Hannibal
Hello everyone, I am Hannibal. May be you remember me. A few months ago, I got special attention in the GINB-magazine. Mireille wrote about my adventures and the way I ended up with them.
I had the privilege to stay with Mireille and Dirk at their home. I am a special case. After all, the doctors diagnosed my permanent blindness. I am not a galgo to just sit there and giving up and so I look, albeit with my own open mind, positively at the world.
I had no worries about my future, Mireille and Dirk did. Indeed, who would be willing to adopt me? Who was going to open the heart to a young, black, blind hunk of boundless energy?
Early in March on a Sunday I heard Mireille telephone up to three or four times whereby my name, that I know very well, was mentioned more than once. At the last phone call, I heard Mireille cry, not from sadness but from happiness. My new, permanent parents and home were a fact. Even stronger, they keep my name. I am very proud of my name. Just look it up, it does have a very beautiful and positive meaning.
And that is how I came together with my new sister Mona that day in March to Belgium. And yes, it was quite stressful and emotional, for everyone anyway. But as soon as I met my kind parents and as soon as I lay down in the car in the soft donuts and when I felt that Mireille and Dirk let me go with a feeling of peace, I knew this was the first day of my new life.
And what a life! Meanwhile there are four of us: Eleonora, 12 years, the boss of our pack, shares her experiences with us of the past eight years in our new house. Unfortunately, she is a bit ill and so I am sometimes reprimanded by her with all my enthusiasm. Mona, 3 years a beautiful black galgo-girl with whom I think I am secretly in love. She is as fast as an arrow from a bow, and she challenges me to run after her in the garden and to fight and roll around. Finally, Bowie, 4 years is also a special case. He came into our house after my parents opened their hearts for him. He came from a family of 9 (!!!) galgos living together in a small house with barely a garden. This and his history clearly left its mark resulting sometimes in a conflict but step by step we grow together. And honestly, I am not a good dog sometimes either…
My favorite activities? Go for a walk together and you know no one believes I am blind. I even manage at times to go without a leash with my tail in the air, proud as a peacock. Besides, I like to steal slippers, preferably from the Birkenstock brand and to pre-chew them somewhere in a quiet and cozy corner.
But above all I enjoy eating incredibly much. My favorite dish: boiled chicken with vegetables and rice. My patience is being really tested in the evening. The food cannot cool down fast enough and the indignation in my gaze speaks volumes.
After all, a good characteristic of all galgos: love to sleep much, preferable as soft and warm as possible, also applies to us. Once the four of us have conquered a place in the beds it is up to our parents to squeeze themselves somewhere in between. But we are lucky, they do not need much space. Or so we think…
Hannibal
