After we got passed Alaska and arrived Whitehorse in the morning completely overtired, we brought Jake to the vet clinic. They did the common standard procedure that necessary for bringing a dog into the European Union, including the castration (not me, but the dog) and the rabies vaccination. Everybody who already experienced a surgery of the own dog knows how difficult it is to see the dog again afterwards. They behave completely different and as real non-experts, we probably didn`t gave him some feeling of safety. Well, anyhow we did it and had all our papers.
From Yukon down to Vancouver Island
On our way back south, we indeed met some old friends again. The bison herd was still relaxing on and off the street. Also Jake got to know those big friends and even greeted them by “barking”. But that barking was so quiet that I would describe it as an air blast coming out of his mouth. Is it possible that someone was scared?
We now took a slightly different route back to Vancouver that is to say via world-famous Whistler at the Pacific Ocean with its ski resort. In summer you can do anything there, including hiking, sledding and…hiking. Staying there costs a fortune, but for just looking around it is worth it.
Our joint time was coming to an end on Vancouver Island which we arrived by ferry at Nanaimo. There is a beautiful road from there through a rain forest called Pacific Rim National Park. At the end of the road is Tofino, where parts of “Free Willy” was filmed (the movie with that little kid and the orca). I am sure that there are countless more boring places when you hike through a rain forest or walk along coast promenades with your dog.
Vancouver Island and its captial Victoria – also the capital of the federal state British Columbia – was an absolute highlight again regarding its architecture, nature, artistic diversity and flair.
A farewell with obstacles
Unfortunately, my girlfriend Lena had to leave us and go back to Germany, because she started her voluntary social year couldn`t wait longer. As we got ready in the morning of the flight`s day, Jake came back to the car with blood in his face. A big shock! In the days before, his right cheek became thicker and thicker after getting stitched by a bee and now it literally burst open.
We raced to the next possible veterinarian, who luckily could care for him. She told us that Jake had an allergic reaction to the stitch and that was the reason for his cheek getting thicker and thicker. With a funnel made out of plastic we could take him along shortly after and drive to the airport.
Our last weeks in Canada
Jake and I spent our last weeks on a horse ranch in Chilliwack, a two-hours drive from Vancouver. The ranch was guided by two lovely ladies.
I had a nice and small room in the horse stable. But in contrast to the stalls of the horses, I had an own bathroom, a sleeping couch, a table and a real floor, like a “normal” room. It was great, in particular because those horses were successful competitors at canadian championships in dressage. The two ladies also had three dogs and for the first time, I learned to understand social interactions between dogs, rank orders between them and in general how to deal with dogs.
We made several trips such as to “Hell`s Gate” close to a town called Hope. I was there already at the beginning of the journey. My girlfriend and I had no idea back then when we were looking for the next place to sleep and ended up in Hope, where we were looking around a bit. In the town hall, there was nothing but a brochure and lots of DVDs of the first “Rambo” movie. Interesting. It turned out that the movie was filmed here and in the close surrounding (and not as suggested in the movie, in a US-American town). Now on the second trip, Jake also came along. The imagination that my dog Jake was walking through the same streets as Sylvester Stallone when he wrote film history is kind of funny.
Furthermore, a very special event was a small barbecue. It was organized by some friends who belong to the Native Americans. The special thing was not only watching the traditional preparation of salmon, but also the fact that this regular event is organized to improve the exchange and communication between Native Americans and all other population groups.
Bye-bye Canada!
Our journey was coming to an end and after we finished all our preparations for the flight, we were ready to start. It was indeed a weird feeling when I checked in the transport box with Jake inside and to hope that everything goes well. Small dogs normally are allowed to go along the passengers, but bigger ones have to stay in an apart room at the baggage area. My nervousness reduced when a kind neighbour gave me some of his gin. The effect of alcohol is much stronger up in the air and I could think of something else.
We arrived in Frankfurt and after I got my luggage, Jake was coming on a different belt shortly after. He was really confused, but that`s not surprising after a sixteen-hours trip. I was just happy to be back safely at my family.
A dream came true. I got to know the country Canada and felt in love with it. But an even longer-lasting impact on my life was the adoption of a dog. We now had a new member in our family and everybody was already excited to get to know that dog from Canada!
