.

We begged him to let us look in the field.

Finally, he agreed, but he said only two people could go on the field and that we needed to be very careful.

He didn’t want us to step on his canola.

Tan pronto como oyeron la noticia, Amber y otra vecina se treparon a la reja y comenzaron la búsqueda con el mismo entusiasmo de antes.

Amber caminó con mucho cuidado y, de repente, escuchó un ruido muy sutil.

It was a tiny meow! I couldn’t believe it! I started to call out for the cat.

And then, suddenly, a woman looked down and saw the kitten behind a canola leaf.

We found it! I rushed to pick it up.

And after I held that kitten for the first time, I never wanted to put it down!

Era una pequeña gatita de rayas gris y blanco, con ojos azules.

Maullaba asustada y estaba herida.

Amber y las vecinas sabían que necesitaba atención médica.

Por eso, la llevaron inmediatamente al refugio de rescate, o rescue shelter, de High River.

Estos son lugares donde se recuperan mascotas abandonadas y se las prepara para una adopción.

At the shelter, they examined her to make sure she was OK.

Every day, I went to visit her.

I was scared that she wasn’t going to recover.

But there was something else:

En el hogar de rescate, la gatita no estaba sola.

Siempre estaba acompañada por alguien muy especial.

At the shelter, I noticed she was protecting a smaller kitten.

It was so sweet.

Even though she was so little, she still protected another cat.

Dos semanas después ¡la gatita se recuperó! Amber llenó la aplicación para adoptarla.

Los vecinos y el refugio se conmovieron con el compromiso de Amber y se la entregaron en adopción.

Amber la bautizó Hope, o “esperanza”.

I wanted to give her a name to show that she was strong.

She had a difficult life! The name “Hope” also reminds me of the experience of finding the kitten.

I didn’t give up, and I think it’s important to always have hope.

Pero Amber no solo se llevó a Hope…

Hope and the other kitten spent all of their time together, so I adopted both of them! The other cat is called Tiny.

A la gatita Hope le gusta tomar largas siestas y pedir cariños.

Ahora son una gran familia: Tres gatos, dos perros, dos caballos y ¡una pareja de rescatistas!

Hope is so sweet and calm, and she does one thing: Everytime you pick her up, she makes a little noise — a squeak! It sounds like you’re picking up a toy.

She makes my life much better, and I love taking care of her.

Amber Garofano continúa viviendo en su casa de campo en Okotoks, Canadá, con todas sus mascotas.

La gatita Hope se pudo hacer amiga del tercer gato de Amber, que se llama Opie.

Duermen la siesta juntos y juegan a tirar plantas o el árbol de navidad.

Chris Mather, nuestro primer narrador, ahora vive en un apartamento un poco más grande en la ciudad de Nueva York, con su esposa, su bebé y la perrita Ruby.

Este episodio fue producido por Laura Ubaté, una productora colombiana de Adonde Media.

Caro Rolando de Adonde Media dio voz a nuestra segunda protagonista, Amber Garofano.