Chequi Bears Karma.
Karma was born on the 30 of June 2001, and shared our lives until the 19th of July 2010.
Karma is dearly missed.
Karma was my first Newfie, & for awhile I wondered if I could ever have another.
I was samboer (Norwegian civil status; means living in the same house with your partner), and we’d decided that we’d like a dog. Thus we got a book of dog breeds and both of us stuck postit notes in at the breeds that appealed to us. Shannon (my ex-samboer) had two conditions for a dog... “she didn’t want a big dog, and she didn’t want a black dog.” Both of us had thought about having children, so we needed a dog that if you introduced children afterwards, the dog would adjust.
The local Newspaper carried an advert for a Newfoundland puppy... back to the book to read up on the breed – sounded promising – BUT were both black, and somewhat large. We got in contact with the local Newfoundland club and arranged to go visit Rune and his family. Now Rune has about 10 000 children (difficult to count as they run around a lot, officially I’m told he, and his wife, ‘only’ have five), and at the time, had three Newfies, Bill, Luffin, & Denis (the menace!). We chattered with Rune and his wife wondering where the dogs were... right up until he let them out of their enclosure and we were met with three large (read over seventy kgs (each) dogs); all with the beautiful Newfie temperament. Denis wasted no time in getting behind Shannon, sticking his nose between her legs and tipping her off the floor!
We came away from Rune’s family’s hospitality with the light shinning in our eyes and Shannon saying that she wanted one.
The Newfie in the paper, turned out to be Troja who ended up living less than a km away.
We then went around visiting folk who had Newfies. Everyone was enthusiastic about the dogs and most welcoming. Now I’m somewhat keen on outdoor sports and one of my criteria was that the dog could be with, in lots that I did; one of the standard questions that we asked was, “how much exercise can these balls of good humour, tolerate, and how much do they need?” The answer invariably came back that they could tolerate more than we could... The first Christmas party after getting Karma, put this statement into perspective, it was only Shannon and I who weren’t smoking!
Needless to say, by this time the breed had won our hearts. Newfies are referred to as, “the gentle giants of the dog world!” And they are.
Now we had to find one to share our lives with.
At a party, Shannon met Delphine, her and her samboer were about to get a Newfie and the four of us became friends. Soon Xo came to live with them.
We found our Newfie, and thus “Chequi Bear’s Karma” became our companion. We went to Konsvinger by public transport when the little chap was four weeks old to meet them and went back to pick him up when he was eight weeks old. It’s only in retrospect that we can now realise how lucky we were with Karma. A high energy Newfie, who had a confident manner but was not domineering; he would normally end a fight, but never started one. Fireworks flying outside, give the little chap a pig’s ear to distract him and he’d go and sit on the back lawn to eat it!
We had our escapades with Karma, especially when he was growing up. When he reached adulthood (three years old) Shannon and I split amicably and at this point Karma pretty much became my shadow. Shannon and I agreed to look after Karma together, so when I couldn’t have him, she’d have him. We maintained this contact for Karma’s entire life. He never spent a single minute in a kennel (friend’s and Shannon’s family helped to make this possible).
Karma took to water when we were on a cabin trip over near Hømmersåk. Shannon, Mette, and Karma had taken the ferry over. Matt, Simon, & I had kayaked over. Once there Matt and I decided to try Karma in a Canadian canoe. Now this might have gone fine if things had been slightly different... For instance if Karma hadn’t been about eight months old, and the corresponding size of an eight month old Newfie, however the largest contributing factor was probably if Shannon and Simon hadn’t stood on a breakwater throwing sticks on either side of the canoe... All three of us took to the water and after that Karma never seemed particularly pleased to leave it!
Karma always wanted to be where things were happening.
I said that I’d never get a dog if I knew that I was going to be single. To me, if you are responsible for another’s wellbeing then you have to set them first; this isn’t easy when you live alone and have to work to earn a living. First and foremost, animal must have a good life. And after sharing what I had with Karma, how could I ever hope to achieve the same level with another dog...
I’ve had junctions in my life, where against all rhyme and reason; I’ve decided to follow urges. I have yet to regret doing this, and after making the decision to get another dog I’ve felt sooooo much happier... Welcome Kim!
Who Karma was in pictures:
Karma and litter mates with “Auntie” Rhumba.
The age difference between Karma and Xo was only four months!!!
Karma is the smaller of the two.
Not always did they agree with their lots in life... here Xo definitely considers Karma’s bone the tastier of the two... Guess what happened next!!!
Karma, some how, had a way of making it clear what he wanted! (Shannon trying to eat a sandwich in peace!
Karma thought that our new glass table was a top buy. Here he is, ‘keeping an eye’ on my parents as they try to eat a meal in peace!
Karma was always one to try things:
Here he is working on his Yoga poses, this one he used to call, “comfortable dog”.
He was also a master of natural camouflage:
Notice how he uses his ‘adaptive camouflage in his natural ‘wet’ status to blend in seamlessly with the freshly laundered clothes...
Although Karma liked to keep an eye on what was going on. Here he and Xo are ‘guarding’ the back door:
It wasn’t always “full speed ahead”!
He damaged his cruciate ligament at the beach and Magne Haaland at Tu dyrklinikk put in an aramid replacement... without this he would not have lived as long as he did. It was a complete success and gave him his life back. (Both of us were operated on the same leg in the same year!).
He didn’t let things stand (or sit) in his way...
Balls and sticks were a ‘must have’ accessory (regardless of who that actually belonged to):
Karma with a young Maddster (Maddie).
Lady and Karma ‘in’ the car.
This is the ‘correct’ view in the car’s review mirror:
The boy did like his comforts:
He loved to swim:
But above all he was a friend and a companion:
This last picture is also the last in his life. Shortly after it was taken, the vet arrived and he fell asleep peacefully for the last time in my arms, in our garden; I was only left with the beautiful memories of our wonderful shared life together.
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