We don't know much about Bastian's first year of life, or why he had to move home.
On the Danish Dog Register we can see that he was born on December 17, 2012, and that he is a mix of Labrador, German Shepherd and Dachshund. My guess is that his high activity level and great resource defense in connection with food have been difficult to deal with in a family with children.
The fact is that at the age of 1 year he moved in with his mother-in-law and father-in-law.
At that time, Mother-in-law was 71 years old, healthy, active and extremely social. She drove out in the car almost every day to shop and experience what was happening in the area. Bastian was almost always with her. At home, he ran freely around the 4000 m2 plot, helped with the chickens, kittens and other chores. It was his job to pick up the newspaper from the mailbox and make sure the electronic garage door was closed.
Unfortunately, Father-in-law passed away and shortly thereafter Mother-in-law's back and heart began to ache. When Mother-in-law was hospitalized, Bastian moved in with us. Here he got along impressively well with our two dogs, cats, chickens and children.
For the mother-in-law and Bastian, life became a little quieter than they had been used to. The mother-in-law got a walker and didn't get out for walks as much as before. One day, as she was on her way out the door, her walker rolled off her and into the rose bed. Fortunately, Bastian was smart enough to pull the vehicle back out and hand it over to the mother-in-law. He also helped pick up lost things and was generally good company for the mother-in-law in her daily life.
Bastian started going on his own walks. We lived only 700 meters from Mother-in-Law, so sometimes we would find him jumping and barking outside our front door. If we weren't home, he would go to one of our neighbors' and wait for us.
When Mother-in-law realized that her house had become too big for her, she found a small apartment in a nearby town, where she had to bring Bastian with her. It was difficult for Bastian, who had been used to the free life in the country, especially because Mother-in-law's back was getting worse, and she had days when she was in a wheelchair.
Bastian started to take his own walks in the city park and often you could read angry messages on Facebook from people who had encountered a loose Labrador-like dog. We tried to hire some young people to give Bastian daily walks, but it was not enough to cover his high activity level. All his frustrations came out of his mouth, which did not make the neighbors any happier about him.
My mother-in-law didn't want to hear about having to do without Bastian. "Imagine if you had to do without your dogs," she said to me. I understood her so well, and at the same time I could easily see the untenableness of the situation.
One day, however, Mother-in-law realized that it was time to move to a nursing home. She called us and told us that she was moving two days later. If it hadn't been for Bastian, she would have definitely moved earlier. Bastian participated in the move, and when Mother-in-law finally said goodbye to her apartment, Bastian moved in with us.
It has now been a year and a half since Bastian moved into Autogaarden.
As mentioned, Bastian's energy level is quite high and boredom comes out as loud barking. That's why Bastian is now employed as a workshop dog by my husband, Birger. Every morning the two of them drive to work together. At the workshop, Bastian is a highly valued employee. He makes the customers feel welcome, makes sure that food waste after lunch is avoided, the lift is only raised and lowered if Bastian does it, and overall Bastian enjoys being there when something is happening. In the evening we get a lovely tired and happy dog home.
Mother-in-law thrives at the nursing home. There are people to talk to and activities to participate in, but she missed Bastian a lot at first. Fortunately, it is a nursing home without strict rules, but with a lovely view of humanity, so at least once a week Bastian takes time off from the workshop and goes with Birger's brother Claus to the nursing home. When Claus goes home, Bastian stays with Mother-in-law until Birger has time off from work and can pick him up. In the meantime, Mother-in-law and Bastian have fun together, playing ball and chatting a little about everything and nothing.
We have finally managed to make the best of the situation for all of us.
...
On June 22, mother-in-law Agnes passed away peacefully after being hospitalized for a week.
A few days before, she had dreamed that Bastian dug in to her and saved her from the hospital.
A beautiful picture of how much she loved Bastian and how much he meant to her.
About the blogger:
Helene is 48 years old. She is on early retirement and spends a large part of her time with her animals. The animal group consists of 4 dogs, 1 cat, 15 free-range chickens, approx. 80 aviary birds and her daughter has three axolotls.
She loves writing short stories, poems and stories from her everyday life and enjoys reading a good Scandinavian crime novel.
In addition to Helene and all the animals, the family consists of Birger 55 years old, Thor 12 years old and Sigrid 10 years old.
Bastian - about taking responsibility for your dog when you get old yourself
We don't know much about Bastian's first year of life, or why he had to move home.
On the Danish Dog Register we can see that he was born on December 17, 2012, and that he is a mix of Labrador, German Shepherd and Dachshund. My guess is that his high activity level and great resource defense in connection with food have been difficult to deal with in a family with children.
The fact is that at the age of 1 year he moved in with his mother-in-law and father-in-law.
At that time, Mother-in-law was 71 years old, healthy, active and extremely social. She drove out in the car almost every day to shop and experience what was happening in the area. Bastian was almost always with her. At home, he ran freely around the 4000 m2 plot, helped with the chickens, kittens and other chores. It was his job to pick up the newspaper from the mailbox and make sure the electronic garage door was closed.
Unfortunately, Father-in-law passed away and shortly thereafter Mother-in-law's back and heart began to ache. When Mother-in-law was hospitalized, Bastian moved in with us. Here he got along impressively well with our two dogs, cats, chickens and children.
For the mother-in-law and Bastian, life became a little quieter than they had been used to. The mother-in-law got a walker and didn't get out for walks as much as before. One day, as she was on her way out the door, her walker rolled off her and into the rose bed. Fortunately, Bastian was smart enough to pull the vehicle back out and hand it over to the mother-in-law. He also helped pick up lost things and was generally good company for the mother-in-law in her daily life.
Bastian started going on his own walks. We lived only 700 meters from Mother-in-Law, so sometimes we would find him jumping and barking outside our front door. If we weren't home, he would go to one of our neighbors' and wait for us.
When Mother-in-law realized that her house had become too big for her, she found a small apartment in a nearby town, where she had to bring Bastian with her. It was difficult for Bastian, who had been used to the free life in the country, especially because Mother-in-law's back was getting worse, and she had days when she was in a wheelchair.
Bastian started to take his own walks in the city park and often you could read angry messages on Facebook from people who had encountered a loose Labrador-like dog. We tried to hire some young people to give Bastian daily walks, but it was not enough to cover his high activity level. All his frustrations came out of his mouth, which did not make the neighbors any happier about him.
My mother-in-law didn't want to hear about having to do without Bastian. "Imagine if you had to do without your dogs," she said to me. I understood her so well, and at the same time I could easily see the untenableness of the situation.
One day, however, Mother-in-law realized that it was time to move to a nursing home. She called us and told us that she was moving two days later. If it hadn't been for Bastian, she would have definitely moved earlier. Bastian participated in the move, and when Mother-in-law finally said goodbye to her apartment, Bastian moved in with us.
It has now been a year and a half since Bastian moved into Autogaarden.
As mentioned, Bastian's energy level is quite high and boredom comes out as loud barking. That's why Bastian is now employed as a workshop dog by my husband, Birger. Every morning the two of them drive to work together. At the workshop, Bastian is a highly valued employee. He makes the customers feel welcome, makes sure that food waste after lunch is avoided, the lift is only raised and lowered if Bastian does it, and overall Bastian enjoys being there when something is happening. In the evening we get a lovely tired and happy dog home.
Mother-in-law thrives at the nursing home. There are people to talk to and activities to participate in, but she missed Bastian a lot at first. Fortunately, it is a nursing home without strict rules, but with a lovely view of humanity, so at least once a week Bastian takes time off from the workshop and goes with Birger's brother Claus to the nursing home. When Claus goes home, Bastian stays with Mother-in-law until Birger has time off from work and can pick him up. In the meantime, Mother-in-law and Bastian have fun together, playing ball and chatting a little about everything and nothing.
We have finally managed to make the best of the situation for all of us.
On June 22, mother-in-law Agnes passed away peacefully after being hospitalized for a week.
About the blogger:
Helene is 48 years old. She is on early retirement and spends a large part of her time with her animals. The animal group consists of 4 dogs, 1 cat, 15 free-range chickens, approx. 80 aviary birds and her daughter has three axolotls.
She loves writing short stories, poems and stories from her everyday life and enjoys reading a good Scandinavian crime novel.
In addition to Helene and all the animals, the family consists of Birger 55 years old, Thor 12 years old and Sigrid 10 years old.