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They Call It Puppy Love: Maltese Facebook Group And Rabat Local Councillor Help Brazilian And His Dog Find A New Home

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The rental market in Malta is a hot damn mess. Prices are soaring thanks to a random interjection from our old faithful, inflation – the economy is doing great!

You’re lucky to find places within your initial budget on the first few attempts, but a lot of us tend to forget that there is somewhat of a minority among those of us who don’t own the property we reside in: people with pets

Diego Henrique moved to Malta back in 2015 and chose to set up camp in Rabat. He relocated from Brazil in search of work on the island and got Coby from a Gozitan woman to help him settle in to island life.

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This October, Diego’s lease was due to expire and he had no intentions of renewing as he’d found the perfect next step for himself and Coby. The flat was negotiated over Facebook, a common method of house-hunting in Malta these days

His current landlord had agreed to cut the contract short, and so Diego and his doggo were packed up and ready to move into his new digs on the 5th. Horro struck the day before the big move when Diego got a call from his new landlady who had seen on his Facebook profile online that he had a dog. 

He was told immediately that the contract would not be honoured. Despite Diego’s pleas she was unwilling to compromise.

When Diego first saw the flat advertised on Facebook’s marketplace, the advert hadn’t mentioned that the flat wasn’t pet-friendly so after viewing the flat, he signed on the dotted line


Diego feared the worst in that moment and it wasn’t until he had a response to a post in the popular pet-lover’s Facebook group RUBS Puppy Love that things started to look up for the two.

Rabat local councillor Ian Vassallo also came across the story and jumped to the rescue. He knew of a pet-friendly property in Siġġiewi that was available at the moment and hooked Coby and his father up with a place to stay. God bless Mark Zukerberg’s blue tycoon.

“Me and my little angel Coby just got another home,” Diego relieves. “We are living in Siġġiewi, not in Rabat where I used to be, but things are still good.”

It took less than 24 hours for Diego and Coby to resolve their issue with the help of one of Malta’s many local councillors, so kudos to everyone involved for helping the pair out. More of this, please!

Are you a member of RUBs Puppy Love? Share this story for those who aren’t and tag an animal lover!

READ NEXT: Paws For A Cause: Sliema Now Has Its Own Puppy Patrol And Yes, It’s As Adorable As You’d Imagine

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