Irma Castillo’s new BFF’s

Two St. Bernards mean double the love for 86-year-old Sonoma woman|

Irma Castillo was devastated when Tobie, the St. Bernard that was her constant companion for almost 12 years, had her final day last April.

As it turns out, it took two St. Bernards, Macey and Moxie, to make Castillo’s life meaningful once again.

Castillo, 86, became a local celebrity two years ago when Sonoma residents rallied around to refurbish her dilapidated home when it was deemed “substandard housing” by the city building department. Support from the Rotary Club of Sonoma Valley, as well as a group of local general contractors led by David Dikinis, and contributions to the Irma Castillo Benefit Fund saved her from eviction and potential homelessness – spiffing up her home and rebuilding the front porch where she now sits with her new furry best friends.

When her veterinarian put Tobie down, “I was so depressed,” Castillo said. “She was my last connection. My last buddy. My beautiful girl.” She huddled down in her 100-year-old house she’s lived in for 45 years and didn’t go outside for days.

“When you lose your dog you are half dead yourself,” she said. “I didn’t even eat my chili con carne or corndogs.”

Eventually her mood lifted a bit. “I decided to pick myself up and start again. I came outside and my roses were in full bloom and I knew it was a sign from Tobie,” Castillo said. “She is telling me, ‘Come on, Mom, get yourself another dog.’”

Castillo went to Vintage House to ask around about how she could find a rescue dog. Friends told her she needed to look online, but she doesn’t have a computer or an internet connection. Someone told her they found a rescue St. Bernard in Nevada, but she had no way to fill out the required online application, not to mention no way to get all the way to Nevada to pick it up.

Dark thoughts started coming again. “You’re old. You’re disposable, what’s the use?” Then Castillo said her friend Sophie “saw how depressed I was and decided to make it her priority to find me a dog.” Sophie discovered that there were two St. Bernards, sisters, available at Green Dog Rescue Project in Windsor. She drove Castillo there to pick them up.

Macey and Moxie are 8 years old and had been at the rescue center for seven months, and it was required that they had to both go to the same home. Castillo suspects they may have ended up at the rescue center because of the October wildfires, but can’t be sure. Not many can take two 150-pound dogs, but Castillo has half an acre for them to roam and plenty of love for both sisters.

She has a neighborhood friend, Steve Zago, who always has dog treats. She calls him “the cookie man.” He helps her keep the dogs’ food and water bowls filled, and scoops the property. Zago walked Tobie for four years, and will take Macey and Moxie for strolls once they get used to him.

Rotary volunteers came by a few weeks ago to weed whack and prepare the property for Castillo’s new pets. On a recent afternoon Dikinis, who spent so many volunteer hours renovating her home, stopped by, as he often does, to check on her and meet Macey and Moxie. “These dogs are good for Irma,” he said.

It took one year, about 100 volunteers – several general contractors, five plumbers, five painters – and Habitat for Humanity, to keep Castillo in her home and bring her peace and security. It took moments for Macey and Moxie to win her heart and return the sparkle to her ice blue eyes.

“Now I’m happy,” she said. When Tobie passed away I didn’t want to see anybody. I shut off. But now it’s nice. They watch out for me and I watch out for them.”

Macey and Moxie look content sitting on the porch with Castillo, with free roam of her fenced property. At night they sleep by the side of her bed. “Pets keep you alive, they keep you going. They are like some magic formula for happiness.”

Irma, Macey and Moxie are lucky to have found each other, and are blessed to live in Sonoma.

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