Lea
Ümit explains that a friend of theirs in Türkiye had once wanted to adopt a dog. The dog’s name was Lea. One day Ümit showed Lea’s photo to her husband, Mike. Mike had previously adopted a dog from a shelter in Paris and had lived with that dog for more than ten years. When he saw the photo, his first reaction was simple: “Wow… what a beautiful dog.”
After his dog passed away, Mike had always wanted to adopt another one. Since the beginning of their relationship, Ümit and Mike often talked about how, one day, they would share their life with a dog. Somehow, though, they always postponed the idea. After seeing Lea’s photo, Mike began sending Ümit at least twenty dog videos on social media every day. Meanwhile, their friend decided not to adopt Lea after all. Even so, Lea remained in Ümit’s mind.
About a month later, Ümit asked the person helping with the adoptions what had happened to Lea. That was when she learned that Lea was going to be sent to a village. Thinking about the conditions in Türkiye, Ümit had the feeling that Lea might not have the safe and comfortable life she deserved there.
The earliest information they knew was that Lea had been abandoned by her owners in a dog park. After that, a volunteer couple in Türkiye who were already caring for stray dogs took Lea in and gave her a place among them. During that time she developed mange, and because of the trauma of being abandoned, she stopped eating. She went through illness, depression, and life in a shelter. This was only the short version of what they knew about Lea’s year after being abandoned. After learning all this, Ümit made a decision: Lea should become part of their lives.
“Wow… what a beautiful dog.”
It’s Lea and her family’s home, now
Ümit and Lea
She is a happy girl
Lea is slowly healing now
First, she told the team in Türkiye that they could be a foster home for Lea. At the same time, she told her husband that they would be fostering a small dog. Deep inside, however, she already knew that once Lea entered their home, she would never leave. And that was exactly what happened.
Lea arrived at their home in Barcelona at around 2:30 in the morning. Ümit woke up her husband, who was expecting to see a small dog. Instead, Lea was standing there, looking at him with her beautiful eyes. Mike was literally speechless for a few seconds. Then he asked, “Is… this Lea?” The next day Mike told Ümit that he didn’t want to give Lea to anyone. For Ümit, the mission was accomplished.
Since Lea came into their lives, many people have told them that she changed their lives and that they had taken on a big responsibility. In a way, they were right. Lea allowed them to experience a completely different level of love in their lives.
Yes, love does bring responsibility. But before anything else, what mattered most to them was helping Lea find her balance again. After all, one day she had been playing in a dog park, turned around for a moment, and the people she thought were her family had disappeared. After that came illness, depression, and the experience of a shelter. These were heavy experiences for any living being.
Lea is slowly healing now. She still needs a little more time, but Ümit and Mike are witnessing every moment of that process. Watching a living being slowly regain trust, confidence, and peace is incredibly moving and difficult to put into words. These days Mike often asks Ümit the same question: “Do you think Lea is happy?” And Ümit’s answer is always the same: “She believes the three of them are happier than they were yesterday. And she doesn’t think they could be happier than this.”
Lea with her toys