SO IF HE'S SUCH A GOOD DOG.....

In an earlier post, someone asked about the dog we have for adoption, Filipo.

An exuberant blur! The photo sure proves it. And what a soulful face. But how, we'd like to know, did he last so long in a refuge?

I used to think the same thing when I volunteered at the local shelter in Portland, OR. Why hasn't this sweet, smart, handsome, fill-in-the-blank animal been adopted yet? The answer was always a variation on a theme: Too big, too shy, too aggressive, too ugly, or as if often the case, black. (The color issue is so ubiquitous, it's now a widely-recognized syndrome).

At least if an animal's still in the shelter and her spirits are high, however long its takes, she's still got a chance. The flip side is the dog who can't take the confinement and self-destructs. High on that list is a dog with border collie in its blood, a dog like our Filipo.

Ironically, the reason Filipo stayed sane and the reason he went unadopted for so long comes down to the same thing: the refuge.

ARCA, based here in Cuenca, is one of Ecuador's biggest shelters. With upwards of 150 dogs at its rural facility plus another 40 in its downtown clinic, ARCA may well be the largest rescue in the country. Filipo is an ARCA dog, rescued by a good samaritan who found the struggling puppy in the street, one of its back legs unuseable, shattered by a car.

ARCA's lead veterinarian, Cristina Bernardi, a creature too wonderful to be true, pinned young Filipo's leg together and kept him in the clinic until he was ready for life in the rough'n'tumble refuge. Out there, dogs are kept in long metal sheds that have been divided into concrete-floored rooms. Each room houses anywhere from 1 to 4 dogs, whose noses are usually up pressed against the bars to take in the country air.

The air outside the bars is pretty good, too.

So that's where Filipo landed, smack in the middle of a noisy, active and safe facility with dogs of all shapes, sizes and ages. Being a puppy, he was grouped with other youngsters, and given ample romping room, shelter and food.

That's why this whirlwind of a collie mix survived 10 months in a shelter. He was out playing several hours a day. Life in the country suited him, however limited his play time with humans.

But living in the country in a hard-to-find place a long way from the city was exactly why no one ever took him home. People rarely visit the refuge; it's chaotic and crazy-making, a press of unruly, excited animals barking and jumping for attention. Appearances are not what matters when you're trying to rescue as many dogs as possible. As a result, the refuge is simply not a visitor-friendly place.

ARCA is its own story, a complicated one. Filipo's is pretty straightforward: A once-invisible animal is given the opportunity to stand out and shine.

The boy's keeping the faith that he's almost there, one step closer, to the simplest of places yet so hard to find: a true home.