Five years ago, Victoria Martinez and her partner, Brian Fair, were walking back from a day at the beach when they decided to cut through the woods. The couple, who were on vacation in Puerto Rico, thought they were in for a pleasant hike — instead, they ended up saving a life.
Taíno was all alone, hiding in the bushes, but after being rescued by the couple, he’s never been alone again.
“He’s with us all the time, everywhere we go,” Martinez told The Dodo. “Right after we rescued him, I had to be on a work trip in Vegas, and he came with me.”
With his adopted family, Taíno has also traveled up and down the east and west coasts of the U.S. He’s hiked through most of the state parks in Florida and even learned to paddleboard and Jet Ski. He also regularly travels back to Puerto Rico with Martinez to visit her grandparents.
“Some would say he’s blessed,” Martinez said. “He’s got a lot of frequent flier miles for a dog, but he’s small enough to still fly in the cabin with us. So he’s safe, and he’s OK when he flies.”
And when Martinez and Fair got married earlier this year, Taíno was naturally part of the big event.
“My mom had sewed a little suit for him to wear that matched the groomsmen,” Fair told The Dodo. “He was so proud walking down [the aisle], and he did great. Then he sat there the whole time like a good boy while the ceremony went on.”
But Taíno’s life wasn’t always so glamorous. When Martinez and Fair found him in November 2018, he was a street dog who didn’t know when his next meal would come.
Fair recalls rescuing Taíno from the bushes all those years ago. “I think he was terrified,” he said. “It thundered the night before, so I think he was hiding in that bush. He was probably looking to be rescued.”
Fair and Martinez wrapped Taíno in a towel and took him back to Martinez’s grandparents’ home. They washed and fed the puppy but weren’t sure if they would keep him. But they quickly fell in love with him and realized they couldn’t return to the U.S. without him.
It appeared that Taíno felt the same way. As Fair and Martinez celebrated Thanksgiving with Martinez’s Puerto Rican family, Taíno suddenly started to “talk.”
“We were all doing the prayer and saying what we’re thankful for on Thanksgiving, and before that, Taíno hadn’t made a sound,” Fair said. “But when we were talking about family, he let out a sound for the first time. That was the moment where we were like, ‘He’s part of the family. He’s trying to speak up to say, ‘Hey, I’m here.’”
Amazingly, getting Taíno back to the U.S. was a pretty straightforward process. However, upon their arrival, Martinez and Fair realized Taíno’s leg was injured, possibly due to getting hit by a car back in Puerto Rico. A veterinary surgeon managed to save Taíno’s leg, though he still suffers from arthritis. But he doesn’t let his medical issues hold him back from anything.
“We can see him go out in the field, and he runs circles around every other sized dog,” Martinez said. “He loves to run on the beach and swim in the ocean. So I would say he’s thriving.”
Taíno’s life has been one big adventure since being adopted by Martinez and Fair — and he has another big adventure ahead of him. Early next year, Martinez is due to have a baby, which will make Taíno a big brother.
“It’s going be our first human child, but we really consider Taíno to be our first real child,” Fair said. “We’re really excited to see him become a big brother, for sure.”