For as long as I can remember, my greatest passion has always been dogs. From a tender age, around five or six years old, I was constantly surrounded by them—not “my” dogs, but strays with whom I shared a good part of my days. It was as if their way of communicating, their body language, was integrated into my biological programming.
Indeed, it was dogs that made it very clear what I wanted for my future: to treat, care for, and be with them as much as possible through veterinary medicine.
I recall, as if it were yesterday, an episode that profoundly marked me for the rest of my life and further strengthened the certainty of the path I would later take. On a particularly dark winter night, taking a walk after dinner in a rural area, I noticed the presence of a giant dog wandering nearby. Without directly approaching him, I sat where I was and waited without any expectations. Immediately after, the dog sat inches away from me. Neither of us tried to interact; we just stayed there, side by side. A moment that lasted nearly an hour but was etched into my memory for posterity. Two things became very clear to me from that moment: respect, and you will be respected, and also that, sometimes, the true beauty of life lies in the silence of contemplation.
If the lessons I had learned from living with these animals hadn’t been enough, years later, I made an inevitable decision that I had long desired: to have my own dog and share a life with him.Since adopting Sado, my life has been an authentic carousel of emotions, filled with evolutions, setbacks, frustrations, but also, and above all, a wonderful introspective journey.I will never forget the moment I met him. Hidden under an infinite layer of blankets, wide-eyed, in a state of latent panic and terror. When he arrived at his new home, on the first day, he leaned against the entrance door, in a state of total disorientation. It took two weeks from the time he arrived at his new home for him to wag his tail in joy, and he did so exuberantly: running and jumping between the sofas. A first positive sign that gave me great encouragement and revealed that all that initial fear and terror were nothing more than a protective shell, with a strong genetic origin, as he came from a feral litter.
Since then, I have dedicated myself daily to improving his well-being, even if that means a much smaller improvement than I would desire. Something positive, no matter how small, should be seen as a beacon of hope that will keep us motivated. What he needed most was to feel loved and cared for, a sensation that was probably completely unknown to him until the day we met. I never punished or used other aversive methods because that was never my way of interacting with dogs, and also because I knew the high probability that doing so would prolong and exacerbate his insecurities.
I cannot avoid mentioning that there were highly frustrating periods when I questioned myself several times if I was indeed the right person to give him the life he so deserved. “I can’t do this anymore, I’ve done everything, I’ve tried various methods, I’ve never punished him, I’ve always based his education on positive reinforcement, and still, there are moments when, seemingly out of nowhere, he takes a step back.”
As with everything in life, consistency is key. In football, a single good performance does not determine a good player, but a prolonged series of positive performances constitutes a testament to quality. Patience, persistence, empathy, understanding, and knowing that with time and regular work, the pieces will eventually fall into place. This was the invaluable lesson Sado taught me and one I try to apply daily in my life.
Today, Sado is a visibly happy dog with undeniable self-confidence. Together, we have transformed uncertainty into mutual confidence, frustration into resilience, and irregularity into consistency. But I am the one who has benefited the most from this shared journey – I’m infinitely richer for having the privilege of enjoying every day with this unique being, who is a vital part of my life, and also because, thanks to him, I have become a better human being.
