Manja Ressler's Blog

It’s been over two and a half years now since Aliki died. I was – and still am – heartbroken. She died on December 24th, 2020. To keep myself from going insane with grief, I started writing down my memories of her, just for myself. To find answers to the many questions I had about her and her origins, I also read lots of scientific articles about dog behaviour, about primeval dogs, about methods of training… and before I knew, I’d written a book. In Dutch, for now. But who knows, maybe there will be an English version eventually, so everyone who has so lovingly followed her on my blog will be able to read the whole story.

Aliki died of Leishmaniasis, a mediterranean disease. It can’t be cured, but with the right medication it can be suppressed sufficiently for dogs to get old with it. Unfortunately, Dutch (and other non-mediterranean) vets are not educated about this potentially lethal disease.

The story of her life and death is in the book, titled ‘Aliki. Over de liefde van een zwerfhond’ (About the Love of a Stray).