---

Sofia

January 27th, 2008

Right around the time we got Caligola, a stray dog showed up and hung around our place. Being sentimental fools, we fed her a bit and gave her some attention, and what do you know? She just wouldn’t go away anymore.

Right from the start it was clear she was not a well-treated dog. Various fresh wounds and old scars showed that she probably received a beating or two, and judging by her very careful behaviour around humans, at least some of those beatings were at the hands of humans. However, she quickly felt at home at our place and because of her intelligent character we named here Sofia.

Since we didn’t know anything about Sofia’s background, we couldn’t risk infections, etc. so we had to keep Caligola away from her. This proved quite difficult. In the end we called on the Soi Dog Foundation to collect her for neutering and vaccination (which we paid for). A day later she was released back to us. The vet told us that Sofia was probably only about one year old. This came as somewhat of a surprise, because unlike Caligola, she showed no playful behaviour. She must have had a crappy first year indeed. In any case, the relationship between Caligola and Sofia was a bit tense for almost two days, most likely because Sofia needed rest and quiet, and Caligola was having none of that. It was also the first time we saw Sofia bare her teeth to put Caligola in his place. Instead of growling, however, Sofia emitted a high pitched whining.

After Caligola realised who is the boss, things improved quickly. Sofia’s surgical wound healed very quickly and both of the dogs have had their first round of vaccination. We now let them play together and they get along very well.

Our goal of finding a home for Caligola has now turned into finding a home for both dogs as they have become inseparable.