Rescuing a dog is one of the most gratifying, and challenging roles you can ever face in life. Most of these rescue dogs have been physically abused by their owners and they suffered a lot of pain so they don’t know how to cope being in a new environment with a new owner. However, with hard work and training, dogs will get used to it and they will be able to trust their owner but it’s not an overnight thing, it takes dedication. 

Lilandra Turull has taken the role as the owner of a 50 lb., 4-year-old, Staffordshire terrier named Lumi where they embark on a new journey of how they met and how it ended.

“In 2019, I went out to a bar for drinks with some friends. Around midnight, one of my friends called me and was crying. I stepped outside and asked what was going on and she told me that she was sitting on the floor with a really cute “pitbull” and that the dog had just given birth and had been abandoned,” Turull said.

Prior to that, Her friend, Anthony, found Lumi tied up to a tree around 10 p.m. and waited for an hour and no one came back for her. He went into a laundromat on the block and asked if they saw who left her there but they said no. He left his information and told them if the owners came back to give him a call and decided to take her indoors because it was cold outside. Anthony ended up getting a phone call from the laundromat and the employee told him that the owners didn’t want her.

“My friend called me and asked if I knew anyone who wanted a pitbull and I went back inside and asked my friends. My best friend said she was interested in taking the dog and so I texted Krystina and told her to bring the dog to my apartment,” Turull said.

An hour later, they got there and Lumi was drawn to Lilandra. She instantly got attached to her but her friend had already claimed her. 

“For a week, I would hang out with Lumi and my friend and get more and more attached. One day though, Lumi tried to bite her roommate and on the same day tried to bite the superintendent of her building. So she needed to revoke her. I obviously didn’t want to lose Lumi from my life so despite that I wasn’t looking for the responsibility of a new dog, I decided to take her in. That is how she became my dog,” Turull said.

Even though Lilandra has Lumi to herself she still has to train her dog occasionally, she still has those days where she feels overwhelmed with Lumi and had no idea what she was getting herself. However, she has no regrets keeping the rescue dog because due to the fact that she was used for breeding, she was more than likely abused. Therefore giving her massive trust issues towards humans, she is attached to Lilandra but there are many times where that attachment becomes a sudden burst of fear and she becomes aggressive towards her and those around her.

“She also is massively terrified of men so I had to muzzle her when we go on walks as she sometimes lunges at people. Her aggression is a lot to handle and it gets scary to deal with because the last time she had an episode, if she wasn’t muzzled, she would’ve bit my face. I found myself sobbing over it because I felt defeated and as though I had no choice but to give her away,” Turull said.

Training an aggressive dog can cost thousands of dollars and to deal with that in the middle of a pandemic where employment is rough, she just couldn’t swing it. Lilandra was blessed through a semi0viral Tiktok she had made about it and luckily got connected with a social media known trainer who decided she would only charge $50 a session. 

“She’s all the way out in Colorado and I’m here in New York City so we do video training sessions. I am not going to lie, I wasn’t sure if it was going to work but after a month now, I have seen progress with Lumi and best of all we are bonding way more,” Turull said.

Her trainer explained that Lumi’s issue is that she feels loved but lacks confidence which affects her security so one little trigger sets her off because she’s never been fully taken care of. Working on the training allows her to bond and develop a structured level of trust with Lilandra so that she doesn’t displace her fear into aggression towards her. Other than that, there’s been an issue with these owners abusing their dogs for no reason and it needs to stop, dogs don’t deserve to be in a negative, toxic environment where they are being attacked on a daily basis. 

“I think that people who abuse their dogs are miserable cowards who feel good about placing their misery onto something that can’t necessarily defend itself. It is disgusting and there’s nothing I hate more than an abuser that’s towards anyone or anything. Abuse is just completely despicable and unforgivable,” Turull said.

However, what terrifies Lilandra the most is when Lumi gets aggressive towards her for no reason and doesn’t know how to deal with it. This is her first time owning a big dog so if she was to ever bite her it wouldn’t be a little cut. She’s actually bit people before and it left huge bruises. Lumi is the absolute sweetest dog but those moments are like an entirely different animal and nothing about it isn’t scary. Overall, she’s improving everyday and their training is teaching them patience and allowing Lilandra to bond more with her. 

“It’s like I have learned to speak her language and she has learned to speak mine, if that makes sense. There’s way more understanding between the both of us and I think that every dog owner can benefit from training their dog even if it’s not due to aggression. 

Lilandra and Lumi have an amazing bonding technique and it has so many wonderful benefits long term. They still have a long way to go but her training has made Liladnra more hopeful for her recovery and has removed the burden off her shoulders of having to give her away. Lumi is such an amazing dog with a radiant personality and it kills Lilandra that someone hurt her enough where she retaliates when she’s scared but she’s happy that she has a loving home and they’re on a right track to healing her.