Rina. Curious and persistent as the elves looking for gold. Cheerful and joyous as the careless Hobbit from the Shire. Always ready for action and new adventures as the bravest fairy tale heroes. She loves balls (and must have trained football or basketball in her previous life) and is at her happiest when in action.

There’s almost no activity that we wouldn’t do together. In the summer we climb a hillock, hill or even a mountain. She loves to accompany me on bike rides, we run together and preferably in the woods. She swims in the local river Krka, in the salty sea or even mysterious Swedish lakes. She doesn’t care- if there’s a ball in the water she needs to save it, no question about it! We love getting lost when Dogtrekking and during long horseback rides. Because all good dogs attend school, we too still go to dog school occasionally, where we practice and have fun. She’s my loyal companion on my travels and she’s seen a fair share of Europe with us.

Rina wasn’t always happiness on four legs. Before she turned 1, she found herself in a shelter. Psychologically shattered, lucked turned to her just at the right time. She went to a temporary home where she learnt that life is worth living and can be safe and beautiful. And with me she found her ‘real home’.

Just as coincidentally as Rina crossed my path, the same happened with volunteer work. And just as Rina’s arrival into my life turned out to be the best thing ever, also volunteer work became a big and important part of my everyday life. I hope that Rina and I will continue to teach and raise awareness of the young (and perhaps even the older generation) that animals aren’t things and that all living and non-living nature needs to be respected. A value that is getting forgotten and lost in today’s hectic lifestyle.

And if along the way we manage to prove that the bull-type of dogs are just as furry as any other pooch, no less and certainly no more, then we’ve done a great job.

Vesna & Rina