In Memoriam: Esta

Esta, as Esther, came to me in 2009, when she was about 5 years old and had been through a lot. She was afraid of everything. When I first had her she slipped her collar and ran for three kilometres along the highway. How I managed to grab her remains a miracle.

We took a lot of dog ​​training courses. It was beautiful to see how it strengthened her self-confidence. She was a very loving, compassionate, humble dog and got high grades on exams. She also went along as a contact dog with disabilities because she was gentle.

Due to a change in my personal life she was joined in 2012 by four friends, all Huskies. Who treated with her more care than they did with each other. Nice to see how they "asked" her to play with them, something she liked to do even though she was then a little older. Our garden was a paradise to her. She had all the freedom within a safe environment. A beautiful character of a dog I will never live to see her like again.

At some point you see that your dog is not doing so well anymore. Esta invariably pooped in the house but not on purpose, she couldn't help it. But she was still was happy and still enjoyed everything. So I found no reason to say that it was enough. That period lasted quite long and then she began to have problems. It started with not wanting to go out,  and in the evening she certainly did not want it, and so on. She had cataracts, which in itself was not a problem, had a form of cancer, was deaf and weak hindquarters.

One day she was even shakier than usual, and she looked as if it was all enough for her. I picked her up and drove to the vet. He immediately made time for us.  She fell asleep in my arms very quietly.

I left there in tears. I later regretted going so quickly. The vet had to trace Esta so she could still be cremated and scattered over the sea. There she played as though she was born there. 

It's hard when at last you have to put your dog to sleep. That will stay with me forever. It is now almost four months ago and I think of her every day.

It's not the same, even though we have the Huskies, so we have again chosen a new Ace dog. The opposite to Esta in all respects. This new dog, Suka, is young, big, wild and reckless. We will find  nice things to do together and build a bond.

With kind regardsMarianne Janssen-Willems