Simi could be described as a glass almost full kind of girl. She is the only one of my rescues of which I have almost no history, I once described her, jokingly I might add, as a young Eastern European gal who hitched a ride to the U.K. with an older guy. In fact, if it wasn’t for a phone call on a freezing February day and the corresponding social media plea for help, I would never have thought about Romanian rescue dogs and how one Facebook post would change my life forever.
Simi and her beau, Ash, came into our lives over seven years ago. Both were Romanian street dogs whose plight had been highlighted on social media as it was around Valentine’s Day. Pola ( now Simi) and an older collie type Hero (I called him Ash as I already had a dog named Hero) were found together in the freezing temperatures of a Romanian winter. Ash had been shot and burnt and carried a limp probably from being hit by a car. At around 10 years old, he had obviously fought for his status on the street ( a rip in one ear I would suggest would be like a street tattoo) but it was his devotion to a younger scruffy female that gained media attention. I had renamed the duo in my typical style of literary or other famous peeps, in their case characters from the wonderful Sherrilyn Kenyon books (Simi is a dragon tattoo who takes care of her master, Ash otherwise known to the world as Acheron for those who know mythology). Who could adopt two such devoted creatures? Well, me of course. Actually us as despite my early reservations with Ash’s aggressiveness towards other male dogs, Tony fought his corner. Ash lost his battle with cancer 4 years later and his ashes lie with Tony now.
The first day Simi arrived, she went upstairs and flopped onto a bed. A glass almost full kinda gal. For all the rescue dogs we fostered and adopted since, she is certainly one of the easiest. Her list of requirements is pretty short; sun, food, a bit of a run occasionally, belly rub when she feels like it, food, sun. In another life, she could be a cat except she would hunt herself down. She once jumped out of our second floor bedroom window when she saw one on the lawn, our neighbour amusingly said they thought they’d seen a vampire. Simi is the mistress of taking life as it comes and will rarely be moved from a spot which she has designated as her own. Taking roundabouts in a motorhome en route to the new home in France meant the co-pilot (Irene) having to hold onto the cushions so that Simi didn’t unseat herself.
Simi is much adored by all, canine or human, she is the ultimate hippy dog bar her mohican hairstyle (no matter how much you clip it, it just grows back). She has the ability to blend into her surroundings to the point where you panic because you can’t find her only to find she is sniffing something a metre away from you. I once asked the late great Keith Butt about her possible wolf genes, highly likely but with about 10 other breeds thrown in. Unlike so many rescue dogs, Simi rarely demands attention. She is happiest when she can do whatever she likes, this includes not getting out of bed until at least 10 a.m but knows exactly when it is feeding time and will tell you so. These days, her girth is a little wider than those days roaming the Romanian streets but the curves look good on her. Moving her to the rural wilderness of France did worry me as she could easily wander off but so far, it has been the best thing for her. She loves the freedom yet always remains close to me and home. My bed is still her favourite place and she is as lazy as ever. And it is thanks to their rescuer that both dogs had a chance at finding a forever home and to those charities who gave support. Our dogs would never had had the chance of a new life if it wasn’t for some incredible people and organisations including The Oldies Club, K9 Angels, Friends of Animals in Need, Tessa Swan, Nanu Madelina and above all, Aurelia. Her commitment to rescuing Romanian dogs is inspiring but her voice against the abuse should be recognised too. Without her, Simi (and her Ash) would be a forgotten statistic so I say thank you for giving us this wonderful, loving, hairy, devil-may-care kinda gal. And I know she would say thank you too if she could be bothered to get out of bed….
Widow plus woofs 