A buddy of mine found a massive Presa Canario — close to 100 pounds — left behind somewhere and asked if I could keep him for a few days. I figured, why not? Sounded like the perfect tough guard dog. I named him Bruno, set up a bed near the door, got him a solid, heavy collar — the full intimidating setup.
First night, around 2:00 AM, I woke up to Bruno shaking and whining… completely terrified because the AC turned on.
By day three, I realized it wasn’t just that. He was scared of the dark, slippery floors, sudden sounds… pretty much everything except me.
On day five, I tried putting a camo jacket on him — he just froze. Then my neighbor showed up with this soft, pastel sweater covered in tiny stars. Bruno leaned right into her, wore it nonstop for days, and actually got upset when I took it off to wash.
A few days later, the rescue reached out saying they had someone interested in adopting a “guard dog.” I looked over at Bruno — all 100 pounds of him stretched out on my couch, using my arm as a pillow, still wrapped up in that sweater.
I just shook my head.
“He’s not a guard dog,” I told them.
“What do you mean?”
“Yeah… he’s a Presa Canario who’s scared of the dark and needs to be tucked in every night.”
There was a pause.
“So… he’s staying?”
“Yeah. He’s staying.”
📍 Foster Fail Anniversary: 3 years
Now Bruno has his own spot on the couch… and more sweaters than I do.