I’ve had the privilege of sharing my home for the past 10 years with four furry friends: three of them are a mother and her son and daughter, and then there’s a larger dog weighing 35 kilos, whom some young people left with me to look after for a couple of days, but every day I have spent with her since Kira came into my life has been a source of pride, an honour and a privilege for me. Kira is currently between two and thirteen years old; she is the most patient, calm, well-behaved, understanding and well-balanced dog. She came into Nina’s and my life just as Nina, my little dog, was pregnant, and suddenly our little pack began to grow. My situation, at 54 years of age, is that I have been living for ten years in what is now my home—sorry, our home. I forgot to mention the names of Nina’s puppies, who are Pinscher mixes. The little one is lovely, weighing about three kilos, and her big brother is called Goldie; they love each other very much and are both very handsome, thank you. It is to them that I owe my being here now and finding a sense of purpose, every day, every moment, every instant of my life, because they are my life and I am theirs. They were born right where they want to evict us from. I have lived here in a spacious, open-plan home; with dignity, and this is reflected in the kindness shown by all the neighbours towards us and, of course, by us towards them. Our home belongs to a vulture fund. As for any social gatherings or fun times with other people, I don’t even consider it anymore; the dogs give me what people don’t: loyalty, faithfulness and companionship—pure and simple. No belittling, no insults, no shoving, no threats. It’s only in the last 10 years that I’ve really started to live, thanks to my four furry friends. I never thought that in just six months or a year, life could change so much for me, and that after all those years, now that we haven’t thrown away our home, our life, I can finally say that if I want to, the life I live could be the closest thing to happiness I’ve ever experienced. my furry friends are all they know; they run about, and it certainly is bright; it’s the first place where I feel safe, and where I know I can protect my furry companions, I have a 51 per cent intellectual and emotional disability; I receive a social integration allowance based on my age and income. Society, the banks and the financial institutions no longer consider me to exist; I’ve been excluded. And by excluding me, they also exclude the animals, because where are the five of us going to go when we have no salary, only a social allowance, and no family or friends—no humans—who can help us? And even though I have made sacrifices over the years and saved more than a third of the money that the vulture fund wants to sell me, and after this being the first home where we have felt safe, which we have cared for and cherished both inside and out, as well as our neighbours and these four walls, even so, it is impossible for me to raise the money I am short of within this three-month deadline. In return, our doors are open to anyone who wants to come and spend a couple of days with us, provided they come with good intentions and kind words. Well, if anyone… I don’t know how to put it—it breaks my heart to see them sleeping all snuggled up together. I know it’s a huge amount of money; everything will be properly accounted for. And if you’re willing to come and be there for the paperwork and everything, please, it would be a massive help. I’m not reaching out; I feel better now when I spend my time with little things that truly show me they’re grateful, and each one is different; each one gives me a part of their strength to share the days with them. Really, we’re not interested in anything outside of that. Every afternoon they go to the park, they have their friends, they socialise and so on... Please get in touch with me; my phone number is 658748042