Olivier Sévère, Vincent Gonzalvez & Muzo
ph. Lucas Charrier
story by Séréna Evely
Remembering the happy times he spent with dogs in his childhood and adolescence, Vincent stimulated a present - but perhaps less essential - desire in Olivier: they adopted Muzo. Since then, the couple and the Dachshund rarely leave each other's side and are developing their relationship harmoniously.
On the move
"Adopting Muzo was a long process because when we made the decision he was not yet born: ten days before the pups of a friend's dog were born, we took two or three days to think about it. We chose him thanks to photos because it was during a lockdown period and we didn't live in the same area, and then, from birth until he was two months old, we followed his evolution step by step in our friend's home, in ideal conditions. It was long, sometimes very long, but ultimately very good. It was a very different experience from going to a shelter and coming home with a dog.”
Good company
"Since then, we have been doing almost everything with him on a daily basis: shopping, working, seeing our friends, going away for the weekend, etc. One of us works at home and therefore spends his days with him. Dogs are associated with the idea of responsibility: we adopt an animal because we can and want to take care of it. So it is out of the question for us to have a dog and to leave him alone all day. When Muzo must be left alone for half a day, and because we know that he squeals a little and is not at ease when alone, we have him looked after by friends or neighbours; although eventually the idea is to be able to be able to leave for a few hours, to let him live his life!"
Give and take
"Muzo is very sociable, both with humans and with his fellow dogs. He is rather stubborn - like Dachshunds in general - but he is also very gentle and affectionate: his presence in our daily lives gives us a different kind of sensitivity, an awareness of the environment and of everything that is not human. He teaches us patience and reminds us that there is no use in shouting or getting upset. Together we establish that link between humans and animals, different from human relationships. We could absolutely not imagine doing without these new relationships today..."
