Even as Santa was draining his final glass of milk, nibbling his last mince pie, and disappearing up his ultimate chimney, a small group of people was gathering in the hills above Estepona, on Spain’s Costa del Sol.

There are certain things that transcend holidays, and a large number of those things may be found at the Adana dog rescue center; hairy, excited, and hungry things, as eager as any to tuck into the holiday fare. The mission for half of the group was to get 140 hairy, excited, and hungry things, out for a walk and back for their Christmas dinners, while the other half cleaned their pens.

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Adana dog rescue center set a mission to get 140 dogs out for a walk and back for their Christmas dinners, while the other volunteers cleaned their pens. Meet from left to right: Ramon, Sasha, Ding & Lucky

As my companion (a volunteer of several years’ standing) and I arrived, the walkers were already starting to bring the dogs out. We made straight for our favorite pen; the most monstrous, most mischievous, most thugglesome pen, housing Ramon, Sasha, Ding, and Lucky.

Ramon is little more than an oversized puppy. A Pointer-Mastin cross, he arrived with a broken foreleg, from which he is still recovering, but it barely slows him down. Friendly, playful, and affectionate, he is very much the class clown, energetic, and ever keen to jump up for cuddles and treats.

Sasha is another Mastin cross, but of a completely different character. He arrived, following the death of his owner, unsocialized and timid. However, his gentle and friendly nature prevailed, and within a few weeks of his arrival, he was nervously mixing with people and dogs alike. While still slightly anxious about new people, he walks beautifully and gets on fantastically with other dogs. Sasha’s only downside is how he’ll take a treat. Think of Jurassic Park and the moment that the accountant hides from the t-rex, in the porta-loo. That’s how Sasha takes treats.

Ding is a sweet and gentle girl, who arrived a year ago, with a horribly misshapen hip and hind leg, which required re-breaking and pinning into place. Following her operation, Ding gets ever stronger – rather too much so, to be frank. Like Sasha, she is a little timid of new people, but becomes very affectionate, once the ice has been broken.

…all of which leaves Lucky, my absolute favorite, and the thuggliest guy in the thuggliest pen; a large, hairy, mischief delivery system, with the widest, happiest, most evil grin I have known, in my time at ADANA.

Sasha: Gaining confidence.

As we walked down the hill, it was noticeable that other volunteers would move their charges out of the path of these four fearsome monsters. Absolutely the correct thing to do but, at the same time, largely unnecessary, as there is almost no aggression in any of them. Ramon wants to play, Sasha and Ding want to make friends, and Lucky… well, Lucky probably just wants more henchmen, in order to enact the end of society and usher in the anarchy he’d so enjoy.

It is often the case, at Adana, that the larger the dog, the harder it is to home, regardless of its nature, and some of the largest dogs are also the most beautiful, inside.

I and my companion went straight for Ramon, Sasha, Ding, and Lucky. And later, Wolfy and Janell

Once the gang of four were walked, fed, and back in their pen, my friend and I moved on to Wolfy and Janell, another example of the too-large and beautiful.

Such was the endeavor of the volunteers that, by the time Wolfy and Janell were home and full of Christmas dinner, only one pen remained, albeit a tricky one. Many of the Adana pens contain quite large packs of the best-socialized and friendliest dogs, and this was such a pen. The trick is to avoid aiming for a particular dog but to simply plunge the lead and collar into the scrum of hairy bodies, which are happily and excitedly mobbing you, and see who you get.

Janell: Huge, beautiful & friendly.

Janell is quite possibly the friendliest unit Adana has to offer, a huge and very strong, young Mastin, with a broad and goofy grin and a desire to befriend everything she meets. Unfortunately, Janell rather lacks manners, and other dogs can easily become intimidated by her sheer size. There might be bears and elephants that would feel the same way.

My friend and I will be there, again, on New Year’s Day, along with all the other volunteers, without whom the operation could not exist

Wolfy enjoying a butt scratch.

Wolfy is a loveable, scruffy, Mastin-Belgian shepherd cross, adoring human affection but somewhat insecure with other, large dogs. His acceptance of an enormous beast, such as Janell, into his pen, represented a significant step forward for Wolfy, and he continues to make small advances. At eight years old, he is no spring chicken but, at Adana, teaching old dogs new tricks is just bread and butter.

When those families show up, we’ll be there, waiting to welcome them

Lucky: A basic mischief delivery system.

On this occasion, the dog lottery delivered Roby, another large puppy, this time a Malinois cross, among the last of a litter of puppies, born at Adana and affectionately dubbed ‘the Mali-gators’.

In fact, the only challenge Roby offers is the extremely high-energy, associated with his age as much as his breed. Intelligent, friendly, and ever keen to initiate play with other dogs, he is also very soft and affectionate, if he can stay still long enough for a cuddle. With a little patience and training, Roby could complete a family.

The same is true of Ramon, Sasha, Ding, Wolfy, Janell, and so many other Adana dogs; even Lucky, theoretically. For us, it’s just a matter of keeping them fed, secure and healthy, until we find that family or they find us.

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