As she prepared to take Camila home, Charley Tygart took Maite’s parting words to heart: “Never abandon her. You’re with her forever.”

Camila was one of about 20 dogs at El Refugio Privado de Perritos Soy Callejerito in Cusco, Peru. Maite had rescued her about seven years prior after her owner had gouged out her eye for attacking a rabbit. 

Charley, who had spent 10 weeks volunteering at the animal rescue, said she knew she would have a special relationship with the dog when she kept coming up to her asking for belly rubs.

“Those first four to five weeks when I was by myself, I was with her every day,” Charley said. “Once we got more volunteers, I wasn’t seeing her as much. But when I finally made the decision that I want to adopt her, (Maite) made it an effort for me to spend more time with (Camila) daily.”

Camila stepped off an Advanced Air flight and onto the tarmac at the Del Norte County Regional Airport — her new home — on April 16. 

According to Billie Kaye Tygart, her daughter had used two plane tickets she had won at a Safe & Sober Graduation raffle the year prior to accompany her dog on the final stage of her journey. Camila made the trip with the Rikuzentakata delegation visiting Crescent City for the Kamome Festival.

Sitting inside Paragon Coffee House about two weeks later, Billie Kaye says her new grand-dog is becoming more comfortable with her new home — Camila began rolling on the grass about four days after arriving. But she still has to keep an eye on Charley, Billie Kaye says.

“If Charley’s at work, she will sniff out every room of the house looking for her,” Billie Kaye told Redwood Voice Community News on April 30. “In fact, she had to go into our room the other day to make sure.”

Charley, a 2025 Del Norte High School graduate, became connected with Soy Callejerito through the international volunteer program Plan My Gap Year. She had spent much of her childhood volunteering at the Del Norte County Animal Shelter and said she wanted to get a feel for working with animals before making a definitive decision.

Plan My Gap Year found Charley a family to host her in Peru and introduced her to Maite, who had been rescuing dogs in the community for about 20 years. Charley said as she got to know Maite, she would tell her each animal’s story, including Camila’s.

“Her previous owner had gouged her eye out for attacking a rabbit that they had and Maite heard about it and she went and stole her from them,” Charley said, adding that many animal rescues in Cusco operate the same way. “I think people tip them off and then they go rescue them.”

Once Maite takes the animals in, they’re automatically spayed or neutered, Charley said. She also works with a local veterinarian to ensure the animals receive their vaccinations.

Though Billie Kaye disputes this, Charley says it was her mom that first gave her the idea of bringing an animal home. 

“I just kind of said, ‘Oh, I wish you could bring them all home. Because she’d been sending us pictures,” Billie Kaye said. 

Since they already had animals at home, including a corgi named Prince, Charley said she wasn’t sure her parents would welcome another dog. Then she wasn’t sure if Maite would part with Camila since she had her for seven years. 

Billie Kaye said Maite had a bond with Camila and wasn’t sure about whether a teenager would be able to provide her the care she needed. When Billie Kaye and her husband Jim helped Charley volunteer on her last day, Billie Kaye said that seemed to put Maite at ease.

“We were all embracing it,” Billie Kaye said.

Charley’s last day at Maite’s dog rescue was in December. She returned home to Crescent City.

Camila’s journey was just beginning. Billie Kaye said her family worked through a company that picked the dog up from the shelter and flew her to Lima. She was groomed, received her shots as well as a microchip and was treated for fleas and ticks. 

“It was more expensive to get her here than it was for us to fly in and out of Peru,” Billie Kaye said.

Charley and Camila reunited in Los Angeles and flew back to Crescent City from Hawthorne. 

“She did good on the flight back,” Charley said. “I had to put her under the seat.”

With her gap year coming to a close, Charley says she’s preparing to attend college in the fall and she’s taking Camila with her. She said she’ll be attending Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Not only is it near the beach, Charley says Camila will be able to live with her on campus as well. She says she also has an idea for a project that she hopes will benefit Maite’s shelter in Cusco.

“I’m going to do a coloring book,” she said. “One is going to be about (Camila), one of them is going to be about our sister city and then one of them is just going to be about Crescent City. I’m going to draw them all myself and then get them published and have them at businesses here.”