Maruca had neither an owner nor a roof over her head. All she had was the riverfront of Encarnación, Paraguay, and the hope that someone would look at her twice.
That was what she found when the Paraguay Gunboat and the Capitán Cabral Patrol Boat docked during the 2026 World Rally Championship. The crew gave her water, food, and something she had not felt in a long time: companionship. But ships do not stay forever. When they set sail back to Asunción, Maruca remained standing on the pier, watching as the ship grew smaller on the water. The image went viral and stirred something in people.
She returned to wandering the streets alone, once again with no one. Citizen Carlos Estigarribia did not remain silent and launched a mobilization on social media that reached the Minister of Defense, General (Ret.) Óscar González. Navy Captain Livio Duarte requested permission to adopt her, and today Maruca lives at Mboi Ka’ê Naval Base, with a name of her own and a crew that never left her alone again.
