I can’t
believe it’s been a year since Diva left Doha! I had promised Jacqui and Ron,
her wonderful forever parents, that I would do a write-up of her rescue and
adventures up until she reached them; and this is long overdue. Marking the
first anniversary of her being part of their family, today is the day I am
finally writing this piece as a gift to Diva, Jacqui, and Ron.
I found Diva
loitering on the streets near my house on December 9th 2019 - a muddy
husky in rainy Doha. It was as if she wanted to be found by me - I stopped my
car, called her and she readily came over. I tried to get her into the car but
she did not want to do that. Instead, she was content to lie down on the street,
right at my feet, and prepared to fall asleep! I realized she was very tired;
thankfully I was so near to my home that I could see the gates. I called home
for help, a leash, few treats to gain her trust (which didn’t seem like a
problem) and kept her safe as she rested. Few minutes later, I organised help to
have her walked home while I trailed behind in the car.
The first
thing Diva needed was a thorough wash as she was caked in mud. She was clearly
not too pleased but being the wonderful girl she is, tolerated it. Soon after,
she was given a warm home cooked meal of rice and chicken, and I think she looked
happy and content 😊
At that time,
I had two dogs of my own at home who needed some reassuring that the new dog
was not an intruder and that they weren’t getting replaced. But by then they
were so used to the numerous foster dogs (and cats) that came and left our home
that they decided to ignore this new one for as long as they could!
My daughter,
who is quite the expert at giving pets the most befitting names, christened her
Diva. To this day I am amazed at how well the name suits her as I have not seen
a dog who is more of a diva than our Diva! I am sure Jacqui and Ron feel the same,
as they very thoughtfully and graciously retained her name after adopting her 😉
Diva fit into
our family extremely well and our dogs learnt to live with her. As if they had
a choice! Diva took over the house and made it her own almost immediately. I
was coordinating with my dearest friend Leah to re-home her in Canada; and Diva
was vaccinated in the meantime. I had postponed getting her spayed as I had a
busy month at work and home. This procrastination turned out to be a blessing
as we discovered by mid-January 2020 that she was pregnant! Jan 30th,
she went into labor and delivered five healthy husky babies (Chase, Shadow,
Cleo, Elsie and Max) and one weak baby (Millie) who we unfortunately lost that
very day. Diva proved to be an exceptionally great mother and took amazing care
of her babies as we lovingly watched them grow. Leah found all of them amazing
homes after they had spent few months with the mother and we are all still connected.
Stories about each of them would be separate posts in themselves!
What else can
I say about Diva? She is the goofiest, loveliest, friendliest husky I have ever
known. Always ready to play or argue, she is never one to shy away from any
activity. Our chats first thing every morning were legendary as she is the most
conversational dog I have ever met. One more goofy habit of hers was to fall
asleep with tongue out a little. I have spent fun times secretly clicking a
picture of her while she slept 😊. She was a
wonderful addition to our home and showered us much needed love during tough
times when, devastatingly, both our dogs passed away last year due to old age. Sending
her to Canada was one of the hardest things to do, but it was the right thing to
do (a desert is no place for a Husky), worth it all to see what a wonderful
family she has become a part of, and how much she is loved. Jacqui & Ron
even send her to doggy day care, where she seems to be the favourite, but no
surprises there!
Special and warmest
thanks to Leah and Arabian Saluki Rescue-NL for always supporting me, all my rescues and
magically finding them all the very best homes. No one can do what you do so
well, Superstar Leah. We all love you!
Jacqui and
Ron, thank you for making Diva part of your family as your baby and for keeping
us all involved in her life with you. May you have many years of happiness,
good health and fun with Diva!
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