In memory of Karma

Ajselas Amrita, 21.09.12 – 26.07.25

Dear Karma.

You and your sister Fryd came into our lives late November 2012, and you brought joy and happiness from the very first second. The two of you were part of the first Barbet litter in Norway. Something to be proud of!

Sadly, we had to find a new (but very good) home for Fryd after a few months, and we were worried about how that would affect you.

You handled the change well. After concluding that Fryd wasn’t around anymore, you directed all your love and attention towards Anne and me.

Maybe you thought that you were going to live the leisure life, alternating between the bed(s) and the coach. Well, in that case, you thought wrong 😉

Soon, you were introduced to trails and mountains. And you loved it. You clearly looked at me as a mentor. You watched what I did, then you did the same thing.

Once you had learned the various techniques, you didn’t have to look at me for guidance any longer.

For a hobby photographer as myself, it was inconvenient to always have you on a leash, especially when I wanted you to be in the pictures. So, we spent many hours in the football “cage”, training, training and training. I’m sure you remember. Not so fun, right? But you got treats when you did what I told you to do, and I felt you appreciated clear rules…

We took you to the sheep flocks and let them bully you. It was important to us that you didn’t want to chase sheep around, and you never did. Later on, every time we came near a flock, you tried to be invisible 😉

We soon introduced you to “commuting”. One home on Sunnmøre, another in Sogndal. I’m sure those 3-4 hours on the road wasn’t super-fun, but you always went bonkers when we got to Anne’s place in Sogndal. I think you enjoyed having two “basecamps”.

Years went by and we loved having you in our lives. You made our lives richer. The hikes got longer, the bike trips got longer, the ski trips got longer. And you did fine.

You loved the hikes we had in the afternoons. We did some of the same mountains hundreds of times, and after turning 10, the same old mountains weren’t that exciting anymore. But, if you ever saw a grouse or a hare on a mountain, that mountain was OK for life!

You had your struggles with allergies. We never found out what the problem was. We focused on several things, like the food, but we never quite got completely rid of the hot spots. You didn’t seem to suffer much, though. And I pretty soon learned how to treat them.

When you turned 10, we decided to put you on Librela. The 2022 summer limping quickly disappeared.

In the summer of 2024, you were 11 years old – about to turn 12. We started out by hiking Oksskolten (1916m) – the highest peak in northern Norway. It was so fun having you along on that hike. Karma on a glacier!

A few days later, we hiked Solvågtinden (1559m) near Storjord. That was a long hill!

3 days later – Kvigtinden (1699m) – the highest peak in Børgefjell National Park. That was a long walk!

A week later – Geittinden (1556m) near Røssvatnet.

We’ve had so many wonderful trips in northern Norway. I don’t know what was your favorite, but I’m sure you remember the beautiful Gasskatjåhkkå hike in 2023!

If I were to take a guess, I guess your proudest moment was standing on top of Mjåtinden on Sanna/Træna, as most likely the first dog ever!

With 4 major mountains (and many more) during the summer of 2024, I thought you would be scaling mountains well into your 14^th year.

Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. 2025 was a rough year for you, starting with a major skin surgery (cancer) in January, followed by removing the uterus in March. You weren’t the same dog after the last surgery. After a closer examination, we found a significant spondylosis in your rear back.  

It was a new time for us all now. We had to help you getting into the car. The afternoon hikes weren’t so tempting any longer. Sometimes, you didn’t want to do the walk around the block, which you’ve always loved. You clearly struggled, but you didn’t want it to show.

It was difficult for us to understand what you were going through. We really wish we could have read you better. But you always just had one look, one expression, and you never made any sounds of discomfort.

We looked forward to the summer of 2025. We hoped that new places and meeting new people would get your spirit up. You were happy to get to mom’s place in Brønnøysund again, but unfortunately, there was an ongoing heatwave, with temperatures at 30° and higher.

We tried to compensate for the heat by going places with lots of access to water. I think you were more in the waters and fjords this summer, then in all your life, put together. We hoped you loved it. At least, it looked that way.

Then we went to the rented house at Finnes. You enjoyed that, we could tell. But it was still hot, very hot.

Then something happened to you. You started to behave differently, and we were concerned. We called the regional Veterinarian, but he was far away. We could only hope the situation would pass.

But then, in the middle of the following night, you got terribly sick. We called the Veterinarian again and he could see us 8am in Ørnes.

We still don’t know exactly what happened to you, Karma, but it was serious. Most likely, an intestinal bleeding. One minute before you left us, you looked at Anne and me, with the same expression, which could mean hundreds of things. So, I’m not sure if you tried to say “please, fix this” or “it’s time to let me go”. Or something else.

Our sweet little girl … we had to let you go. This wasn’t an easy fix, and we didn’t want you to suffer more than you already did. Saying goodbye to you was one of the hardest things we’ve ever done.

Mommy and I cried a lot over you, Karma. We still do, because we loved you so much. You were so incredibly kind and loving. Mommy’s Yoga won’t be the same, without you curling up to her.  Our mornings won’t be the same, with you not there to wake us up. Our dinners won’t be the same without you coming to check if there was anything to spare. Our hikes won’t be the same without you on the summits. We miss you so much!

We received so many comforting words from friends, neighbours and people that had been following our mountain adventures on social media. You were noticed. You were “the mountain dog” in the Barbet world. After all, you stood on top of more than 1,000 different mountains.

It’s hard to go on without you, Karma. We had tried to prepare for this day to come, but we hadn’t prepared for what happened. But life goes on, and over time, we will more and more think of the happy moments (and they were many!) rather than the sad goodbye.

It’s time to rest now, Karma. Sweet dreams in “Hundsville”. If you run into my former dog Troll, I’m sure you and him have so much to talk about.

Thank you for the unconditional love you gave us. We will love you always.

Mommy and daddy.