Elska-Getting to know each other

I had taken a risk by bringing her into my home. She could have been fierce, distrustful. She could have contagious diseases that could put the lives of my own dogs at risk. She could have been many things but there was only one thing she truly was. Wonderful. She spent the first fifteen minutes of her new life in my home being bathed and she spent the next two eating. A whole bowl of food, much more than I thought she would eat vanished in several gulps. The hunger of the dog was so apparent in those few mouthfuls, even more so in the quick sniffing of the of the other dogs bowls. I made a mental note then never to chastise her for begging for food (which is considered a serious offense in our household) as she had one and half years of a hunger to forget.

 Elska. Exploring her new home

She then proceeded to explore every nook and cranny in my home. She showed life and spunk with an hour, more than I had ever expected. The other dogs pretty much left her alone and truth be told she was wary of them. In comparison to her, my dogs bloomed with health and prosperity. They had a calm confidence which my Dachsund clearly lacked. She wanted to make me happy, but was afraid to be happy. Her sudden bursts of personality followed by a sort of confusion made me believe that she was too afraid to be herself in case I would reject her. I have an irrevocable belief that her low self esteem could be restored by one thing alone. And that was love. So I named her Elska, from the Swedish älska, meaning love. Since my mother in law was Swedish it seemed a fitting choice. And so Elska was born.

Though I hated to admit, Elska didn’t trust me just yet. She liked me well enough, but I made her nervous. When I reached to pet her, her first instinct was to tense, I assumed that she thought I would hurt her, but when I stroked her she relaxed. However, for reasons I cannot explain, she had decided that though she didn’t trust me, she should remain by my side. This instinct to attach oneself to a human being is one I have seen many times before. Stray dogs and puppies know which human to latch on to when wanting food or a ticket out of their present situation. So I suppose Elska has decided that I was her ticket out of her old life.