Loved the story Gus.

I've could tell endless stories of my dogs, I've had 32 over the years. But the one who will always stand out was Rakia. I found him under our car just after we moved to Bulgaria 11 years ago. He was skin and bone, most of his hair had fallen out, he had burns all down his back and covered in ticks. It took 4 days of pushing bowls under the car and getting bitten (obviously he'd never heard the expression 'Don't bite the hand that feeds you') before I could coax him out. I got a vet out to check him over before I brought him into the house because I'd brought a Deerhound from England with me and I didn't want him passing on anything nasty to her. The vet declared him disease-free but said he was deaf, blind in one eye and probably brain damaged, not to mention incredibly old. The vet gave him about 6 months to live. So he came in, against hubbie's wishes, and once he'd settled he made his presence felt by biting us at the first sign of any cleaning implement, even a damp cloth. John was terrified of him for a long time, but after about 3 years or so he stopped biting and turned into a lovely little dog. Because of his name (Rakia is brandy, drunk by all Bulgarians) and his general appeal, he became a favorite with all the locals. He had a strange habit of going round in circles - always anti-clockwise - even when walking on the lead, which was a great source of amusement for passers-by. Despite the vet's gloomy prediction we had him for 10 years, finally having to have him put down last year when he must have been well into his 20's. Despite all the times I heard 'Either that dog goes or I do!' John cried even more than I did. There's been 11 street dogs come and go over the years, and 2 I fostered for 4 years, all lovely, and Titch the deerhound will always hold first place in my heart, but for entertainment value and downright cheek, none of them came close to Rakia.

Lynsey

 

love the stories!
My first dog I ever owned has a place in my heart that will never be able to compare to anything else. I was 12 and we had a huge yard/ plot with fruit trees and a veggie garden. And my Dad kept saying we needed a dog to just deter the fruit thieves. So one morning my Dad's lift club guy arrived two pick my dad up for work and on the back of the pick up was this dark caramel brown pup, a Rhodesian ridgeback. The guy and his wife were going through a nasty divorce and the pup was howling the entire time and he was just going to go dump it on the side of the road on the way to work. I was having none of that and begged my Dad that he must stay. My Dad said no. I kept begging. Dad kept saying no. My begging turned into stubborn back chat argument telling him he said we needed a dog, there is a dog, why cant he stay. My Dad told me if I back chatted him one more time im going to get the hiding of a lifetime. I asked if I took the hiding if the dog can stay. My Dad said "trust me you are going to remember this hiding forever" and agreed. Well. I DO remember that hiding. I was late for school, I could not sit for about 3 days, but I got the dog.
And it was the best thing I ever did. That dog adored me. We had a inseperable bond. and even as a huge grown up dog he would still sneak into my room through the window and come cuddle with me on my bed. I could walk him off leash and just give him a look and he would stop whatever misbehaving thought he had and heeled next to me. if I told him "don't let anyone in boy" you could forget about coming into the yard. no matter who you were or how well he knew you. He would not even let my Dad past. He was often referred to as "Horse" because he was so big. I miss him terribly. He was one of a kind.

 

Hi Lielu

Ridgebacks are great dogs and very loyal, I'm not surprised you loved him so much.

A couple of memories of my deerhound...

In England I used to take her out to a local park, and once she was off the leash her favorite game was to dash off to the far side then turn and race straight at me. She could run at an incredible speed and I had to really be on the ball to move out of her way at the last second. One horrible rainy day she did this and a friend who lived nearby called out a greeting at the crucial moment. Distracted, I turned to say Hi and Titch mowed me down. I was flat on my back in mud and Titch slowed down and came back to check I was ok. In the meantime Brigit had gone home to put on her waterproofs and came running over thinking Titch was attacking me. Titch also thought Brigit was going to attack me and put her security dog head on and Brigit ran for the hills.

Our first winter in Bulgaria the house wasn't really habitable due to lack of water so we rented an apartment in the city. On New year's eve we took the dogs into the centre to join the celebrations which was great fun. It was snowing heavily, dancing, singing, fireworks, TV cameras, the whole bit. As we were heading home a police officer stopped me and said Titch looked cold. I said no problem, we only live around the corner, but he insisted on giving her his jacket and walked us home. The next day my deerhound was featured on the news walking home draped in a police jacket lol