Hilario's happy life

Our Hilario while still being looked after at El Refugio

A message from Tim and Marie-Laure Royer

We've been asked if we'll like to write a short report about the care given to rescued dogs and puppies from Spain, now living in the Netherlands and Belgium. Naturally we're happy to comply with this request. Like many others, we came into contact with the ACE Foundation and have been impressed by their commitment to rescue dogs from the most appalling conditions.

So this is our story. In late October 2014 we were told that a Pincher had been found and ACE were looking for a new owner to give him a loving home and a good life, after the misery that he had almost certainly experienced. When he was taken into ACE, he was given the name Hilario. As soon as we saw the pictures, we were sold. That was him ... It felt good .... We were going to offer him a happier life. We already have three dogs, so a fourth was not a problem. But alas. We had to wait. We could not adopt him immediately. ACE Foundation have a proceedure they follow. First, a "questionnaire" was sent to us. Quite rightly, of course. You do not just give a dog to someone without checks. The home visit went superbly! Fortunately, we were told that we had the green light and were to be allowed to adopt "our" Hilario.

Then comes the hard bit. You have to wait for the flight. Each message about Hilario was eagerly read by us. In between we got a video from ACE where Hilario could be seen among dozens of other dogs. What a nice thing to do. We looked at the video over and over. We could not get enough of it. In early December 2014 we received the news that everything was in order for Hilario fly to the Netherlands. Just before Christmas came the anticipated message. Hilario would arrive on Boxing Day at Rotterdam Airport. The time had finally come. To be sure that we would arrive on time we left early. So early that we definitely had an hour's wait at the airport. We were so nervous! And we were not alone. There was another a couple who had arrived much earlier. But we were all very well looked after by 2 lovely ladies from ACE.

Finally the doors opened and into the arrivals hall came two supervisors with some benches and a travel bag. Each bench contained a dog. But no Hilario. Why was "our" Hilario is not in one of those benches? Where was "our" Hilario ??? One of the supervisors opened the travel bag and a tiny cute little face peered out. That's where was our Hilario had been. So small that he could fly in a travel bag in the cabin. What a sweet little dog he turned out to be. We were instantly in love. We are going to spoil this dog to his last gasp. What a sweetheart.

The day after we started to let our three dogs and Hilario get used to each other. That period lasted about a month. Slowly, Hilario was accepted into the group. After that we tried leaving them together. This went better than expected. Now it's all going so well that Hilario sleeps in the same basket as one of our other dogs.  We have the impression that Hilario is starting to come to life. The fear in his eyes has turned into a loving and happy look. He is grateful for the love and warmth that we give him. Nevertheless although it is improving, he still suffers from separation anxiety. He's turned the corner though and we've noticed that he more used to us. He's a busy and lively dog who wants to go everywhere with you, at present. He's a fast learner. His "Dutch" is already quite good. He understands everything very quickly, he only needs something shown or explained to him two or three times and he knows it. 

Recently we took Hilario to our biannual club walk. One Pincher and some spring-like Scottish Terriers. What a feast for him. You guessed it ... the focus was just on Hilario. Many photos were taken. He was the talk of the day.

For us he is the talk of the day, every day. Thank you !! ACE. You not only make a dog's life happy, you enable us to live happily with a happy dog!

Tim and Marie-Laure Royer

Hilario living the good life!

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Hilario along with our 3 scottish terriers