Adopting Banksy

I’ve been wanting to adopt a dog for many years now. I’m the kind of person that really wants to do the research – and when it comes to choosing the right dog for you I certainly haven’t taken this lightly. When I initially began my search I’d say about 5 years ago I had it in mind that maybe a whippet would be a good choice. They have a lot of great characteristics that I’m looking for, but in the end because of my living situation and my current lifestyle I decided that they would need a bit more exercise and running room than I was able to provide. My search continued and I eventually was set on adopting a greyhound instead. Greyhounds are pretty perfect for me in many ways – and they also have a high need for being adopted considering how many end up in adoption agencies even at a young age if they aren’t fast enough for racing, or get injured as a result of it. 

For a few years I had my heart set on adopting a greyhound actually – until I found the Spanish Galgo. This is a breed of dog that isn’t very well known, and unless you knew they existed you could easily mistaken them for a greyhound actually. They are a different breed of sighthound and are very similar in many ways to the greyhound. The primary difference being that greyhounds were bred for acceleration and top speed over short distances, while galgos were bred for high speed over long distances. Considering I’m a distance runner – this is also a big win for me as I figured I could take my dog for even a 10 mile run with no problem, whereas a greyhound wouldn’t be well suited for this type of exercise. 

The great thing about both greyhounds and galgos as well is that they are perfect for apartments and don’t require a lot of exercise. What really convinced me to adopt a galgo though was due to the fact that 10s of thousands of them are actually murdered each year in Spain in pretty horrific ways. I don’t recommend you google them for this reason. It’s really quite sad. So I found a rescue called Galgos del Sol and for a few years had every intention of adopting a galgo from them – not only because of the great fit for me and my needs – but also because of their high need of being rescued – even as a puppy.

So after all of this – why didn’t I end up adopting a galgo you ask? Well, my answer is quite simple really. I have every intention of adopting one, but living in Italy and getting a Galgo from Spain as my first dog was just not very realistic unfortunately.

Since the thought of adopting a dog from Spain kept feeling more daunting and complex the more I looked into it, I decided that I should casually start searching the local classifieds to see if anything came up. Here in Italy there is a website called Subito.it – which is essentially Italy’s version of Craigslist. I started searching for dogs for a few months and I finally found a photo of a dog that stood out to me. The problem was the dog was located in Puglia and I wasn’t getting any clear answers about the background of the dog, how I would go about meeting the dog and seeing if it would be a good fit, and all that. So, in the end I ended up deciding against the adoption as the person offering the dog just wasn’t very transparent and it didn’t feel like a good match.

Shortly after that I found a photo of a cute black dog with a white chest called Benji, which was located at a rescue in Poggibonsi – much closer to Florence. I reached out to the owner and they were really open to me coming by to meet him and see if it would be a good fit. I immediately got the impression that the well being of their dogs was a high priority, and they didn’t want to just get rid of dogs or have them adopted away to just anyone who wanted one – and I really appreciated that.

 

The rescue was located in the countryside just outside of Poggibonsi, which is a town in the Tuscany region of Italy, located about 20 miles (30 km) south of Florence. I decided to take the train there and brought my bike with me as it was about a 25 minute ride into the country in order to reach the rescue.

For those of you not familiar with Poggibonsi it is situated in the heart of the Chianti wine region, and is known for its picturesque medieval town center, its long history and cultural heritage. One of the main attractions in Poggibonsi is the medieval town center, and Castello della Magione which is surrounded by the walls and towers of a 14th-century fortress. The area is also known for its olive groves, and is surrounded by the beautiful Tuscan countryside which I had the pleasure of biking through on the way to the rescue.

The first time I went was back in August, and when I arrived I was greeted by the owner who immediately felt like a really cool aunt with a very down-to-earth personality who just can’t help but adopt every animal she can find. She later told me that she had ~20 dogs that she had personally adopted and kept on her property. 

The first time I met Banksy I was so nervous. I had never had my own dog before, and since he didn’t know me at all – it wasn’t like seeing a dog that recognizes you, or meeting someone else’s dog. He was a free spirit, and generally really insecure, but had a very sweet demeanor. The owner, Cinzia, told me that about a year before he and his brothers and sisters had been thrown over the fence and abandoned when they were just a few months old, and he was the only one left from his litter. She told me it’s because he is a black dog, and found that Italians generally don’t prefer Black dogs so it was hard finding a home for him. 

In total I went to visit Banksy on four separate occasions for a few hours each time over the course of two months so that we could get to know each other a bit and take him on walks and expose him to different situations. Everything we did was the first time for him. Getting in a car, walking in a stream, going into a coffee shop – seeing glass doors, feeling asphalt, tile – hearing all the sounds of a city or town. Everything was a scary big place, and he was such a good boy – albeit quite scared of most things. I remember the first few walks we took together he was completely leaning on me for security while we walked – even down the dirt road in the countryside, so you can imagine what it was like walking on a sidewalk with cars rolling past.

When I finally agreed to proceed with the adoption they drove Banksy to Florence so we could spend the afternoon walking around with him in a couple of the parks along the river and they gave me some pointers about how to best handle him – especially around other dogs since he was very scared of them and would bark quite a bit whenever he saw one. After some time it was apparent that Banksy indeed must have been previously attacked by at least one other dog – perhaps inside the rescue because of his behavior on a leash, and some scars I can see on his face. The first experience with him went well – though obviously quite stressful since he was a bit all over the place running, hiding, jumping, fixating, barking, pulling. Pretty much everything I expected but nevertheless exhausting. 

The second time they brought him to visit we went into the city and walked around Florence for an afternoon which was a bit more hectic since it was his first time in a city, but was also pretty exciting seeing him explore so many different things, and I could tell I was gaining his trust quite a bit at that point. The next time a worker from the rescue visited with her dog, which she uses to not only train other dogs, but she explained was also a great judge of character for potential owners. She came over to the house and saw where Banksy would be sleeping, and asked me some general questions about my life, what my typical schedule looks like etc. to make sure that adopting Banksy was really a great thing for Banksy, and also myself. 

I told them that I was pretty sure I wanted to take him – even though I knew it would be a challenge for the both of us, and that I would let them know after returning home from a trip to Spain with my Mom. When I got home from Spain a couple weeks ago I wrote to them immediately and told them I had decided to adopt Banksy, and that I would be ready to accept him in a week. I went out and bought a bed for him, some food, a few toys, bowls, a collar, made him a lease out of paracord and carabiners (obviously, crafty me!), and waited in anticipation of his arrival. When Cinzia arrived in Florence with Banksy I switched him into his new harness, got him out of the car and we walked together towards his new home. Cinzia told me they would check in with me in 2 months to see if I still wanted to keep him at that point, and if so they would transfer full ownership to me at that time. 

Banksy and I walked together alone towards the building I live in, taking our time to get used to the area and finally we entered the building where we both approached the staircase leading up to my apartment. I immediately discovered that Banksy had never walked up stairs before, and after about 20 minutes of trying to convince him that walking up them would be a really great idea – in the end I needed to carry him and all of his ~23kg (~50lbs) up to the 4th floor where we live. At the entrance to my house there is a very small foyer which I decided would be the perfect cleaning / drying station for him, so I went in first and then invited him into this small space where I proceeded to clean his paws and most of his fur with some pet-friendly dog wipes. I opened the door and invited him into the living room which I had closed off from the rest of the house in order to not overwhelm him. He immediately walked over to the dog bed I had purchased for him and laid down on it. He knew it was his, and he knew the little toy I got for him was his too. It honestly felt like he was telling me he knew he was finally home and it was such a great feeling of relief and happiness for me.

That evening after hours of trying to find out where he would sleep I ended up sleeping on the small loveseat I have in my living room next to him laying on his bed on the floor. The next morning I woke up to no accidents, and a dog that was very happy to see me.

Guys. I have a dog now. What a life this is, and what adventures await us both <3