I've always been a dog person. I often stop in the street just to pet a passing pup. I got my first dream dog when I was 7, right after some allergy test results came back slightly better than usual. From that moment on, Timek was with me for most of my life. I said goodbye to him less than a year ago—he was almost 18. After moving in with my partner to a new place, we deeply missed having a dog around. It didn’t matter whether the dog would be young, old, perfectly healthy, or not. My previous dog eventually lost an eye, so now I have a tattoo of him with a pirate patch.

Buddy is the first adult dog we’ve adopted. He’s about a year old. We had been thinking about getting a dog for a while, but I was nervous—between two jobs and daily duties, I wasn't sure I could manage. One day, I came across a Facebook post from the Reksio Animal Shelter in Bielsko-Biała: "Buddy is a real dog buddy...". The woman who had adopted him a few days earlier couldn’t keep him. When I saw his little face, his dark brown eyes, and his sweet underbite—I just knew. I thought: why wouldn’t I manage? I sent a message immediately.

We had considered getting a purebred dog, but there are so many shelter dogs who need homes now. Dogs from breeders usually find homes without issue. Shelter dogs? Not always.

I still can’t quite explain the feeling—it was like I instinctively knew he belonged with us. The woman who couldn’t keep him came over with a volunteer for a pre-adoption visit. Wonderful, smiling women—both deeply cared about Buddy. I still send them photos of him sometimes.

The first night was rough. Even though Buddy was instantly happy to see me—rolling over for belly rubs—he had trouble settling in and left us a 4 AM surprise ? But every day after that got better. Now it’s perfect.

What I love most about him? That he loves us so much. He’s incredibly affectionate—just like me! We live on the ground floor and he loves to sit by the balcony window. He’s fascinated by the world, loves traveling, and has the sweetest underbite and a little mohawk. A few people even say he looks like my partner ? 

Buddy has been with us for two months now, and we’re already thinking about getting him a friend. We’re browsing shelter listings and I think in about a month, we’ll be ready to adopt a second dog.

Would I recommend adoption to others? Absolutely! There are so many animals in need, and helping even one feels amazing. The gratitude they show is priceless. Watching how they grow attached day by day—until you’re a completely inseparable team—is pure magic.