Our Little Night (A Rescued Pup)

We spent a very hot July this year in the mountains - it was necessary to escape from the city. We stayed in a small town high in the mountains, in a cottage built on a slope of a hill. The land plot was made into three layers, like terraces, and the cottage was built on the two lower terraces (the third one is for the entrance and parking). I always have a feeling that there are two houses there although actually it is one with two floors, but the design is so strange, it's like my daughter's Tree House Lego.

Me and my dog occupied the lower floor of the house - the one closer to the swimming pools and the kitchen (excellent strategic position!), while my mother and 12 year old sister lived upstairs, and my daughter was everywhere.

One afternoon while mother and sister were having a walk, my daughter came into my room with this pup on her hands, saying: 'Look what I have found in Granny's room, under the bed!'. I was amazed. This little creature, completely starved, had crawled under the gates and then sneaked into the house. Of course we had to keep her. It was difficult to decide how to feed her the first days so that not to kill her with too much food - she was not used to eating. (Below is her picture after a week with us - she looks quite decent).

After a week with us she looked better and my sister found an owner for her nearby. The next day we were passing his house, talking between ourselves, and the pup overheard our voices and started whining and screaming. She was kept in a box, no food and water, and of course I took her back. Everyone was happy, especially my daughter. She is not much of a dog lover, but she loved Nochka and hugged and played with her a lot. She also learned to train her with pieces of cheese and meat.

 

I named her Nochka - that's Russian for... eh well... Night, but in a very tender way. Little Night. Lovely Night. By the end of the second week she looked excellent, with smooth and shiny fur and no ribs showing (I even had to cut her portions a bit, but did not help because she was also sharing my dog's food as well as taking food from by mother's rescue Dachshund mix). My Malinois obviously adopted her and played with her in a very gentle way.

They also liked to have rest in the shade together. I think Nochka felt safe beside him.

My mom's Dachshund mix also loved her and they played in the sand like crazy.

Nochka has amazing temperament and is very fit for obedience training, in my view - very easy to train, lots of drive and excellent wits. Pity we have no dog sport here. And she is amazingly curious and energetic. She wants to be everywhere and to take part in everything.

I placed lots of ads but only four people wrote, and three of them I would not trust with a teddy bear, leave alone a real pup. I started thinking about spaying and keeping her although that would be a nuisance; I did not want to have a new pup at that time. However the fourth person to write was a very nice young lady, well informed and with a firm intention to love and care for 'My Treasure'. The day we came back to city, she hurried to come to us, and left with the pup. To tell the truth, Julia seemed too glamorous to me to be a good dog owner: I looked at her heels and my heart dropped... but then I decided to give it a try.

How much I missed Nochka the first two days, I cannot tell... I was ready to go and beg to give her back to me. But is she is in good hands. Julia keeps writing and calling, we met twice and I was very happy to see two glamorous ladies - the owner wearing Swarovski studded walking shoes, and Nochka (called Sophie now) boasting a pink Swarovski collar. She recognized me immediately both times, but her bond with the new owner was already very good (we waited for several weeks before meeting), so there was no stress. She is a lovely dog, and I feel very lucky to have found such a nice owner for her.