Samira Abraham is a professional athlete with a legacy of sporting excellence in endurance sport. Two months as a cyclist she was on the Nationals winners podium and walked off with the Gold the next year’s Triathlon Nationals and Asian Championships alongwith with a double gold in the National Road Cycling. A skilled motorcycle off roader and an entrepreneur Samira has hit pause entering a chapter where she has chopped down her sterling resume to a tiny bio – Zoe’s human.
We were visiting Shibira on farm work and from the Fireplace where Vishu was having Navni Estates related meeting, we could see Samira , our guest in Shibira, moving like a gazelle’ as she did her work out. She seemed to have a third eye focussed on her golden retriever who was inside our container home with full air conditioning sleeping with one eye open and watching her human. In the balmy weather Samira would rise like an eagle and somersault like a butterfly clearly happiest in nature with earth beneath her feet. As dusk made everything so beautiful at Shibira, Samira joined us in the Fireplace, the Heart of our House, giving the distinct impression of a swan- calm on the outside and furiously peddling. We were legit invitees to a surprise wedding her beau Abhijith had organised for them with Shibira as the Base Camp and the After Party venue. We did our bit as co–conspirators at that heartwarming event in their own piece of land a few miles away.
In this entire time what most grabbed us was the spirit of golden retriever who we now knew was called Zoe and how the light, love n energy of both her humans was aiding the dog who was clearly aging. We wanted to understand how Samira is traversing this elder dog care and does this complicated daily task of connecting all the dots (questions and answers) that Zoe seemed to leave in her majestic wake. So we asked Samira – Is Zoe your pet or your companion”? Samira answered that question brilliantly.
“I’ve never looked at any of the animals I’ve been with as pets. I see them as individuals, a soul in a form just like we are in our human form.Pets can be companions of course.
Now how do you feel when you call a companion a pet ? :). Does pet mean you are above them? As a human I feel we are privileged to be guardians of animals, entrusted with the care of something precious and to allow ourselves and them to discover what is possible within that relationship. It’s what you make it to be because love, respect and looking at things from different perspectives opens different realms”
We at Shibira do not consider animals as pets or companions. They are just our tribe ; our “people”. To us her answer seemed that of a subject matter expert and thus we invited her to share her knowledge on caring for aging dogs.
Read On :-
All humans are unique with their own values. But as a race we don’t like to think of death; we fear it, be it our death or that of someone we love. As a race we celebrate youth and view advancing age with fear. In such a milieu isn’t it hard to imagine that there are some people who naturally seem to have respect for elderly animals and actively assist them to live as well as possible, like they would their family elders. Samira is one such sterling human, “Us humans tend to find comfort and get stuck in what was when we find a change that is difficult. Spending time with animals you see how much they accept ageing even if it is difficult for them. They are wiser than us in many ways when you look at the core aspects of life and they really know how to enjoy life in the simplest forms. It’s extremely difficult to see your senior dog in pain and Zoe needs and values both her humans presence. Elderly dogs show how we can be a champion in every day life as they struggle through their challenges daily. They are warriors in the truest sense. How can you not respect that and be inspired by that, ” she says.
Zoe is Abi’s first dog and came into his life when she was 11. Abi is an audio engineer, the vocalist and lyricist of his band, Eschers Knot and founder of The GRIT : the Great Indian Trail – routes to travel India through back roads on the motorcycle. Abi travels quite often and rushes back on the earliest flight knowing Zoe needs him as does Samira. In a year’s time his bond with Zoe has developed such, that people who have known Zoe and Samira much longer, wonder how! “When dogs become old they are entirely at our mercy and decisions we take, a heavy weight to carry as no one knows for certain what works. Fear of death is normal but we can focus on life. There is so much life in each moment.” Samira adds.
Humans can communicate what’s going on, it’s easier to find solutions and keep aging elders comfortable. It’s also easier to have support systems and medical care for people. With our dogs, so much of age related things which may not show up in diagnostic tests and yet impact functioning of the body are based on assumptions and trying to figure out what works for them.
Zoe has been seeing a lot of age related changes this year, share Samira and Abhi.
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Zoe does not like being carried, but to get in the car and out now she has to be carried, and there is this dance , literally and figuratively between reluctance and acceptance which eventually happens to be amusing
Zoe really enjoys her walks, but she can’t walk as much as she could before and the pain levels vary each day, so she paces herself and decides when to turn around. She also has her rest spots on her walks which she chooses and they usually have a lovely tree and a vantage point of the road.
On some days she walks more, like she did in Shibira, than she can thoroughly enjoying the smells and she struggles to walk back home, but she does make it back on most occasions and her humans marvel at the strong willed ‘being’ that she is.
Zoe is not always able to get up on her own and doesn’t like that but she asks for help and someone has to be available with her all the time now. Both her humans make it a point that they always are.
There is the circle of control and so much that exists out of that. Change is the only constant and Samira, Abijith and Zoe take each day with what it comes. In fact it comes down to moments in the day. They view this time with her as a lesson to continue to make plans but be willing to change the plan and adapt to the now.
Samira and Abi tell us that when they first met they bonded over this line “ here’s to now” from the song Here’s to Now by Ugly Casanova in the film 180° South . At that point it was regarding planning ahead for the dreams we share, their love to explore places, to be out in nature and ride their bikes but always not forgetting to live in the moment. Fast forward to this year, with Zoe and all the changes with age, life has been offering both of them a chances to really live this line – to live in the now, in a different setting: – home. “Watching Zoe adapt to how her body now is and her make decisions based on that is an important learning to carry forward in our life on how to be resilient and flexible”, Samira says and Abi adds “Cheers to now and beers to the plans! Plans will become “now” in due time!”
“Zoe is a champion who embodies resilience and fluidity and I’m so proud of the beautiful soul she is..The things she likes still remain the same, walks, new routes, water, nature, we just have to be creative to make it accessible in the way she can experience it with how she is doing at present.” Samira shares.
Caring for Zoe
Zoe gets a full blood work and urine analysis twice a year as its important to do this senior dogs to keep track of their health. Veterinary visits are kept minimal, it’s important to figure out diagnosis if there is any issue which comes up and then they choose measures which work for Zoe and don’t add too much stress for her physically and emotionally.
Care at home makes sense to keep dogs with ageing related issues like discomfort and pain comfortable while always having an emergency protocol in place. Vet visits are hard for Zoe thus Samira and Abhi do what they can to manage pain levels at home and have explored alternative options of pain management, massage techniques etc that don’t take a huge toll on her body. These are some of their “Zoe” Team and resources :-
Georgina Coelho Georgina came into Zoe’s life at 5 years old. I always wanted to give Zoe food which will help with her health longterm and which she enjoys. Georgina started her practice out of helping her dog Stitchy who has passed and now she has Fleur and Tweedy, she’s someone who is constantly learning and believes each dog is a unique individual and no one size fits all.She is truly passionate in helping dogs. She has been a blessing for both Zo and Samira and over the years a dear friend and an integral part of their unit.
She does nutrition consults and has fresh meals for dogs in Bangalore only and great quality freeze dried food and supplements for dogs outside of Bangalore. Yes, there have been issues we have not been able to tackle such as weight gain which in Zo’s case is because of something else and not her diet, but overall we have a badass 12 plus year old Golden Retriever girl and her nutrition guided by Georgina is a key factor, says Samira.
Shivani of Nutkit. Shivani started her journey helping her dogs work with their issues. She works with the principle of applied zoopharmacognosy which means offering choices of plant based medicines based on symptoms and self selection of animals to self medicate.
She works with essential oils and few powders and the initial sessions are online consults and once you learn the signs your dog is showing for the oils, powders you do the sessions keeping Shivani updated.She also has her own products like natural tick and flea spray and one for anxiety and few others .
I’ve been observing Zo self medicate whenever she has access to plant and soil matter she needs, this process with essential oils is new for us but it has been interesting to see Zo select and reject oils, Samira says. The treatment session is entirely based on if Zoe wants it or not. And it does involve Samira being fully present during the session, the duration of which is according to Zo dog. Samira and ZO have had 30 minute to 2.5 hour sessions and they have helped when she was in a lot of discomfort.
Galen Myotherapy, UK They do a full thorough assessment and share massage techniques and few exercises to do at home. This is expensive , it also requires you to spend time working with your dog. The assessment has been useful to understand Zoe’s movements better. And unlike most arthritis cases Zo prefers cold compress so whenever she is very sore we do that for her and she prefers the cold tiles and overall cold, and will not sleep on mats etc.
Poochmate – Bedding We got their orthopedic bed which everyone who has sat in it has said it’s the most comfortable thing they have been in.It is expensive but great quality and has lasted Zo for 3 years now and continuing. It comes with a washable removable cover. We also got a custom made travel bed cover for her from them with bolsters, they make travel beds for dogs too. We chose a custom made mattress for her from Restolex as she needed something more firmer than their travel bed.
At home enrichment: For the Love of Dog has some affordable good products for at home stimulation. Zo loves the sniffer mat, and this helps with mental stimulation on days she is too sore to walk or even when there is pain and she needs a distraction from it.
We also put home baked treats in crumpled papers, boxes and rolled towels for her as an activity and also hide food around the house as nosework activity, Samira shares. In a world filled with information, Samira has found emotional upliftment to be a very important aspect of Zoe’s health.
“Social interactions be it other dogs whose energy she can handle and people who she loves having around are significant aspects of her well being. It is something we struggle with since we had to move homes but whenever she does have a social interaction she does better. Zoe is a dog who loves touch and cuddles, even when she sleeps, and Abi and I designated Slave 1 and 2 for her cuddle sessions and pretty much everything else 🙂 Even when in pain touch soothes her immensely”, she adds
Senior dogs need a lot more care than any other phase of a regular dog’s life. None of us know what is in store in our dogs’ aging phase as each dog is unique. Not everyone may have the privilege to keep aside things and be with their dog. We don’t think any dog will feel their caregiver is not doing enough for them as they accept what is possible and they really think the world of us. Thus we must think about the commitment to a dog’s whole life before making the choice to bring the canine home.
Samira as a primary caregiver for Zoe often gets to the point of burning out. There are times when she feels down. It has been difficult for her to let go of things she enjoys, to let go of progression and opportunities in work or any activity in the way she had imagined it but this is a choice she has made. Samira considers it a privilege to be there for Zoe during this period. “Zoe is my baby girl, and the least and most I can do is to be there with her”, she says.
Samira also has the faith in self that no matter how difficult she will have the ability to restart things and to start from scratch. Perhaps it is true that :-
When you let go of human timelines,
When you let go of how things are supposed to be
When you stop the comparisons to another person’s journey or even your previous experiences
When you stop wanting to make meaning of everything and allow some things to be
When you unhook yourself from the rabbit hole of getting answers which take away the right now.
You too could Raise a Zoe to Life!
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Shibira The Camp, Sakleshpur 