Anthony Piovesan
A woman thought her foster dog was not obeying her demands because it was disobedient, but it turns out the pooch only understood Spanish.
Ariana Giampietro, 26, had been looking after pup Monty for about a week and couldn’t understand why he ignored her commands.
The mixed-breed American pitbull terrier was otherwise well-behaved, but he wouldn’t ‘sit’ when she asked him to.
When she asked the shelter she fostered him from, she then discovered he had previously lived on a farm with a Spanish family, and only understood Spanish words.
Giampietro, an adoption case manager for children in care, from Gainesville, Florida in the United States then looked up the Spanish word for ‘down’ and ‘let’s go’ and when saying them aloud discovered how obedient monty could be.
She is now teaching him English words so he can become bilingual before he moves in with his new english-speaking adoptive family.
“I had had Monty for eight days and was really confused why he wasn’t responding to commands,” she said.
“I could tell he wanted to – he was listening to me, but it was like he didn’t know how.
“Once I found out about his background, and realised it was because he only knew Spanish, I was amazed.
“After I started speaking to him in Spanish, it was like he settled right in.”
Giampietro decided to start fostering Pitbulls after losing her own, Jack, at the age of seven to cancer in November last year.
READ MORE:
- EXCLUSIVE: ‘Can’t make this up’: Brit stranded at Valencia airport after dog ate his passport
- DOGGONE IT!: New law makes 10km a day walks for dogs compulsory
- ‘Sad situation’: Man rushed into hospital for heart condition tries to rehome beloved dogs in Spain’s Granada
