“I believe that she will return again…”

Seven years ago this dog appeared at my house. It happened quite by accident: the former owner wanted to euthanize her, since she did not need the dog. And right on the street, when the woman mentioned this, I took the leash from her and said: “Since you don’t need a dog, let me take it for myself.”

Photo Shoot: wikipet

I didn’t get a gift: the dog was walking with the former owner only on a strict collar, was in the trash, had a bunch of concomitant diseases and was terribly neglected. When I first took Alma’s leash, she started pulling me, tearing my arms off. And the first thing I did was, of course, completely wrong from the point of view of cynology. I let her off the leash and said:

– Bunny, if you want to live with me, let’s live by my rules. If you leave, then leave. If you stay, then stay with me forever.

There was a feeling that the dog understood me. And from that day on, it was unrealistic to lose Alma, even if you wanted to: I didn’t follow her, but she followed me.

Photo Shoot: wikipet

We had a long period of treatment and recovery. A huge amount of money was invested in her, on a walk I supported her with a scarf, because she could not walk.

At some point in our life together, I realized, no matter how it may sound, that in the person of Alma, my first Labrador had returned to me.

Before Alma, I had another Labrador that we took from the village – from a similar life situation, with the same diseases. And at one fine moment, Alma began to do what that dog would do. So I believe in reincarnation.

I also have a Smooth Fox Terrier, my Crazy Empress, who I love madly. But it is difficult to imagine a more ideal pet than Alma. With a weight of more than 30 kg, she was completely invisible in bed. And when my child was born, she showed herself from the best sides and became my assistant and companion in raising a human cub. For example, when we brought our newborn daughter home and put her on the bed, Alma was in shock: she pushed her daughter deep into the bed and looked with crazy eyes: “Are you crazy – your baby is about to fall!”

We’ve been through a lot together. We worked at the airport, however, later it turned out that it was hard for Alma to be a search dog, so she just kept me company. Then, when we collaborated with the WikiPet portal, Alma visited children with special needs and helped them see the bright side of life.

Photo Shoot: wikipet

Alma needed to be with me all the time. The most ingenious thing about this dog was that it doesn’t matter where and at what time it was, but if Her Man is nearby, then it is at home. Wherever we’ve been! We rode public transport to anywhere in the city, and the dog felt absolutely calm.

Photo Shoot: wikipet

About a month ago my daughter woke up and said:

“I had a dream that Alma would go beyond the rainbow.

At that moment, of course, it didn’t say anything to me: well, I dreamed and dreamed. Exactly a week later, Alma fell ill, and became seriously ill. We treated her, put on drips, force-fed her… I pulled to the last, but for some reason I knew from the first day that everything was useless. Perhaps my attempts to treat her were something of a complacency. The dog just left, and she did it, like everyone else in her life, very dignified. And for the fourth time, it was not possible to save her.

Alma passed away on Friday, and on Saturday her husband went for a walk and did not return alone. In his arms was a kitten, which her husband got out of the elevator shaft. It is clear that we did not give this baby to anyone. It was a lump with flowing eyes and a huge number of fleas. I “served” the quarantine from the neighbors, to whom I am very grateful – after all, an elderly cat lives in our house, and bringing a kitten into the house right away would be tantamount to killing our cat.

Of course, the kitten distracted me from the loss: he constantly had to be treated and looked after. The daughter came up with the name: she said that the new cat would be called Becky. Now Becky lives with us.

But I don’t say goodbye to Alma. I believe in the transmigration of souls. Time will pass and we will meet again.