Dog in Shelter for 10 Years Visits Luxury Resort and Finally Finds a Home

Many thought Thor, the rescue dog, would “end his days” at Sa Coma, the rescue where he spent over 10 years waiting for a home.

“Thor was found abandoned on the street when he was around two years old. Despite having a microchip, no owner could be traced,” Joanna Ramonell tells PEOPLE.

After being picked up as a stray, Thor moved into Sa Coma, an animal shelter based on the Spanish island of Ibiza. Here, he waited for over a decade to find a home with no luck, despite his “loyal, gentle, and wonderfully affectionate” personality.

So when Ramonell, the director of marketing at Nobu Hotel Ibiza Bay, launched the destination’s new Tails of Talamanca program, a hotel package designed to pamper pups, she knew exactly who she wanted to test the project first — Thor and the other rescue dogs of Sa Coma.

“The inspiration was simple: dogs are part of the family. As a brand rooted in inclusivity and emotional connection, it felt only natural to extend our hospitality to four-legged guests, too,” Ramonell says of Tails of Talamanca.

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The program provides “thoughtful amenities” for canine guests of the hotel, including a gourmet dog menu created by Nobu Hotel Ibiza Bay’s head chef, memory foam beds, organic grooming products, pooch spa treatments, and easy access to Ibiza’s most dog-friendly spots.

After working with Sa Coma on other Nobu Hotel Ibiza Bay programs and finding the shelter’s staff to be “passionate about the initiatives that are born from a shared vision and purpose,” Ramonell knew she wanted the dogs of Sa Coma to be the first to test Tails of Talamanca.

“We brought several of Sa Coma’s rescue dogs to Nobu Ibiza Bay as our first VIP guests for the new dog experience. They dined from our new in-room menu, tested the beds, lounged in the sunshine, and stole all our hearts,” Ramonell says, noting that she made sure Thor was on the guest list.

According to her, the long-stay shelter dog was “a true connoisseur” when it came to sampling the Tails of Talamanca’s gourmet menu for canines.

“But what truly lit him up was the attention and affection he received from the team. At Nobu Ibiza Bay, we believe every guest — two-legged or four — deserves to feel special, and our team gave Thor the full five-star experience. He also seemed very taken with the memory foam bed, which he enjoyed from the comfort of his private terrace,” Ramonell adds.

Several news outlets ran stories about the rescue dogs’ test run of Tails of Talamanca, and the promotion, including TV spots, helped Thor get more eyeballs on him than ever.

“The visibility from his visit — across social media and even television — allowed Thor’s charm to shine far beyond the hotel. It was a beautiful moment of exposure that helped rewrite his story,” Ramonell notes.

Days after Thor’s visit to Nobu Hotel Ibiza Bay, Sa Coma started receiving numerous adoption inquiries for the dog from people who had seen him visiting the hotel on TV and social media.

Out of the applications, Sa Coma finally found a perfect home for Thor, who is now living “a beautiful, free life in the Ibizan countryside, surrounded by love, nature, and three canine companions,” says Ramonell.

“After a decade behind shelter gates, he is finally home.”