A rescue dog who escaped the streets of Puerto Rico has developed an unusual but not entirely surprising aversion when it comes time for walks.
Adrianna Visca from Northern Virginia hadn’t planned on adopting a dog until the day she met Sol. “I went with my friend to an adoption event because he was looking to adopt a cat,” she told Newsweek.
“I was just wandering around when this little dog came up to me and started cuddling with me and sitting on my lap.”
That was the first time she met Sol. A week later and after stocking up on all the essentials a new pet parent needs, she took Sol home. “The entire drive home she rode with her head cuddled against my neck like she knew she was going home forever,” Visca recalls.
It’s proven to be a match made in heaven, with Sol quick to come out of her shell and emerge as the kind of happy-go-lucky dog any animal lover would dream of having as company.
“Sol loves to play fetch, it’s her favorite thing in the world. She also loves to travel with us and explore new places, especially the beach,” Visca said. “She loves to cuddle on the couch but she has to lay right in between my legs.”
Sol the rescue dog stands tall. He took one look at the rain and decided it was a no.
TikTok/Sol__likethesun
When she’s not indulging in favorite treats like peanut butter and doggie ice cream which “make her so excited she runs and jumps into her bed to eat them,” Sol also loves to go for hikes and spend time laying in the sun.
However, when the clouds emerge and the rain comes down, Sol stays indoors and isn’t easily moved. A video posted to Visca’s TikTok account, @sol__likethesun, highlights the extent of the problem.
Despite being decked out in her very own raincoat, Sol flat out refuses to go outside to do her business. Her expression in the clip says it all. As Visca puts it: “She’s seen all she needs to see.”
It’s not uncommon for dogs to be fearful of the weather and, in particular, thunderstorms. A 2005 study published in the journal Applied Animal Behaviour Science, identified a 207 percent rise in salivary cortisol levels among a group of dogs exposed to simulated thunderstorm sounds. Salivary cortisol serves as a biomarker for endocrinological stress response.
However, in the case of Sol, it might be a little more complicated than that. “Sol is not a fan of rain, she doesn’t really enjoy being wet. Whenever we gave her baths she tried to avoid as much water as possible,” Visca said.
Thankfully, in this instance, a compromise of sorts was reached.
“We were eventually able to get her out to go to the bathroom but it was a quick turn around and then we had to dry her off and cuddle with her until she was dried off and warm again,” Visca said.
No one is entirely sure why Sol is so fearful of water, given that she once lived on the streets. Visca has a couple of theories though.
“Her fur is pretty short so she doesn’t have much of a barrier between her skin and the water,” she said. “She also just has some quirks that we’re not quite sure where they stem from. She was almost a year old when we adopted her and before that she was a stray so she’s lived a whole other life.”
Whatever the reality, Visca hopes her video of Sol raises a few smiles and that people remember that “rescue dogs have their quirks but they love harder than anyone.”
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