Survivor

The rain we've had on and off recently as well as the the rise in temperature by several degrees have melted nearly all the snow and ice so this afternoon I decided to ride my bicycle again to go to the sanctuary. There were still a few small areas there that weren't completely clear but they're not likely to last much longer if the weather stays the way it is now.

I'd put on another coat this afternoon because it was considerably milder today but I'd forgotten to take my sanctuary membership card out of the pocket of the warmer coat that I'd worn when it was colder. Each dog walker has to have that card with him/her though or they're not allowed to take a dog with them so I had to get another one from Christophe in the office. While I was filling out my details on the card he told me that he had stayed with Loïka the whole time until she'd passed away. He also said how she'd had at least 3 assessments in the 8 months that she'd been at the sanctuary and that she'd failed all of them without hardly any sign of improvement. It just would have been too risky to re-home her unless it would have been with someone who had previous experience at keeping a Rottweiler with a tendency to dominate. Unfortunately such a person could not be found in time before she was put to sleep. I still feel sad when I think about Loïka now but it does make it somewhat easier knowing that she has been given several chances to improve her behaviour and that she had someone who cared with her in her last moments.

Just before I left him Christophe said that a new girl had just recently arrived at the sanctuary and that I should ask for her at the desk so I could walk her. He told me that Cherly was a Rottweiler-German Shepherd dog cross but that she did not possess the tendency for dominant behaviour that Loïka had. This may sound strange but it actually felt comforting to walk a dog that reminded me of Loïka each time I looked at her as it gave me the feeling that part of her spirit was still there with me.

I hadn't had time to look for a blip before my walk with Cherly and still had to try and find something afterwards. I managed to get a few shots even though the light was already very poor then. After narrowing it down to 3 photos to choose from, I eventually picked this one of a Daisy that had survived all the recent snow and ice.