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With only eleven days left until departure (if you include this day…), Niger is never far from my mind.

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Unsurprisingly, the thing I’ve missed the most this season has been Sheba, my lovely Rhodesian ridgeback girl from Sweden.

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Being so used to having her around,

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…it’s almost impossible to imagine that it’s just been a year and a day since I met her at Ridgebow’s kennel for the first time!

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Some relationships just feel as if they’ve been going on forever,

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…and my bond with Sheba is one of those.

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I don’t think I’ve ever been so “in sync” with a dog before,

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…and after a year with Sheba, I fully understand what ridgeback owners say about “once you’ve gone Ridgeback, you will never go back again!”

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Ridgebow’s Radiant Reya of Navy (Sheba)

So my longing this week is to wrap my arms around my beautiful Shebes again! Thankfully, it won’t be long anymore and the days ahead will be spent packing and preparing for a long voyage.

For more thoughts around the world, click here!