1. Big Troubles
Everything started in "Big Troubles".
Seriously, I'm not kidding. We, the humans live in a small town in rural Portugal called "Sarilhos Grandes". The literal translation in English being "Big Troubles".
If that's not a deterrent to live somewhere, I'm not sure what is... But good thing we are not overly superstitious people. And it's a calm place most days. Anyway, I digress. You didn't come here to listen to me ramble about weird names of Portuguese towns (trust me there is weirder). So let's get to Sushi's (inverted) rescue story.
2. Inverted Rescue
Why do I say "Inverted Rescue"? Well, because we didn't go out with a massive net, and pockets full of biscuits dog rescuing. Instead. Sushi found us. She did all the rescuing herself. Not only for herself, but she also ended up rescuing us.
It went a bit like this. Once upon a springtime in Portugal. April, 2019 to be precise.
André (human 1) went to work, just like any other normal day. Except this day, was nothing like normal.
Lunch hour came. And after finishing his meal, he went for a stroll outside the office. Out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed what initially appeared to be a fox, run to the side of the building. He thought 'wait, there's not many foxes here', and he waited.
3. A Cat's Den
"A Cat's Den, but not for very long..." André joked in his head. "What the hell am I doing?".
André lived in a 2 bedroom apartment in rural Portugal. It wasn't luxurious, but fairly spacious. With a terrace, but definitely not enough for a working dog... And definitely too many cats (currently 5) to deal with, on top of now, a dog.
4. SOS Pet
The next morning, André called the veterinary he did his course at to book an emergency appointment.
He took the Malinois to be examined and treated. There was no micro chip to be found. Many cuts in his ears and neck. Seemed almost on purpose. As if someone cut his neck, to take out the micro chip.
Apart from the wound, and the malnourishment, the Malinois appeared to be in good health.
5. An Energetic Nightmare
As expected, the energy of a young Belgian Malinois, is not for the faint hearted. Even worse, is a traumatised young Belgian Malinois.
Sushi was scared, and that meant that she thought the only way to protect herself, was to lunge at people walking in the street that came too close to her.
6. Quarantine
No, this isn't a quarantine to do with Sushi. It's the big Corona.
As always, self development and growth always take longer than we expect. The very same case is for dogs.
A couple of months later, Covid hit. Which meant, there was an even lower chance of her getting adopted.
"Well, guess we are keeping her then". Said André, with a content grin on his face.
And the rest is history.
To be continued....
Human author: Christelle