Dona - happy dog!

Published in About Animals

Dona finds a good home, three years on.

Dona, April 2015 Dona, April 2015 Photo: Vivian Grisogono

They say dogs, by some magical process, are given the names which suit them best. Dona could not be anything other than the prima donna. She has everything going for her, fabulous looks, intelligence, character.

Dona and a sibling, June 2013. Photo: Vivian Grisogono

Dona was born in February 2013 in Jelsa. Her mother Simba is a beautiful golden retriever, so it is not surprising that Dona and her siblings were all born beautiful. Homes were found for most of the puppies. One, Lord, was destined to stay in the family and, true to his name, become the Top Dog in Jelsa, the canine king who watches over his compatriots, polices the streets and keeps order. 

Dona's brother Lord on his rounds, November 2015. Photo: Vivian Grisogono

With the tourist season approaching, which meant that there was no room for extra dogs, Dona was the last one in need of a home. Via the internet, a potential owner from northern Croatia responded to the plea. But when he refused to provide his full name and address, suspicions were aroused. Dona was born into a loving family which cares for its pets. Delivering her to a street corner in an unknown town to an unkown person was out of the question. So she stayed, but urgently needed to be moved.

Dona, 4th June 2013. Photo: Vivian Grisogono

By June 2013, the situation was getting desperate. So, Eco Hvar came to the rescue, offering a temporary home, in the hope that a good permanent situation would not be far away.

Dona with her mother Simba, 15th June 2013. Photo Vivian Grisogono

She was terrified as she approached her new territory, and for some time sat in a corner eyeing her new companions with fear. After about half an hour, she perked up and accept water, then food. Life was not so bad after all. It did not take her long to establish her position as a strong contender for pack leader, in a gentle, feminine kind of way.

Dona enjoying her food, March 2015. Photo: Vivian Grisogono

She was happy to make friends with all around her. Harley was her Big Friend. 

Dona and Harley, April 2015. Photo: Vivian Grisogono

Rocky was her Little Friend.

Dona with Rocky. Photo: Vivian Grisogono

Young newcomers were made welcome, provided they knew their place!

Dona with newcomers Bobi and Tina, September 2015. Photo Vivian Grisogono

Dona loved her outdoor life, but was always adaptable, and settled in well when she was kept in the house for a while.

Fitting into the smallest basket. Photo: Vivian Grisogono

From the start, Dona was treated with love, and has never known anything else. And she has always responded with love. So it was no surprise that when Mariana and Toni came visiting, looking to give a dog a good home, mutual love arose at first sight.

Dona with Mariana, April 2016. Photo Vivian Grisogono

Mariana and Toni, true dog lovers, would have liked to take more of the dogs, especially Bobi, but their rational limit was one.

Toni and Mariana with Bobi and Dona, April 2016. Photo: Vivian Grisogono

True love at first sight:

Dona finds true love, April16. Photo: Vivian Grisogono

So, on April 13th 2016, Dona took her leave of her friends, and set off with enthusiasm for her new life.

Dona saying goodbye. Photo: Vivian Grisogono

As she went off to her new home, her former companions were sad to see her leave. It was a day of new experiences for her, particularly her first journey on the ferry. But she coped bravely and settled in well. A happy outcome for all concerned!

© Vivian Grisogono 2016

Follow-up: Dona visits Jelsa frequently, and is in the best of form, clearly much loved and well cared for. Bravo Mariana and Toni!

You are here: Home about animals Dona - happy dog!

Eco Environment News feeds

  • Pan Europe found several pesticide residues in 85% of apples, with some showing traces of up to seven chemicals

    Environmental groups have raised the alarm after finding toxic “pesticide cocktails” in apples sold across Europe.

    Pan Europe, a coalition of NGOs campaigning against pesticide use, had about 60 apples bought in 13 European countries – including France, Spain, Italy and Poland – analysed for chemical residues.

    Continue reading...

  • Projects this year expected to triple global gas capacity, forecast finds, as concerns grow over impacts on planet

    The US is leading a huge global surge in new gas-fired power generation that will cause a major leap in planet-heating emissions, with this record boom driven by the expansion of energy-hungry datacenters to service artificial intelligence, according to a new forecast.

    This year is set to shatter the annual record for new gas power additions around the world, with projects in development expected to grow existing global gas capacity by nearly 50%, a report by Global Energy Monitor (GEM) found.

    Continue reading...

  • Despite no criminal charges being brought against them, four officers have been detained since the MV Dali struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge, killing six workers

    Several crew members of a ship that collided with a bridge in Baltimore almost two years ago are still being held in the US by federal authorities despite the fact that no criminal charges have been brought against them.

    In the early hours of 26 March 2024, the MV Dali departed the port of Baltimore bound for Sri Lanka. While navigating the Fort McHenry channel, the 1,000ft-long Singapore-flagged cargo vessel lost power before striking the bridge. The impact resulted in the deaths of six people who were working on the bridge at the time.

    Continue reading...

  • Judgment in The Hague orders Netherlands to do more to protect Caribbean people in its territory from impacts of climate crisis

    The Dutch government discriminated against people in one of its most vulnerable territories by not helping them adapt to climate change, a court has found.

    The judgment, announced on Wednesday in The Hague, chastises the Netherlands for treating people on the island of Bonaire, in the Caribbean, differently to inhabitants of the European part of the country and for not doing its fair share to cut national emissions.

    Continue reading...

  • Light scattering creates the shade we see when we look skyward, and studies show the process varies around the world

    On holiday the sky may look a deeper shade of blue than even the clearest summer day at home. Some places, including Cape Town in South Africa and Briançon in France, pride themselves on the blueness of their skies. But is there really any difference?

    The blue of the sky is the product of Rayleigh scattering, which affects light more at the blue end of the spectrum. The blue we see is just the blue component of scattered white sunlight.

    Continue reading...

  • Wellington and Wiveliscombe, Somerset: This movable pagan feast can be celebrated very differently, but it’s all to thank the apple trees and fire up their sap

    Old apple tree, we wassail thee,
    And hope that thou wilt bear
    Hatfuls, capfuls and three bushel bagfuls
    And a little heap under the stairs!

    We are standing around a little crab apple tree by the side of Wiveliscombe village hall, singing our hearts out between the car park and the high street. It’s Old Twelfth Night, and in the orchards and gardens of the West Country, people are banging pots, swilling cider, hanging bits of toast in trees and yelling “wassail!”.

    Continue reading...

  • Monarch says he has remained focused despite early criticisms of his beliefs, in new film Finding Harmony: A King’s Vision

    King Charles has revealed he “wasn’t going to be diverted” from his environmental campaigning despite criticism in the past in a new documentary showcasing his philosophy of “Harmony”.

    In the Amazon Prime Video film, his first project with a streaming platform, Charles recalls past attacks on his outspokenness on the environment, saying: “I just felt this was the approach that I was going to stick to. A course I set and I wasn’t going to be diverted from.”

    Continue reading...

  • Finding herself in charge of her sick husband’s clipper, a self-taught working-class teenager overcame storms, icebergs and a disloyal first mate to get her ship to safety

    No one knows exactly what Mary Ann Patten said in September 1856 when she convinced a crew on the verge of mutiny to accept her command as captain. What is known is that Patten, who was 19 and pregnant, was a force to be reckoned with.

    After taking the helm from her sick husband in the middle of a ferocious storm off the coast of Cape Horn, the notoriously hazardous tip of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago off southern Chile, she successfully put down the mutiny and navigated her way to safety through a sea of icebergs.

    Continue reading...

  • Popularity of EVs in country is part of global trend of emerging markets spurning fossil fuel cars at surprising speeds

    When Berke Astarcıoğlu bought a BMW i3 in 2016, he was one of just 44 people in a country of 80 million to buy a battery electric vehicle (BEV) that year. By the time he bought a Tesla in 2023, BEVs were no longer a complete oddity in Turkey, making up 7% of new car sales.

    Fast-forward two years and electric cars are selling so fast that Turkey has caught up with the EU in its rate of adoption. Its market is now the fourth largest in Europe, behind Germany, the UK and France.

    Continue reading...

  • After debris balls closed Sydney beaches in October 2024, Guardian Australia reported they could be linked to sewage outfalls. Authorities were less keen to talk

    Last week, after torrential rain in Sydney, fresh poo balls washed up on the beach at Malabar, the closest beach to the problematic Malabar sewage treatment plant.

    Signs were erected on the beach warning people not to touch the “debris balls” or swim. But authorities didn’t let the wider community know. There were no other warnings issued by Sydney Water, the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) or the state government.

    Continue reading...

Eco Health News feeds

Eco Nature News feeds