Our very first dog, welcomed into our family.
A magnificent Golden Retriever, defined by love, kindness, gentleness with children, and incredible energy!
But also great strength and a strong character; very playful, he stayed young for quite a long time (almost three years).
To help him “let off steam,” I used to take him on long mountain bike outings (5 to 15 km).
My greatest regret: not having had all the knowledge I’ve acquired since then; everything would have been so much simpler and more harmonious. I would have understood this dog so much better and would not have made even a fraction of the mistakes I did, driven by purely human reasoning and impatience (which also characterizes humans). Uzi would have so deserved it—truly!
I was quickly overwhelmed at times, sometimes at a loss, despite all the gratitude I felt for what he brought to our family.

At the time, my work involved frequent travel, sometimes for several weeks. My wife Christelle and our children stayed at home. One night, a fight broke out in our neighborhood, with intruders passing through our garden. My wife later told me she had never seen him like that: with an unusual bark, baring his teeth, growling at every door or window where the intruders moved. Simply incredible when you knew him in everyday life. Above all, Uzi loved his family—he was protecting them, especially when I wasn’t there!

He left us too early, far too early. During one of my mountain bike outings, he most likely encountered poisoned bait (an illegal hunting practice, but unfortunately common—for foxes deemed “pests”—in the area where we lived at the time). When we returned, I found him more tired than usual. By the time I realized something was wrong, it was too late; the veterinarian could not save him.
A true trauma—and profound lessons learned. Learning to interpret your dog, to detect signs of distress, because dogs, like all animals, hide weakness as long as they can (so as not to become prey to potential predators). And above all, not finding yourself completely helpless when faced with an intelligent dog who so deeply needed to communicate with his humans, as a family member valued for who he truly was.