Look for the bare necessities

The simple bare necessities

Forget about your worries and your strife

I mean the bare necessities

That's why a dog can rest at ease
With just the bare necessities of life

Don't spend your time

Lookin' around

For something you want

That can't be found

When you find out

Can live without

And go along

Not thinkin' about

The bare necessities of life

Will come to you

They´ll come to you

(The Bare Necessities, Terry Gilkyson, from the Disney film The Jungle Book)

Danco, a German Shepherd, most likely a working line dog, was taken out of difficult circumstances and brought to the shelter in April 2012. At that time he was eight years old. Little by little, thanks to first-rate medical care, he regained his vitality - and a good 40 kilograms – which he used for closer inspection of all living things in his surroundings. Should the weather reach summerlike temperatures, his path would lead straight through the flowing creek located near the shelter back to the peaceful, lush greenery. Not often have I met a dog that radiated such peace and serenity; one that would accept everyday things as they were. His favorite color, according to Walter Gropius, would have been "colorful".  

Our walks together offered abundant opportunity for us to work on our recalls.  The appetizing treats created enough motivation at the beginning.  Later, Danco became interested in emotional and physical affection as well. He learned new responsibilities unbelievably fast. Developing new skills and then showing them off created a sense of satisfaction in his entire being. He wouldn’t even hold a grudge when he was denied the joy of gorging his food. And so we moved forward on this path together, where verbal signals were only whispered and body language only slightly implied.

The paintings Danco I – X show him working, playing, hunting, and with a detached expression when piddling (Danco III) in the spacious shelter garden.