Dog

A younger Dog in the mountains

Dog's real name is Marlene. Actually, I'm not sure what her original name was. She was already one and a half years old when I saw her one night dodging between three lanes of cars with her great udders swinging away beneath. I never discovered what happened to her pups nor anything more about her previous life; the only clues I have are that she was perfectly house trained, loves riding in cars, has two great big scars on her back and is terrified of men and bulky things and especially of bulky men.

Mistaking my come-here-away-from-the-cars gesture for a come-to-my-house-and-live-with-me-forever gesture she followed me home and then puppy-eyed her way into my apartment. Being a cat person I wasn't sure what to do with her so we spent the first couple of days just looking at each other. I got her a cardboard box which she hid in immediately and didn't eat anything for two days. That's the longest, by about one and a half days, that I've ever known her not to eat.

Standard/begging face. Do not look into her eyes. 

Though she's not keen on men, she adores women and children. And food. Though she's definitely improved, I still have to keep a constant eye on her as life on the streets has left her with a taste for some of the more undesirable morsels to be found in the gutter.

Though she never shows the same amount of joy with me as she does with any random woman or child, we get on pretty well. I think she sees me as the safe-haven and will put up with long walks in the hills and occasional attempts to teach her tricks as long as she gets food and a warm place to sleep.

Now we've been together for about eight years. It's been quite a journey. Looking back, finding her was probably one of the most formative experiences in my life and now, almost 8 years layer, we're preparing to move to Finland together. All that for a person who wasn't very keen on dogs. But I guess that's just the way life works; these things happen for a reason. Let them all be positive experiences. 

Cat and Dog on the balcony.