As a child I loved cows. Their friendly eyes, their look, their warm, fragrant breath, and especially their milk. By the way, milk is still my favorite drink and food (I'm drinking abnormally lots of it). Then I had “a horse period”. I still love horses very much, I just do not ride them anymore because I am not fit enough. But I‘m still keeping all the riding gear and there is no way to give it away. In the meantime, I adored cats also but I behaved badly with them, thinking they were happy with me, so the tiny kittens had to be hidden from me.
I never thought of having a dog until my sister started bringing lost dogs to our home. This caused many problems to our parents at that time and we were not allowed to keep any as our dad and mom were still from "the film" that dog did not belong in the house. Later that changed.
Years in the University were full of all kinds of obligations and I did not think about a dog until I got married. Soon my husband and I felled in love with the basset hound named Boris, who lived very near to our building. We started looking for a puppy of this breed, which was a problem at the beginning of the eighties. But we managed to find an adult female named Cara. She was very lovely but totally untrained and we had a lot of trouble with her. We had no knowledge of how to cope with this huge problem and there was no one to help us. Anyway, after a longer period of stress, Cara returned to her previous family and spent many years there. She did not have a bad life, she was loved, but no one was really dealing with her… I still regret this sad experience ...
After two and three years our two sons Rok and Miha were born. We were dealing with educational issues a lot then and read a lot about how the presence of a dog affects the child and his development. We started to plan a puppy. When the boys were 6 and 7 years old, we thought the time was right. We had to select a breed, which was not easy. After recapitulating all the information and knowledge we decided for a miniature schnauzer (and we remain being schnauzer people).
There were only a few miniatures in the country at the time and no breeding club. But we were lucky. We found a litter not far from our town and one little girl was still available. It was in September. My older boy Rok has just started attending primary school. One afternoon, after talking to the breeder, I put my boys in our Mazda and headed towards Kranj. A kind young lady invited us into their home, told us everything, showed us everything, and Nesika was ours. I will never forget driving back home. One of the most precious moments of my life. The first stop was at my husband’s company. We called him out with these exact words: ”Come out to meet your new daughter”. He rushed to us, took little Nesika to his arms, kissed her little nose, and welcomed her with “Hi, little baby, I’m your daddy and you’re my little girl!”
It was the birth of my perfect family. Nesika brought us a lot of good and beautiful, but above all, she was a very important trigger for my sons growing into responsible, caring boys with enormous empathy and tenderness.
Nesika brought us unconditional love but also lots of worries. She was ill a lot - from the beginning to her farewell at 16 years of age. We often made jokes that she was worth it as if she was wholly made of gold. And she was big, I mean really big, with tiny legs and a big body. But to us, she was the most beautiful, the best and the most unforgettable. She gave us her soul and heart, and we gave her back equally. The boys grew up with her, learned how to take care of her in a responsible manner, learned to understand Nesika’s speech, physical and vocal language, had responsibilities (like short walks in a controlled area, water change, brushing and cuddling, leaving her in peace when resting, etc.). All of us learned that a good car, a big house, nice clothes, and success in a career are not essential for our happiness. In a happy dog family, a heart is given uncompromisingly. In a happy dog family, we give, share and receive with love and respond to happiness and pain with the same intensity.
Our Nesika is responsible that my family has become perfect. Thank you, my little girl. You have not been with us for a long, long time, but we think of you and I like to believe that you also think of us.
