‘It was like an unexpected pregnancy’
Woman travels to Indonesia for puppy that captured her heart
Thora Christensen never realized how much she would grow to love the puppy laying on her lap.
The Long River, P.E.I., resident had been travelling with Gaia, a malnourished dog she came across in Lombok, Indonesia, for 37 hours, and had finally made it to P.E.I.
But although she had planned to rehome the canine, it became clear Christensen wouldn’t be able to let go of her furry friend.
“We found Gaia laying under a tree in Lombok. I was travelling in Indonesia with my partner, Itai Reeders, and we were riding around on our scooter when we saw her.”
“In Lombok, a predominantly Muslim part of Indonesia, dogs are not treated the way we would commonly treat them. Due to personal and religious beliefs in the region, they’re often despised,” Christensen said.
“And there’s no government support to fix the problem. Gaia is just one puppy of thousands of dogs. There are no efforts to help with the stray dogs and often the females on the streets aren’t neutered.”
After spending an hour with the puppy, the pair went on their way.
“I made a note to myself that if she was still there we’d go see her again. The next day, under that same tree, she was there. So Itai and I went and gave her water and food. While we were there, local kids from the area would come up to us. They were confused as to why we were treating Gaia like this.
“One boy tried to poke her with a stick and hit her. Eventually a local man told them to go away. But later, that same boy came back with fishing wire and tried to put it around Gaia’s neck. That’s when I said we couldn’t leave her alone.”
Christensen brought Gaia to a veterinarian, where she was dewormed and given flea and tick medicine.
“You could see her ribs. The fleas were crawling all over her. And the vet told us that was usually common in Lombok. I remember when we would walk the streets with her, people would stare and some would even spit at her.”
Christensen and Reeders agreed they would try to bring the dog with them, but to achieve that, Gaia needed to receive her rabies vaccine.
“But she was too young. So, we had to leave her with the vet for about a week when we flew out of Bali. Because of their laws, it’s illegal to bring dogs in and out of Bali. Finally, we found an animal charter organization and an airline that would allow her to fly. We got her papers all ready and then we could bring her home.”
Christensen arrived home on the Island with Gaia on June 21.
“I actually flew to Jakarta, Indonesia, and met the vet’s wife who had brought Gaia to the airport for me. Then we were on a flight to Canada.”
Now Christensen, Reeders and their friends are smitten with Gaia.
“She kind of fell into our laps. My brother said it was like an unexpected pregnancy. We’re happy to have her here in the end,” she said.
“I never knew the love I would feel for her. It feels pretty amazing to have her here with us. Never in a million years did we think we would be bringing her home with us. It wasn’t in the plan. But she’s pretty great.”