One month after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake shook Colombia on August 10, the story of attorney Lenny Fernández continues to move people across the country. Fernández died when a building collapsed on top of her in Cali, a city in southwestern Colombia. Rescue workers who pulled her body from the rubble made a startling discovery underneath her: her 12-year-old dog, Salomón, alive and unharmed. Many believe Fernández used her own body to shield her pet in his final moments.
Now, a month later, Salomón is living with Fernández’s relatives in Pasto, her hometown in southern Colombia. The transition hasn’t been easy. According to her sister-in-law, Jessica Flórez, the dog refused to eat for three full days after being rescued, appearing withdrawn and depressed. To help him cope, family members retrieved clothing from the wreckage of the collapsed building so Salomón could sleep with items that carried his owner’s scent.
Salomón, who is blind and suffers from epileptic seizures, had long been Fernández’s closest companion. Flórez recalled that at Fernández’s funeral, the dog refused to leave the side of her casket, seemingly aware that he was saying goodbye to the woman who had cared for him his whole life. Meanwhile, the family says Fernández’s car remains trapped inside the damaged building, and local authorities in Cali have yet to resolve the issue.
To read the full story and see more photos of Salomón, visit the original article on eltiempo.com.
Source: La historia de Salomón tras un mes del terremoto: el perrito que fue salvado por su dueña bajo escombros (eltiempo.com). English version produced with AI assistance.
Image: iquitos, BY-ND 2.0 (via Openverse).