The Return of Big V

Today I would love to share a heart warming story from yesterday.

Almost to the day we have been walking Vali for 8 years. For keen readers of the blog you will be familiar with the Norwegian Elkhound. He was also the poster boy for yesterday’s blog post.

At the start of Autumn 2024 we noticed that he was a little sluggish and potentially ill. He continued his walks whilst initial tests were run.

The results unfortunately didn’t show much, and after many conversations with his owners we decided that maybe a little pause of his walks and some rest and recuperation would be best.

Over the course of autumn 2024 and the beginning of Winter more tests were taken, yet nothing clearly indicated what might be troubling him.

A few weeks ago his owner dropped me a message to say that he seemed in much better health and maybe we could start up with one walk a week, to give him a little extra exercise, some socializing and a chance to get out into the woods and roll in the snow that he loves so much.

Now, what I need to mention at this point is that Big V has always been super protective whenever we turn up to pick him up.

This is especially the case if any of his family are home.

Putting a harness on a growling and snarling dog is daunting when you first do it.

However, as soon as his harness was on his tail would be wagging and he would be pulling me out of the flat and towards the car. It was all for show.

It was just one of those strange behaviour traits that no matter how well we knew each other over 8 years, it just happened every single time.

Fast forward to yesterday and him seeing me after a 4.5 month absence.

I could hear him barking behind the door as he heard that someone was out on the landing. I didn’t say a word.

I unlocked the door and opened it to see Vali.

It was at this point that an unprecedented thing happened. His eyes absolutely lit up as he ran over towards me and pushed his body into my legs whilst whining happily. He absolutely did love me after all.

I was so taken aback by this one off reaction that my eyes started to fill with tears. We had an amazing cuddle as I greeted my old friend.

I even sent his owner a quick voice message to tell him what had happened, after they have witnessed and laughed so many times at his reaction.

On our adventure I had chosen a slightly flatter area than normal so as to not push him too hard.

He could not have been happier to be back in the woods with his mates rolling in the snow.

Welcome back big V. You have been sorely missed….. And something tells me you have sorely missed us.

Doggies: Deano, Poppy, Tiara and Tesla