From hell to paradise…

The people one meets when out walking. I think I met Gina’s abuser.

Firstly, for those who don’t know, I’ll give you a potted history of my Gina.

In September 2007 when Ivan (my ex-builder) arrived at my house asking if I could help him with a dog, I didn’t know what to expect. He took me to a shed at the back of a house and there I saw one of the worst cases of animal abuse I’ve ever seen. A starving skeleton covered in sores and the most frightened eyes I’ve ever looked into. This was Gina. I asked Ivan what had happened to her and he told me that a shepherd in the village had her and he had gone to check to make sure she was OK and found her in this most appalling state. He took the dog from the man and asked if I could help feed her back to health, something I couldn’t refuse.

So, to the now…

Today, we were out having a lovely walk in the crisp winter air but, because of the icy roads, I made a few changes to our route. Gina, as always, was as happy as a sandman, sniffing everything and weeing everywhere and plunging her entire head into the snow (I still haven’t worked that one out). I heard the sounds of sheep bells and a few seconds later, a flock of very bedraggled and dirty looking sheep appeared around the corner. Gina stopped dead and sat down, looking apprehensive. Remember, she’s a Bulgarian shepherd dog (Karakachan) and normally she reacts well to sheep.

Then a man, who’s sheep these clearly were, came around the corner and she backed away and pressed herself very firmly to me. This is Gina, a dog not that keen on close physical contact, and yet here she was hard up against me, ears back and tail between her legs. He started shouting at me and pointing at Gina and saying she was his dog !! I replied, in Bulgarian, that no, she was Gina and she was my dog. He kept pointing at her and then pointing at himself…and then it dawned on me who he might be. Even though I wasn’t actually sure and was going on assumptions, albeit very strong ones, that he was the ‘one’ who had nearly killed Gina, I found myself getting a tad angry. He kept shouting and pointing so I walked up quite close to him, pointed at him, while giving my filthiest look and said in loud and very clear English “this dog will never ever go anywhere near your property again, not while there’s breath in my body you F*****g Pr***….now F*** off !!!!” He looked a little taken aback, to say the least, and I know he didn’t understand a word I said…but I think he might have got the message. I then stormed past him with my Gina firmly in hand.

I called into the bar on the way home to ask Mitko what he knew about this man. Dida and Mitko both said that he was crazy and was known for treating animals very badly, so I think my assumption about who he is was correct.

And Gina clearly remembered him…for all the wrong reasons.

Anyway, she’s with me now and boy, has she adjusted to the luxury lifestyle.

Remember I said that when Mia died, Gina moved into the house and has been a little difficult to extract ever since. Well, my old tyrant has taken it one step further. I went downstairs to check on her last night and things were very quiet indeed. When I turned on the light, I discovered why

Who’s a very sleepy (and comfortable) girl ?? Yes, she’s discovered the joy of soft furniture…

Then she saw the camera

There’s that look again…

God, she makes me laugh.

I’ve had a few emails asking after her and how she is. She’s so much better. Like me, she still has her little Mia moments. She came upstairs today and could clearly smell Mia. She did the rounds of the room and then left. And sometimes when I sit quietly with her, she makes her little whimpering sounds, but in general, she’s getting back to her old self..as I am. I said to a friend yesterday, that for the first time since Mia died I was actually feeling ‘properly’ happy again, if you can understand that. The ‘heavy’ feeling I’ve been experiencing has lifted…it’s good. I’ve got lots to do.

And I’ll talk about that later on…maybe tomorrow. For now, ciao