Nirvana, the Barcelona dog that hunts whales and is falling in love with Disney+

BarcelonaPets is the new Disney+ documentary that explores the relationship between animals and their humans in different parts of the world. This one-and-a-half-hour production, which premiered on April 11, celebrates unconditional love, companionship, and the bonds between people and pets of all kinds: pigs, dogs, cats, and birds of prey. One of the protagonists is a dog from Barcelona.

Nirvana is Sergi Rodríguez's pet, with whom he has sailed 17,000 nautical miles. Together they have crossed the Mediterranean Sea by kayak and take weekly trips to see whales on the sailboat. Ferrol Estuary, a traditional boat from 1949. Rodríguez abandoned his career as an industrial engineer to travel by kayak along the Mediterranean coast. In Sardinia, he found Nirvana, who was living on the streets, and adopted her.

This extraordinary couple has been together for eleven years, and Nirvana is always with him. "It was very nice to have this constant company everywhere. I was no longer alone. The four years of kayaking together made me confident that we could go anywhere and do anything. She's very wise," he explains in the documentary. Rodríguez currently offers eight-hour trips to sea on a sailboat to see whales or dolphins.

The documentary also talks about Goku, a cat that Rodríguez found when he was very young and was also abandoned, and who is now part of the family. Despite the myth that cats and dogs don't get along, Nirvana and Goku got along very well from the very beginning, to the point that the dog nursed the cat. "After two days, Nirvana had milk in her breasts. It was strange, but they bonded a lot," explains Rodríguez.

The documentary also tells the stories of Travis Ford and Adam Burke, who adopted a puppy, Blue, through The Sato Project, an association that rescues dogs in Puerto Rico and finds them owners; and Sterling Davis, a musician who abandoned his career to dedicate himself fully to rescuing sick or endangered cats. Once they are cured, he returns them to their natural environment. Other protagonists include Kristin Hartness and Jay Yontz, a couple who live with a 300-pound pig as a member of the family. Also featured is Rodney Stotts, who works with birds and cares for them if they cannot survive on their own, as is the case with his owl, Hook.

The documentary's director, Bryce Dallas Howard, explains, "Directing a documentary about the relationship between pets and their humans has been a dream of mine for years. There's something about these intuitive, wordless bonds, full of mischief and love, that feels like magic," Howard explains. She adds, "Pet videos connect with such pure innocence and happiness… the kind of laughter that catches you off guard and reminds you why we love them so much."