Balgarianovinite.com Spanish footballer Ferran Torres, who scored his country’s World Cup winner on Sunday, has adopted Milo, a rescue dog from the Street Hearts BG shelter in the village of Glushka, near Dryanovo in North Central Bulgaria, the organization’s founder and director, Emma Smith, told BTA on Monday.
According to Smith, Milo’s story began in June 2021, when three abandoned puppies were found beneath a bridge in the Dryanovo area. A British citizen alerted the shelter, whose team then organized a rescue operation.
“The puppies were extremely frightened, severely underweight and covered in fleas and ticks. They had clearly been abandoned for some time. We managed to catch them, brought them to the shelter, where they were examined by veterinarians, vaccinated and then we began looking for permanent homes for them,” Smith said.
In September 2021, Torres adopted Milo through a UK-based organization that was working with the shelter at the time. The footballer was then playing for Manchester City, where Milo lived with him. When Torres moved to Spain following his transfer to Barcelona, he took the dog with him. Today, Milo lives with Torres and his three other pets.
Smith said the world-famous footballer’s decision was a recognition both of the shelter’s work and of the qualities of Bulgaria’s rescue dogs.
“It was a tremendous honour for us that Ferran chose to adopt a dog from our shelter. Milo is an exceptionally intelligent dog, and Ferran is a wonderful ambassador for Bulgarian rescue dogs because he regularly shares photos of Milo on social media. Thanks to that, we have also been able to find homes for many of our other animals,” she said.
According to Smith, the organization has neutered around 5,000 dogs, but its main mission remains finding permanent homes for stray animals.
“I hope Ferran Torres’ example will encourage more people in Bulgaria to adopt a dog from a shelter. We have so many wonderful dogs waiting for their families,” she added.
She stressed that adoption knows no social or national boundaries.
“Anyone can adopt a dog, whether they are a footballer, work in a shop or live in a small village. It simply shows that a person has a kind heart. What matters to us is not social status but how people treat animals,” she said.
The latest information the shelter has is from 2025, when Milo was thriving, had fully adapted to life in Spain and was still living with Ferran Torres.
Emma Smith founded and runs the Street Hearts BG shelter in the village of Glushka. She moved to Bulgaria from the United Kingdom in 2013 during a career break from the British police. After encountering the problem of stray dogs in the area, she and her husband, Anthony, established the organization. It initially focused on a neutering programme for stray animals before expanding its work to include rescue and adoption.
On Sunday, Torres became one of the world’s most talked-about footballers after scoring the only goal in Spain’s 1-0 extra-time victory over Argentina in East Rutherford, New Jersey, US, during the FIFA World Cup final. Spain’s FIFA World Cup Hero Ferran Torres Adopted Rescue Dog from Bulgarian Shelter 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-07-20 14:53:15 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law