Fly Furia

Our dog of the month November is a very special lady. Her name is Furia and she loves to fly! Yes, fly. And no, she does not have her own wings (yet)…

But her daddy Emi has given her something almost as good and Furia is conquering the skies.

Meet our first and only SKY MASCOT who recently gave birth to a family of little pup-super-dogs to be. Furia, we woof your spirit!

 

Furia, please tell us – Where did you fly in this image? Is this your favorite place to be in the skies?

This spot is called Senhora da Graça, it’s in Mondim de Basto (north of Portugal, close to Vila Real) and it’s most famous as being the hardest stage of the Cycling Tour of Portugal (Volta a Portugal de Bicicleta). 

This is where I have been been flying the most as it’s the closest place to my home. And it is also one of the best flying spots in the north of Portugal.

 

 

Emi, tell us a bit about Furia. How did you meet? And how was it the first time that Furia got wings…? 

Fúria is a female german shepherd and she’s 6 years old. My brother lovvvvves dogs (he’s a german shepherd breeder in the North of Portugal) and he got Fúria when she was a puppy of 2 months to offer to my parents – as our Rottweiler had passed away. We named her Fúria because she was always ‘furious’ when she was a little puppy, apparently the most aggressive of her pack… Well, she grew to be the exact Opposite! She is just lovely now, and very well educated, a true LADY. (my brother also trains dogs, and she loves to play in the obstacle course).

Covid-19 shook the world, but in every bad situation there is also one thing or another that is good. With the extra time at home, I started taking Fúria to come with me and be around while I would fly – I teach paragliding in Switzerland, but was not doing that during this period… again, because of Covid – she loves to watch and run after me, so eventually I decided to take her on a short 2 minutes flight, to see if she liked it. I adapted a kids harness that would fit her perfectly, and she made her first flight in March. Since then she has flown in different spots in the north of Portugal, both in mountains and by the beach, and her longest flight was over 50 minutes long. We landed because I had my brother waiting for me, but she was happy to stay there.

I started flying hang gliders in 2014 and paragliders in 2015, and I started teaching in 2016. I always dreamed of flying, as a kid – though in my dreams I would fly by levitating, using the power of my mind… a weaker version of the Dragon Ball method of flying I would say. I also remember seeing some people flying hang gliders one day in my childhood, when we visited Serra da Estrela (mountain in Portugal) so at some point in university I decided that it was time to make that dream a reality.

 

 

Where has Furia flown so far? She must be a certified pilot by now… Does she have a favorite thing while flying…?

She has flown in different spots in the north. She loves to fly on the beach, but her favourite spot is Senhora da Graça, because she has a friend there: Piloto (pilot) the dog that appears on the video and is taken care by the local association of pilots – Clube de Parapente de Basto. She doesn’t have her flying license yet 😀 though I must admit that I have thought about how to adapt the sport for her to become the first dog to fly on her own, I think she prefers to go with company and being petted in the process.

 

How many more Furias exist in this world other than Bolota?

I don’t have exact figures on that. I know that Fúria is the only dog flying in Portugal now – the community is not too large and we mostly know each other – and I would say that there are probably 10 other Fúria’s flying around the world. The only other dog that has flown in Portugal is Bolota. Piloto might go in the near future as well, he seems to like it.

 

 

Has Furia won any awards and recognition for her flying skills…?

No, but we did apply for the film festival at the largest flying festival in the world (Coupe d’Icare, France) so we will see 🙂

 

Did you ever give her a Cooka’s Cookie while flying?

No, but that’s an awesome idea. She loves your cookies, and she gets them always after flying. I’ll make sure to give her some on our next flight 🙂

 

 

WOOOOF, woooof. Now if this is not an inspiring story. YOU ARE JUST PAWSOME! Can’t wait for all the wild adventures of your kids Furia!

Love, your Cooka