The Story continues in Finland!!!!

Tarja writes: "February the 7th. The night went well. The varikennel was not closed but still had Bikkel chosen to sleep there. Once during the night Petri noticed him staring at 5 inches distance of his face. Just checking... During the breakfast Bikke (we have dropped one letter, easier to say) was closed in the box and he was quite silent and probably sleeping in his "nest". Varikennel will be of great help for Petri during the first weeks before the spring. Even though his intention is to spend as much time with Bikke as possible to make Bikke feel home and friends with Sara sometimes he just has to leave Bikke at home. In the varikennel he feels safe. We could already now see how Bikke follows Petri like a shadow and keeps him as the boss. Petri was the one who opened varikennel and let him out to pee (a loong reliefing pee). We (me and Tomi) kept us at "back stage" so that Petri would be the focus. Bikke would not even come near me in the evening probably because I had to raise my voice for the other dogs a couple of times to keep them out of Bikke's room. Yelling women are not what a dog needs on his first evening in a strange place. Then I took my Dutch to help. "Braaf" in a soft voice made him relax (thank God, somebody speaks Dutch here!)  But really, you don't need any words to tie a bond. Petri was just sitting with Bikke, patting him gently and repeating his name. And he would listen with his ears up. The tone matters.   When Petri put his jacket on to go out in the evening and first in the morning, Bikke was like a flash ready to go. They did just a short walk 5 - 10 min. The frost of -23ºC is a bit too much for the beginning. Bikke's hair is much thinner and softer than Ari's which could be genetic, but also because of the climate. He is alltogether a bit thinner and we told Petri to feed him a bit extra to keep him warm. "

Bikke is feeling totally at home at Jämsä. The weather is milder now ( - 3 - 6ºC) and it does not seem to bother Bikke any more. In the night time he sleeps indoors but quite soon he will probably start real country life with Sara

It looks like the two dogs have become friends.

Just like Christmas! Two dogs running in the snow.

When Petri is working in his hen house or at the yard the dogs are mostly running free. When Petri is packing the eggs these two dogs keep him company. When he goes to the shops to deliver the eggs, he always takes Bikke with him. Bikke sits at the co-driver's place as if he had done it always.

By looking at these photo's, I can see and feel that Bikke is very happy!!!

March 2006: enjoying a nice sunny day in the snow.

Summer in Finland.

Bikke's life as a farmer dog on a egg farmer's ranch in Finland.

Bikke is going with Petri to deliver the eggs at the shops.

Bikke March 2007.

Zomer 2010: Bikke still leads the most perfect life a dog could wish for. Lots of space to run and play, a loving family and a girl friend named Sara.

Still grazy and energetic if he has the opportunity to run.