Happy Hunting?

Nola (2) & Rebecca (42)

“Two years ago I got Nola and she was only ‘this small’”. Rebecca shows me an imaginary puppy in her hands. “I always wanted my own dog, just to keep me company. My dad wanted to share a dog with me because he used to hunt and so we decided on Nola, a tiny German Shorthaired Pointer puppy. After only a week I had already decided I would never share Nola, she was to be mine!

My dad still had the idea that he was going to take Nola on hunting trips and I really wanted to spend some time with my dad, so we did this course for hunting with dogs. With boots that went up to my chest and all. But honestly I hated it. It was full of these weird old man, who view dogs very different than I do. They all treat them only like work dogs, leave them outside the house at night and trade in them without any emotion. I really didn’t like that. At the day of our ‘exams’ we went to the game butcher, got a dead duck and a dead hare and there I was up to my waist in the water with a dead animal in my hands. Nola finished the course with flying colors, but for me that was it. It was really nice to spend that time outdoors with my dad, but I am glad it is over. Nola still runs for hours every day and she still chases birds and hares, but when we get home, she pretends she is still this tiny puppy I brought home two years ago and crawls right on top of me”. 

(Haarlem - The Netherlands)