I am a retired journalist, but I still like to write true stories and send them to newspapers and magazines . They are usually about things and events that happen to me .... or to people that I meet in my travels.

Once a year I like to drive my motorhome to north Spain and walk and drive along the famous hiking trail known as the Camino de Santiago. Here is a 'doggy' anecdote about the Camino de Santiago that you might find interesting. It was published in EL PEREGRINO magazine some time ago. I learnt what I have written here from the very two people featured in this heart-warming true story.

Nearly everybody gets something from the Camino when they walk it. It might be ..... spiritual enlightenment ...... or a clearing of the mind when you have a big problem to solve ....or ( if you are religious ) a closer relationship with your God....... or even just good healthy exercise by walking many kilometres each day for a month or more. It all depends on what you need most. But here is a tale of two lucky people who got something that they needed very much ..... by just being there at the right time at the side of the Camino.
Eloy and Maria are two elderly villagers who run a small dairy farm on the outskirts of the tiny village of Barbadello, near the town of Sarria in Galicia, 107 kms. before Santiago de Compostella. The Camino trail passes right in front of their door.
One summers day, around mid-morning, they were in their farm yard when a group of half a dozen Spanish pilgrims came by..... followed by two medium sized dogs. It was a hot day, and the pilgrims and the dogs were all very thirsty. They asked if they could have some water, and Eloy and Maria gladly gave them all the water they needed, with ice cubes from their fridge in their kitchen. Then they all got into conversation, and the farming couple discovered that the dogs did not actually belong to the pilgrims. The two friendly animals had been following the pilgrims .....uninvited and unwanted for many days....! It was imposible to discover who they belonged to, and they could not be shooed away. All attempts to hide from them, even in the albergues-hostels, failed to shake off the two friendly misguided mutts.
They were male and female. The male looked a little bit like an alsatian shepherd dog, and the female looked a little bit like a golden retriever. These very lovable mongrels had succesfully begged food each day from the pilgrims, or from other people as they passed by. They got plenty to eat every day, but they were never admitted into any albergue ( pilgrim hostel ). The dogs always slept outside..... in the garden or in the streets.
Every morning the pair would be waiting by the door of whichever albergue the pilgrims had slept in. When they emerged, the dogs would greet them and wag their tails ...... and then they would both fall in behind and trot the 25 to 30 kms to the next hostel, following their reluctant adopted 'owners' all the way. They had done this for more than three weeks already since they had first inexplicably appeared behind these pilgrims somewhere in the countryside in Navarra. They had already followed them for over 500 kilometres, and seemed doggedly determined to follow them for ever.
The pilgrims were very worried about this. They would reach Santiago city at the end of the Camino in only four or five more days. Then they would all catch buses, trains, or planes to return to their homes in different faraway cities in other parts of Spain. What would happen to the dogs then....? They didnt know, and they didnt know what was best to do. With worried looks on their faces, they thanked Eloy and Maria for the water, and set off again..... with the two dogs falling in and trotting along behind them as usual.


A couple of hours later Eloy and Maria were milking their sixteen cows in their milking shed ..... when suddenly the two dogs appeared. There was no sign of the pilgrims. The dogs had returned alone. They sat down in the yard, had a good scratch, wagged their tails, lay down, yawned, and just quietly made themselves at home. After a while Maria took a liking to them, and as she thought that they looked a little bit hungry, she decided to feed them. She took them into the house while Eloy got on with milking the cows.
When the milking was done, he called out goodbye to Maria, ( who was already churning the milk into cheese, which they sell to make their living ) and he drove the cows into the narrow lane outside ( which is part of the Camino ) and slowly herded them in the direction of his grazing meadow, which lies a full kilometre away. He walked behind his animals as usual, and after only a minute or so noticed that the two dogs had appeared and were now following along close behind him. He was a bit worried about this, in case they might bark or attack his slow moving cows. Some town dogs will do this, and they can easily start a stampede, and cause injury or even the death of a valuable milk cow. He wondered whether they might be unruly town dogs, but he felt relieved when they stayed just behind him, and made no noise at all.
The lane has practically no motor traffic, and after a hundred metres or so, the route to his field veers off to the left, and the cows ambled tranquilly in single file along this narrow muddy track which has no traffic at all.
When they arrived at the field, Eloy opened the gate, and the cows ambled in and started grazing. When he shut the gate behind them he noticed that the two dogs were sitting quietly about ten metres away on the track. They were watching ..... and observing everything closely. Then he set off for home, and they both followed him.
In the evening Eloy set off for his meadow again, to bring the cows home for their final milking of the day. The two dogs followed, and when they arrived at the field Eloy opened the gate.
Thats when (as Eloy told it to me) the Great Miracle happened.
The female raced off to the right, and the male raced off to the left. They got in behind the cows on the far side of the field, and with a couple of little yelps, just enough to get the cow's attention, they both together started herding the beasts towards the gate...!
Eloy was amazed. The dogs dashed this way and that, yelping now and again, but never caused the cows any panic. All sixteen of the big brown beasts just ambled quietly and submissively out of the field and on to the narrow farm track, with the dogs trotting behind in a businesslike way, and they all set off at a comfortable cow-pace in single file towards the farm where they would be milked and then spend the night chewing the cud in the cow shed. Maria saw them all arrive, and nodded approvingly. These two dogs were obviously expertly trained and experienced cow-dogs....!
And the same thing happened the next day, and the next, and the next.
After a week, Eloy decided to try an experiment. Upon arriving at the field in the morning ..... after the cows had gone in ..... Eloy did not shut the gate behind them. He left it open ..... and then set off for home with the dogs following him as usual. He knew that the beasts would come to no harm. His cows would never leave the field by themselves without being prompted or driven. They love the lush green grass in their meadow too much and are happy to stay and graze all day.
At midday, Eloy called the dogs out of the farm yard into the lane...... which is the Camino de Santiago..... and they came out and stood waiting expectantly. Eloy raised his arm, pointed his finger towards the field far away, and ordered...." Ir por las vacas ! " (Go for the cows...! ) Without any hesitation away raced the two dogs in the direction of the field, yelping with delight..
With a worried look on his face Eloy paced up and down in the lane outside his farm. The minutes ticked by. He took out his tobacco pouch, rolled a cigarette, and lit it. After a while he was tempted to go and see what was happening at the field. But he stayed and finished his cigarette...... and then nervously rolled another. More minutes ticked by. But about thirty minutes later, sure enough, the sixteen cows appeared around the bend in the lane, ambling along with the two grinning dogs behind them, both of them wagging their tails held high .....as if to say "Arent both of us clever...! "
And that is how things are today. The dogs have done this task of herding the cows to and from the field a full kilometre away, twice each day, all by themselves. And poor old Eloy and Maria, ( who are both well over 70 years of age and not in perfect health ) have been saved the long walks, a total of eight kilometers each day, summer and winter, and so have avoided the cold and the rain of Galicia, and the deep mud of the track for more than two years now. These are wonderful dogs. Eloy and Maria consider that they are a miraculous gift from Santiago himself, and regularly give thanks with a prayer and by lighting a candle in the village church on Sundays.
And what names have these two dogs been given....?
Why, the female is called Camino ( a popular female name in Spain ) and of course the male dog is called Santiago. Camino and Santiago are the cleverest farm animals ..... and the most loved dogs ...... in all Galicia....!

John Francis.....age 69.....seeking a travel companion for my next trip to the Camino de Santiago in north Spain.

very touching story.. love it.Monica

Great story John,and well worth the read. I have had working dogs,and they seem to have a much higher intelligence than the more domesticated breeds. My favorite dog was a working dog who learned how to open a door. He could grab the knob with his teeth,and and turn it.He could open a door that opened toward him,not just an in swing door. The small dog that I have now,was bred to go after badgers,and actually go down the hole. I can't imagine her coming out on top with a badger,but I don't have any around here, thank goodness for that..

Wow! Am truly inspired. Dogs are wonderful and friendly companions to man. Dogs feel deeply and are always ready to help.
About two years ago, a stray dog saved the life of a new born baby abandoned in a trash bin. Imagine he walked a long distance to the neatest house carrying the wrapped baby in his mouth? The baby survived and is doing well in a children's home. Angelic dog, I would say..... He was adopted.

Thanks, John for sharing this amazing true story.

If I ever visit Spain, I will be sure to visit Camilo de Santiago!

What a beautiful story, John. Thank you very much for pointing me in the right direction so I could come and read it.

An inspirational story
Thank you