The family dog and - he is no mixed breed.

When we took Orion home we were warned. We were told he's dangerous, aggressive to other dogs and not cuddly at all. Sure! When you give a dog a home and make it feel that it is safe there is no aggression any more. And Orion turned out to be the cuddliest dog on earth.

He loves to curl up on the sofe with us and happily sleeps there. He wakes up at night and makes sure that I am still there. He follows me like a shadow where ever I go and waits in front of the toilet's door when I am inside (maybe one of his former owners disappeared through a toilet).

He gained muscles and loves running. As I was asked more and more often if this dog was a certein breed I started some investigation and finally discovered that Orion is not a Greyhound-German Shepherd-Mix but a Podenco Canario. The pictures you can find and the behaviour describe my doggy up to an extent that there is no doubt. Even the vet had to agree.

Lately he showed the first signs of getting older and every now and then you can see that Orion is in his 11th year. We started adding magnesium and zinc to his food and this helps him to still be able to run for about 30-60 minutes per day.

In August we'll take Mischa and Orion to Norway and they will be with us on out honeymoon. I am Sure Orion is happy with the life he lives now and we will have to visit the Tierschutzhaus again to show them what a wonderful dog Orion turned out to be.

We still meet Elisabeth, Orion's former foster mother, once a month and she agrees that Orion is happier than she ever saw him before and that she had never expected him to be as social and well behaved as he is now.