This is a post I dreamt of doing so many times... I thought of this moment maybe a hundred times.

Today, around 10am, we received confirmation that our dogs Jacky and Charlie have they ticket plane booked on April the 12th, arriving in Barcelona on the 14th, from Johanesbourg via Doha.

It has been a long journey, lots of ups and downs, and we eventually will be reunited with our furry friends very soon.

I thought I could use this occasion to reminisce the good old days with my best friends.

How did I meet Jacky?

The year was 2012, and things we very different at the time. I wasn't married to my wife yet, and were dating while enjoying our twenties, partying a lot. People believed at the time that the world would end on the 21st of December 2012, and we were in so many destructive ways welcoming that end.

On the 31st October 2012, so nearly 2 months before the supposed end of the world, a little guy came into my life:

My girlfriend, soon to be wife, remembered what I say one night after few drinks. I always had a dream, of "having a Husky".

It was a simple thought, and like most thought, as much as persistent, we normally hide them under the rug, and move on with our lives. This time around, my thought, and my wish was granted.

It was the first time, I really realised that I could wish for something, and sometimes, obtaining it; that it was ok to have "wants" and "haves".
It was also a very touching gift from my future wife, I understood that we were in it for the long run, she bought me a freaking wolf!! Nobody was truly listening to what I had to say before that, and she did listen.

I remember that afternoon, we slept late after another one of our legendary binge, and while still lying on my bed, I felt something warm resting on my chest. I open my eyes and saw that little guy, with his piercing blue eyes and "I don't give a fuck" attitude. It was love at first sight, and became inseparable from that day.

I took Jacky everywhere with me, and he very quickly became my best friend, and the only friend I needed. We would travel long distance together, I rarely spent a day without him, he slept at my feet, and only truly listened to me, up to that day.

He is very much a mirror of my personality.

Friendly, but egotistical, smart but incredibly stupid at times. So beautiful, yet with a darkness in within himself, and you can see this deep in his eye, if you get lost long enough.

Everyone is drawn to him, and he knows it, he often plays on your emotion of the moment. He is a master manipulator, and will drive you insane if you let him.

He is a known escape artist, with an appetite for life, a risk taker that will always end up being saved last minute by a good soul.

He even saved somebody once. It was during his first year, when he was really prone to go on a run, and come back only the next day.

One morning, he did not come back, and we searched the entire neighbourhood for him. After worrying like hell for what seems like an eternity, we ended up finding him at a neighbour, Jacky spent the night there, with a lady that was living alone, depressed.

She admitted to us, that when she bumped into Jacky, she was about to do something stupid, and our dog saved her. She took it/him as a sign.
Jacky can feel people in need, and also when people are assholes. He's always been a good assholes detector for that matter.

I took care of him like I was taking care of a child. And for that matter, he prepared me how to become a good father for when our first came into this world.

He always kept a watchful eye on him, and always felt amused yet unimpressed by this tiny being in my arms. I still took him for a long walk everyday, and our bond grew even stronger throughout the years.
As mentioned earlier, there has always been that unspoken bond between us, I never felt this way about any other animal before, if I was in a good mood, his spirit was lifted, and when I was angry, he started frowning with his "Jack Nicholson's" eyes.

Our life with Jacky continued, he eventually started becoming wiser and wiser with time. From an early age, we got him used to hang out with other dogs, he never wore a collar, always kept his cool even with kids running around, (that's one thing where we differ) he always knows how to stay collected, except when it's time to play of course. We then had our girl Aimée in 2015, that also got along with Jack very well, but I think we wanted him to have a companion, a friend to play with.

Simba

This opportunity came with Simba in 2016, that unfortunately did not stay very long with us. He was a beautiful Boer bull breed, very loving and that got along so well with Jack. We did not have money at the time to buy vaccines, and he unfortunately died in our arms, of parvo virus after only few months. It was a very hard moment, that actually led us to the blockchain at the time.

Simba's death triggered something, that we are still tapping into up to today, when in doubt, and unmotivated. We swore that we will never find ourselves in a similar situation, where we cannot afford the vet and take care of our loved ones.

It was one of the most defining moment of our existence, I keep his memory alive, by talking about him once in a while. My son Neo still remembers him, but the 2 younger don't, and maybe that's a good thing, as it was a traumatic experience.

Charlie

A year after Simba's departure (that I did not fully recover from), we did not want to take the risk of having another dog without being able to take care of him.
However, we were living next to a park subject to crime, burglars sometimes climbing our walls, armed, so we needed to be able to defend ourselves as we could, or at least have a dog that could warn us in case of an invasion.

Jack was never a barker, but was impressive physically. We needed a dog with a big voice, and Charlie came accidentally into our lives, in the beginning on 2017, on Simba's death anniversary.

My wife has a friend that offered us a rescued puppy that was looking for a new home, and we went to fetch him, it was heavy rain that day, and Charlie was shivering, covered with a big blanket.

Charlie has a very bubbly personality, and is the most loving dog. Jack can sometimes, be very self cantered, and Charlie is at the complete opposite. He is patient, loving, caring, and will go to hell for you if he has to.

He got himself in many troubles from the very beginning (got a metal fence hooked into his eye socket, got hit by a car), but always got out almost intact, as if his angels were watching over him. He is also a very durable, strong and sturdy animal, a true farm boy.

It took me a long time to start loving him, I was scared of losing a dog I love once again, but eventually he won me over, with his kind heart.

The greatest thing, is the complicity him and jack have. Jacky also took the role of a big brother, and Charlie followed his brother's paws steps everywhere. In term of security, they made the perfect duo, Charlie having a deep impressive bark, as Jacky looks impressive, but does not bark, and only howl when we leave him alone for too long.

In hindsight, I am happy that they were together during that year and a half away from us, I feel that it made their stay more bearable.

As I was saying, they really complimenting each other's personalities (a little bit like my wife and I in many ways).

They also have this contagious "joie de vivre", and it's something that we profoundly missed in our lives since we left them.

We have been in France for quite a while now, having been arrived here the 02 October 2019, but we never lost hope that eventually, we will be able to get our friends back.

I hope they did not forget about us, I hope they won't get aggressive, or fearful when we see again, and make the transition as easy as possible. We will be patient with them, giving them the time that they need to adapt.

We lost so much time, I truly believe that we can catchup!

Charlie is obsessed with sticks

Which leads me to this: I would like to thank all the people, that have been touched by our story, and our project to get reunited with our babies. It's been a very long and painful year and a half, I promised them that we will meet again the day I said goodbye to them, and we finally will see them again, and they will get their retirement life that they truly deserve after guarding & protecting us throughout the years.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you (in no specific order) to @dandays @gaiaintervention @tygertyger @d-vine @bulldog-joy @one.tribe.radio @angryman and all the people that were willing to help us along the way.
Not only thank you for all chipping in, but for your moral support, it is so important for us and has been of an incredible help, I cannot emphasize enough on this.

Up until that moment where we are together, I will keep on looking at the date on the plane ticket, and only think positively.

Thank you for your continuous support, and shining your light so bright!

I also know she isn't on the blockchain, but I want to thank my mother in law, that has cooked for themevery day and hosted our babies for such a long time, while we were getting back on our feet and making sure we can secure a home for them. I will forever bin in awe to her, and forever grateful she is in our lives. "keya leboha" Mama!