The stray dog that caught the local commuter train to Malaga

Ignacio Lillo

Málaga

Wednesday, 12 March 2025, 19:54

She has been named Gypsy, although her real name is not really known because, like so many other animals in the Malaga province countryside, she does not have a identification microchip. Although she is an old acquaintance in the Sexmo area of Cártama in the Guadalhorce valley, where she survives with the help of local residents and spends her time chasing cars and motorbikes, she has now become an internet sensation thanks to her adventurous side.

It seems that the German Shepherd cross wanted to explore and see the world and a few days ago she decided she'd catch the C2 Cercanías train service at Cártama Estación to see what was so interesting about Malaga city for the other passengers who catch the train every day.

Her fellow passengers wasted no time in taking photos of Gypsy and sharing her adventure on social media. Gypsy, who is a social dog and used to being around people, obliged.

Coincidentally, Donata Jurgaityte was on her way to work on the same train. Originally from Lithuania, Donata has been in Spain for 25 years and is a specialist in training and a volunteer at the Perritos del Higuerón shelter in Pizarra. The centre cares for some 200 abandoned animals, including dogs, cats and horses.

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"I was on my way to Malaga on the 8am train when a German Shepherd cross got on at Cártama station on her own, so I took her to work. I couldn't leave her alone and it was a force majeure," Donata explained.

Once back at the shelter, they posted a photograph of Gypsy on social media in case an owner came forward. Several people responded to say that the dog had been seen wandering around the Sexmo area of Cártama for several days: "From there she went to Cártama and then decided to go to Malaga on a trip. She jumped up and slipped into the train and sat very quietly on the floor," Donata smiled.

Donata admits that on the return journey to Guadalhorce Gypsy was all barking all the way. "It's obvious that the dog doesn't want to be in the village," she joked. Since she was already in the city, they first tried to take Gypsy to the Sociedad Protectora de Animales shelter, but its president, Carmen Manzano, said that they had recently taken in a lot of other animals from a shelter that had been flooded in the recent rains.

"So far this Monday morning we have received five reports of abandoned dogs from all over the province, and last week 17 were rescued from a person with Noah's syndrome. We are overflowing and we are getting calls from all over the province, abandonment has increased exponentially. The Protectora can't take any more," Manzano said.

The situation is identical at Perritos del Higuerón, where Gypsy has ended up. "We are a small shelter and we have about 200 animals, we lack space and we have very few donations or adopters, while animals keep coming in," Donata explained.

In her opinion the new state law is making pet ownership more difficult, to which is now added the issue of veterinarians, who are obliged to carry out costly tests to prescribe antibiotics, which makes any treatment more expensive because an analysis must first be carried out. "Having animals is going to become a luxury, unfortunately," she said.

So, if anyone would like to share their life with an active, clever dog who knows her way around Malaga's public transport system, Gypsy is available for adoption at the Perritos del Higuerón shelter in Pizarra.