“I used to be a prisoner in my very own thoughts till the day I met Teodor,” says Inga Ecker.

Twelve years in the past, the 32-year-old from Carinthia in Austria picked up a tiny chihuahua at Vienna practice station. Little did she know he was about to alter her life.

“Earlier than him, I at all times wished to go someplace however by no means actually dared to. I at all times was ready for my friends to go travelling and no one actually joined,” she tells Euronews Journey.

“After which with him it was really easy – we simply went collectively. He modified my life, actually.”

Since then, Inga – who works in IT for a German automotive firm – has been to greater than 80 international locations and bagged 6,000-metre peaks.

“And it began with him,” says Inga.

Sadly, Inga misplaced Teodor simply weeks earlier than this interview came about – however she wished to share her reminiscences of her transformative travels together with her pet.

How did you begin climbing together with your canine?

“We did our first hike when he was tremendous tiny,” recollects Inga. “I simply felt a lot extra assured then, than this very small, scared chihuahua – I wanted to guard him. I used to be but to study that he truly could be the one to guard me.”

Teodor didn’t keep timid for lengthy. After nervously eyeing a river on their first trek, “he jumped from one aspect to the opposite and he simply appeared to get pleasure from it a lot,” says Inga. That’s the place their love of hiking started.

“I used to be not into mountains [before], however going with him was really easy. It was a lot enjoyable,” she recollects.

Inga and Teodor started to take longer and extra technical hikes. “We turned actually sturdy hikers collectively… Typically we’d begin in the midst of the evening, we’d attain the summit at dawn after which we’d simply sit there and watch the dawn collectively.”

The duo went from energy to energy.

“Even till he received actually outdated, he was at all times a powerful hiker – even on the age of 11. Simply final 12 months, we did hikes of 1,000-metre elevation in a single single push – it was not an enormous deal for him.”

Though the distant mountains on the Austrian, Italian and Slovenian borders turned their go-to, the pair explored far past their Carinthian homeland – and even received Inga’s household into climbing.

What have been your most memorable journeys together with your pet?

“One very stunning journey was once we drove to the Dolomites and cycled the three well-known peaks in a day,” says Inga. “Teodor was on this bag on high of the bike, barking – he may go on for hours and hours like that, it was simply enjoyable for him.”

She additionally recollects the liberating feeling of their first worldwide journey when COVID lockdowns have been lifted in spring 2021.

“We drove to Italy and stayed in a ravishing medieval fortress near Tuscany… It wasn’t a lot of an journey, however I simply keep in mind feeling comfortable that we have been capable of journey once more… I felt so free and I may inform he did too.”

This kind of journey was proper up Teodor’s avenue. “He simply beloved fancy hotels, fancy eating places. We at all times ordered some additional plates for him so he may be a part of us for dinner,” Inga smiles.

How did individuals react to a mountain-hiking chihuahua?

Inga admits that she, like many individuals, had preconceptions about chihuahuas.

“I had this stereotype that you may’t do something with this dog aside from strolling across the metropolis or a park.” However Teodor proved her – and everybody else – mistaken.

Reactions to their mountain-climbing ranged from amusement to disbelief to respect.

“Numerous individuals have been smiling at him, saying ‘He’d be higher off in a purse or in a cafe’ and so forth,” laughs Inga. “Some individuals would come up and ask ‘Did you are taking the gondola up right here?’ And I’d say, ‘No, we hiked up right here!’ They usually have been stunned – they could not imagine how he made it.”

As soon as the locals received to know him, their attitudes modified.

“Everybody sort of received to know him – Teodor, the sturdy hiker. And even his best critics, they changed into followers as a result of all people noticed how sturdy he was.”

What are your ideas for travelling together with your pet?

“My essential tip is tremendous easy: simply get pleasure from every single second together with your pet, absorb all their shared and fantastic experiences and by no means take a single day without any consideration,” says Inga.

Having simply misplaced Teodor, she has touching recommendation for pet owners.

“After they’re outdated, do not go away them behind. Carry them if it’s a must to. They walked each path with you they usually have been there whenever you wanted them,” she says. “So when it will get troublesome for them to stroll, it is your flip to hold them, to be their information – simply as a return for all these stunning reminiscences and years you had collectively.”

For Teodor, climbing gave him energy, whilst he suffered from a liver situation for 4 years.

“We consulted our vet about his situation and even she couldn’t imagine he was nonetheless capable of be so sturdy,” says Inga. “She truly thought it was due to all of the hikes we did.”

Whereas climbing isn’t proper for each canine, spending plenty of time outside being lively can lengthen your pet’s life and well being. As Inga’s vet suggested, should you can see your pet feels snug, there’s nothing holding you again.

By studying your canine’s physique language, Inga says you possibly can faucet into their emotions. As a buddy just lately advised her, “Dogs are like troopers. They will not let you realize that they’re in ache for so long as potential.” Because of this, she advises, “Do not push them or power them to do issues they do not get pleasure from.”

As for mountain-hiking, Inga says it is best to practice your dog in the same approach as you’d practice your self. Once you set off, carry sufficient water, loads of meals, and heat waterproof clothing – for each you and your pet.

Begin small, and construct up your energy collectively.

And hopefully, you’ll discover you’ve a buddy like Teodor: “He was such an excellent canine… He was a badass.”



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