Tere!

In Tallinn, Estonia, we had had a lockdown since the 28th of December 2020 until the 17th of January 2021. I still feel that it seemed better than the ones in London or Paris where my old friends live because in Tallinn take-away was allowed for restaurants and cafes, and there was no need to submit any document to get a leaving permit. (Yes, in France they needed to. My friend didn’t have any printer so she submitted a hand-written permit to the police.)

In any situation with COVID-19, places that we could go are limited in any part of the world. Besides, I met one Estonian during my third hospitalisation (which happened in October 2020). One day after the hospitalisation, we were messaging and talking about my mask that my mum bought at Kumano Taisha Shrine in my hometown, and then the topic was switched to an animal shelter in Estonia.

Then we agreed to go to the animal shelter. It was the first time in three years and half for me to go to the animal shelter in Estonia. Also it was the first time in my life. 

The animal shelter is near a lake in Männiku. We talked about the area and lake while walking with a dog. And I completely thought that the lake was somewhere that I had been to in July 2020, but when I was searching the exact place of this animal shelter, I figured out that there were multiple lakes. (Considering that, I want to erase all the talks that I had done at that time…)

We went to the animal shelter by car since this companion could drive. However, it seems there are buses such as bus 116. It’s 116 and the area is (kind of) suburb of Tallinn, so the bus may charge you a few euros. Just keep in mind that it might happen.

We went to the animal shelter one regular Saturday at 12pm, when the shelter is open. I’m not sure about other days and times, so don’t forget to check those if you are planning to go there. It may be different.

Moreover, it seems we needed Estonian ID cards. Since this time he registered as a representative of our group (of only two though), I didn’t do anything. What I want to say is maybe you need an Estonian ID card if you want to walk with a dog. (If you are interested, just contact them because I have no idea in the case of travellers.)

Once it’s open and you registered, they give you one dog at random. This means that you can’t choose dogs. We got a super black dog. I have no idea what kind of species he was. The dog was just handsome and looked good.

Then we walked around the lake with the dog.

That’s it.

Walking with a dog was a main activity, but that was it.

You can watch a video of this dog here (that is my Japanese page).

We walked with him for perhaps about one hour, and just headed to the shelter to give back the dog.

Sometimes the dog was pretty barking to other sheltered dogs, and vice versa. However, there was no trouble or even happening.

Also, in this animal shelter there are lots of cats as well, but since we both had cat allergies, we just looked at cats from the window. In my experience, some cats like me, others don’t. When travelling in Riga, Latvia with my friends, we had a cat in our hostel, who did a cat punch to me. On the other hand, 80% of dogs like me. For example, when I went to Timbeter’s boss’s place, her dog liked me a lot, hopping and jumping on me. (However, I was very slightly frustrated because he gave me some dirt on my relatively new shoes.)

Anyways, it’s worth going to the animal shelter because our activities at home are limited in general, and it’s also good to walk somewhere unfamiliar so why don’t you go there? 

Aitäh! 🙂