SpainUpdate June 2026
Monday, the 1st of June 2026.
Due to busyness and fatigue, it took me a few days to write down our travel report, so here it is… On Saturday, the 9th of May, the dogs left for vacation; after weeks of going back and forth to Dr. De Frutos, Kala and Justine had also received the go-ahead to join us at the hotel. Kiki, who, after her inhumane, improbable ordeal, thanks to our never-ending care—which she sometimes had to undergo up to twice a day—was rewarded for her patience, just like us (especially Dirk) and declared cured!! The wound was almost completely closed, and thus she was allowed to come along to Belgium and went into foster care with Yolanda (read: would seduce Yolanda and Luc and stay...).
The day after, Sunday, Dirk started showing the first signs of departure fever and began gathering everything and getting it ready for the trip. The question was why, because the day after, his co-driver Dirk Buffalo arrived a day earlier than usual and was able to help him with this. Anyway, Dirk was (and is) and remained (and remains) Dirk, so I stayed away from him and let him be, because I remembered that Buffalo would not arrive until after 23:00h. The following day, the anticipation had increased even further and only subsided when he left at 22:30h to pick up Buffalo at the airport. When I received a phone call an hour and a half later saying that he had his co-Dirk on board, the fever was gone (until the next day??). Despite the late hour of the gentlemen's arrival, the obligatory "welcome drink" and the toast to the successful completion of the upcoming trip were respected. That was tradition, and traditions were meant to be complied with. Given the late hour, the latest "news" from the home front was for the next day.
The following day and Wednesday, Dirk B helped with all sorts of odd jobs for which Dirk needed men’s power. As a grand finale, the van was cleaned and pampered, as always, upside down and inside out, because after the trip it had to go inside to have a tachograph installed. Another major expense, but it was recently mandated by law, so it was necessary and self-evident to have one installed ASAP, because we are both perfectionists. Nothing is left to chance, and we have wanted to be legally compliant with everything since the very beginning of GINB. Moreover, Dirk only wants to drive if his van is perfectly maintained on time, because, as he always proclaims, many lives depend on it. That is undeniably true. Thursday, the 14th of May was D-Day for 15 dogs! It was not yet 9:00h when Marie-Carmen arrived with the chosen ones and three extra lucky ones, including one barely a year old whom I felt was too young to stay in the shelter. So, I had decided to give her and two other fellow sufferers a chance. Who knows, a quick prayer might help them. Loading went smoothly; if we could not do it after 30 years, we probably never could. It was still before 10:00h when they left for their long journey. As usual, I waved them goodbye and stayed behind with Titaba, who must guard me.
I did not have to stay alone for long, because exceptionally, the adoption day was on a Friday; after that, Dirk took the plane to Spain. We flew back to Belgium together on the first flight on Monday, as I was expected at the clinic on the 20th and 21st of May for a scan with contrast and the day after at the day clinic for internal examinations under anesthesia. As mentioned, Dirk returned on Friday evening, the 15th of May, at 23:00h from his “trip” to Belgium and the adoption day, and the next day he took the exuberant Titaba to the dog hotel to join her family. On Monday, the 18th of May we left for Barajas at 5:00h and took the first flight to Belgium, where it took us more time to find the new location of the rental cars than the flight from Madrid to Brussels. After being caught in a massive downpour on the crowded highway, we arrived in De Pinte two hours after landing, where it was sunny and warm and a fair was in full swing. Even though we were both tired, we must do some grocery shopping if we wanted something to eat and drink, so there was no other option but to go to the local supermarket.
In the evening, we sat right in the middle of the fair, which was set up at the village square next to us and in the front garden of the castle in front of us, blasting obligatory old hit songs loudly through the speakers. We tried to eat on our terrace but had gone back inside out of misery. In the evening, the TV must be turned extra loud to be heard above the noise. Sleeping would be no easy task, and it lasted for four days. Despite the musical attack, the sonorous voices advertising their attractions, and the noise of the shouting and laughter of the local youth, there was something nostalgic and reassuring about it. Everyone clearly felt happy and exuberant; no one had any worries and no one must be afraid. Here with us, there was no threat, no bombs or drones. For how much longer?? For many people considering adoption, that was the million-dollar question, the deciding factor. But the quarreling and ego-tripping “world leaders” won’t lose any sleep over that. They leave that to their subjects. May 20 and 21 arrived sooner than I would have liked, but there was nothing I could do about it, so I bit the bullet. I underwent the scan on Tuesday, was sedated for the examinations on Wednesday, and afterwards, still half-under anesthesia, listened to the doctor's explanation, remembering only that the scan results were taking a while to come back.
Because Dirk was waiting for the van that was being “admitted” to the “tachograph specialist,” I needed a few days to recover myself, and we still had to go to the doctor and the pharmacist for a supply of pills (which would hopefully make me twenty years younger), we did not leave back to Spain until Wednesday, the 27th of May. “In the middle of the week,” I had protested, but there was no other option, my driver said decisively. If only I survive... When we left De Pinte at 5:00h that Wednesday, my heart was pounding in my throat. Not without reason, as it would turn out, because a few kilometers further on we drove onto a motorway full of trucks driving head-to-head; there was no chance of getting through. On both the first and second lanes, there was nothing to be seen but trucks constantly overtaking each other despite the danger. Terrible. It remained terribly busy the entire way, and even busier towards Paris—unprecedented. My heart kept pounding with fear the whole way, and I could not possibly relax. Nevertheless, I tried not to let Dirk see anything.
He was already having a hard enough time. In scorching heat, it took us two hours to navigate the packed Paris ring road and its obligatory, cursed motorcyclists who squeezed everywhere to my husband's annoyance. We drove with thousands of others in a "convoy" at a snail's pace towards Bordeaux, where we spent the night. It was 16:00h when we finally arrived at the hotel after a long, arduous drive. After a refreshing shower, we lay in bed until it was time for supper. It was a blessing that we could go to bed at 21:00h and leave rested the next day after breakfast for what would turn out to be another steaming stretch of nearly 800 km. After a long drive during which Dirk, just like the day before, stopped twice to refuel and give me the opportunity to use the toilet, we gave each other a high five around 17:00h as we drove onto "our" Avenida de Madrid in Calypo. Despite the relief, I could only think of unloading the van, which, according to Dirk's law, must be done immediately. And that even though I had no reserves left. No pity…
Friday, May 28 & Friday, June 5, 2026.
The day after our arrival, I sent an email to Dr. De Frutos to make an appointment for Kala and Justine, who both needed a consultation as soon as possible and were returning home tomorrow with their families after their vacation. A little later, Dr. De Frutos sent an email back stating that we were scheduled for next Friday at 9:00h with both ladies. He would remove the frame from Kala if the photos of her Achilles tendon were good; for Justine, he would decide after the X-ray whether the plate would be removed from her operated leg. One week later, it was barely 8:00h when we left for Talavera; it was Friday, which meant an exodus for the Madrilenians, so there was a lot of traffic on the road. Anyway, it was not too bad, and we arrived at our destination before 9:00h and had time to look for a parking spot. No easy task and very nerve-wracking, because my husband always gets excited about all those “annoying,” indifferent Spaniards who are the opposite of a “gentleman in traffic” and show no consideration for anyone. Not even for a van with Galgos on it. On the contrary... Dirk always gets incredibly annoyed when a Spanish driver shamelessly snatches the spot he wants to squeeze into, fantastic driver that he is. Anyway, as soon as we drive into the busy town, we are stressed, and not unnecessarily so, because today, as always, it is a search and a lot of cursing to find and secure a parking space. Although we are on time for our early appointment, the waiting room is already quite full, and the clientele present is conversing loudly, Spanish nonchalance at its finest. But rather charming when compared to a Flemish waiting room. Anyway, as usual, it is busy, very busy.
The worst part is that Dr. De Frutos is late, and Dirk, with the exemplary Kala and Justine on the leash, gets a sudden bout of frustration and takes the ladies outside for a breath of fresh air just as Dr. De Frutos arrives. When he comes to apologize that it is his physiotherapist's fault why he is late, I reply that if he is late again, I will give him a session. He takes us straight to his office, and after an examination and X-rays, Kala is allowed to go with him to the operating room where he is going to remove the frame. Justine's plate is removed on the 15th of June; after that, she must wait two months until her leg is strong enough to operate on the second one. That means she will have to stay with us for months to come… While Kala is being sedated to remove her frame, we are allowed to go and have breakfast.
When we go to pick her up, she walks unsteadily along to the van. Out of habit, she pulls up her little hind leg. Three days later, she starts occasionally putting weight on it and using it. So far so good… I assume that everyone, or at least many of you, are on vacation or going on vacation, so I will stop updating for a few weeks, as you have better things to do than read my musings.
For those interested, I will let you know if anything special happens.
In the meantime, I wish you all a pleasant, safe, and successful vacation.
Thank you for reading this.
Kind regards,
Mireille
