the "four-legged" pilgrim

[Rosina Lila]

Hello,
Oso, the "Peregrino a cuatro patas" who got his own credential is not a
mixed-breed dog, but is, in fact, a black Labrador.  He led his owner, Don Camilo,
up the steps behind the Cathedral, for the hug to the image of the Apostle,
and downstairs to the crypt for prayers. He also accompanied, Don Camilo,
during the Pilgrims' Mass.
And, no, Oso did not get a Compostela, but instead he was given a St. Francis
medal for his collar and a special blessing from one of the Canonigos
(Cathedral priests).
In the year 2000, after my pilgrimage, I was walking around Obradoiro Square
when I saw a woman crying loudly and seemingly in much distress.  She was
German, looked quite bedraggled and was with a large dog which also looked pretty
much the worse for wear.  The woman was trying to make herself understood by a
priest who was trying to calm her down, to no avail.  She appeared to be in
her fifties or sixties.  I went over and asked her if she spoke English, and
when she said that she did I offered to translate whatever she was trying to
tell the priest.  She had walked all the way from her hometown in Germany with
her dog, some sixteen  hundred  kilometers, had just arrived in Santiago and had
been stopped from  going into the Cathedral with the dog;  she insisted  that
the dog was as much a pilgrim as she was, if not more, and that the dog had
undergone serious hardships and deserved to go into the Cathedral (in fact, one
of the dog's  paws had a bandage and the other paws had been obviously
treated with some blue medicament); she was crying and crying  and refused to go in
when I offered to look after the dog for a while.  Eventually another priest
came out to talk to her; he was older and seemed very kind, and he said that
dogs are simply not allowed in the Cathedral except for the day of the Blessing
of the Animals, but he said that if she came back at 7:00 p.m. by the
Azabacherias door he would see what he could do.  I myself went to that door  close to
7:00, and the woman was there with the dog, both still looking pretty
pitiful; the older priest came out and led the woman and the dog into the church,
and up the steps for the hug, and down to the crypt, and about fifteen minutes
later out of the Cathedral through the same door; as they came out the woman
looked radiant.
Two or three days later I ran into them at Obradeiro and hardly recognized
them because then they both looked shiny, spiffy and quite elegant.  The woman
saw  me and said something to the dog in German who then went towards me, put
his front paws on my shoulders and licked my cheek.  Overcome by emotion I just
smiled and moved away to dub away my own tears.
Although by nature I'm not given to regrets, I sure very much wish that I had
gotten the woman's, and the dog's, name and address.
Well, they're often in my thoughts and always in my good wishes.
Regards,
Rosina
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