Hi, I’m Dr. Maja! Read my introduction to learn more about me and my two crossbreed dogs, Lava and Hela.
Just as I start thinking that she is getting better, calming down, can be trusted, is a good dog, and all that recall training wasn’t in vain, and so on, there she goes causing mayhem. Lava never ceases to surprise me, and not in a good way. Over the last two weeks, with the weather warming up, my dogs have started sleeping outside in their wooden homes, but attached to a long line, so they don’t venture anywhere overnight. And one morning, with heavy rain welcoming another day, I went outside to find I only had two dogs instead of three. Lava was missing.
Moment of Denial
I couldn’t believe it. Her collar and her GPS tracker were on the ground, still attached to the long lead, but Lava was nowhere to be seen. Lajka was inside Lava’s wooden house, and clearly hadn’t followed her, to my disappointment, as in that case, I could have tracked Lajka’s GPS and gotten a sense of her whereabouts. I called and walked around, and called some more. She wasn’t there. Lajka and Hela couldn’t care less and were ready for their morning walk and breakfast, caring very little about my obvious distress.
Getting My Thoughts Together
After a few minutes, I managed to gather my thoughts and made a plan for looking after her. I first called my neighbor, as after all, this was Lava’s favorite place in the world, with his dogs, sheep, lambs, chickens, and rabbits. A cold sweat went over me, as I could already imagine her being on a rampage, potentially injuring one of his livestock. I went there only to find no trace of Lava, and all of my neighbor’s animals safe and sound. I was relieved. But the search was far from over.
The Search Continues
I then walked around the house, making a good radius around the property, while calling her. Still, no sight of the dog. I started worrying that she may have gone quite far, especially if she was chasing after wildlife. She could have easily gone miles. She knows the area quite well, at least, and this was my only consolation. But she may be injured, or worse. I walked to the hunting house next, as I know she loves going there to check out all the smells. Still no sign of Lava. Lajka was following me around happily, not realizing entirely what was going on, but still providing me with some comfort. And my cat, Miki, was there too, not super happy with the rain, but tagging along.
There She Is
After a good 45 minutes of looking for her, there was Lava, running back to me, soaking wet to the skin, clearly tired and proud of herself, but uninjured. I checked her over, and she seemed okay, but it was obvious she had done a fair mileage. She soon settled inside and had her breakfast with the other two and was fast asleep for the rest of the day. Luckily, there are very few houses nearby, and very little harm she can do, but I did wonder where she was and what she was up to. However, I will never know for sure.
Broken Trust
In a sense, I felt my trust in her was broken that day, and I wondered how long it would be before she did something similar again. But then I remembered that she did come back home. I am aware of the fact that her hunting and roaming instincts will likely never stop influencing her behavior, and I can only do my best to make sure she and other animals she comes across remain safe by using a long lead and a GPS tracker. Luckily, she isn’t that great at catching up with wild animals and will quickly give up. But for unforeseen circumstances, I can only rely on her to know when enough is enough and to return home promptly. After all, living remotely also gives her the freedom she would not have in an urban setting, and it is something I don’t want to take away from her.
- Read her previous article: Dogs and Cats Getting Along: One Big Happy Family
