People, paws & purpose
A place to be a dog
In Bali and Spain, two of our shelter partners are making room for something beautifully ordinary: a dog who feels safe.
By rufly editorial · · 5 min read
For three weeks, Putri stayed in the bushes.
She had been rescued. She had been treated by a vet. She had arrived at a foster home in Bali where, at last, nobody meant her any harm. But safety was something the people around her knew. Putri still had to find it out for herself.
Her carer left food outside the bushes and watched from a distance. Later, she sat nearby with food in her hand. Putri would edge out to eat, then disappear again if their eyes met.
There was no way to explain to her that the worst was over. Only a way to show her, and then show her again.
We found Putri’s story through Mission Paws’ible, our partner in Bali. It stayed with us. Not because of a spectacular before and after photograph, but because of that hand held patiently beside the bushes.
Mission Paws’ible · Bali, Indonesia
The first wag of a tail
Mission Paws’ible’s account begins near a temple. Putri had lived on the streets since puppyhood, survived distemper and lost her fur. The team caught her and brought her for veterinary care. When she moved to a quieter foster home, the recovery continued at her own pace.
Then, one morning, her carer found her on the other side of the garden with the resident dogs. Her tail was wagging.
Evenings indoors followed. Putri began joining the household to watch television, going back outside when she wanted to. Eventually came walks, then the bursts of energy dog owners know as zoomies. In the rescue’s account, she became a dog who waited at the door for her carer to come home.
A door worth waiting beside. A walk to look forward to. An evening with the television on. Such small things, until you think about what came before them.
Founded by Prue Barber, Mission Paws’ible rescues, rehabilitates and rehomes animals in Bali. In 2024, it welcomed the first residents to The Healing Centre in Tabanan, a purpose built place for recovery. It also supports other rescuers on the island. Putri’s foster story is one part of that wider work, not a story from the centre itself.
Thousands of miles away, in Spain, another rescue account begins with a phone call.
SOS Galgos · Barcelona province, Spain
The journey that mattered
In February 2021, a volunteer named Pablo found Lolita near Toledo. She was a galga, a female Spanish greyhound, terribly thin and with serious injuries to both front legs. She needed urgent help.
SOS Galgos began arranging her journey towards Barcelona. A film crew from the agency Villar-Rosàs joined the rescue, documenting the people who helped move her to safety. The shelter tells the story through their recollections: the calls, the travel and the frightened dog at the centre of it all.
We tend to think of rescue as the moment someone finds an animal. Lolita’s story brings the rest into view. Finding her was the beginning. Getting her somewhere she could receive care took people willing to take responsibility for the next part.
Anna Clements and veterinarian Albert Sordé founded SOS Galgos in 2000. Its work centres on galgos used for hunting and subsequently abandoned or mistreated: rescue, recovery and responsible adoption. Its shelter in Santa Coloma de Cervelló is also a school, where children and young people learn about animal welfare and empathy.
That last part matters. Helping a dog who has already been hurt is urgent. Teaching someone to treat the next dog differently is how the work reaches further.
An ordinary life is a beautiful thing
Bali and Spain are very different places. Putri and Lolita are very different dogs. What connects these stories is not a slogan about second chances. It is the practical decision to stay involved: to make the call, arrange the care, sit beside the bushes and try again tomorrow.
That is why we want you to know the organisations behind our partnerships. Not just their logos. Their dogs. Their people. The particular ways they help.
At rufly, 10% of every sale goes to a dog shelter. You buy the travel data you need; our partners do the rescue work. You can see the transfers we have made on our receipts page, or support Mission Paws’ible and SOS Galgos directly through their own websites.
We love the thought of a trip leaving something good behind. But the hope is smaller, and more concrete, than changing the world in one journey.
A dog at a door, waiting for someone who comes back.