試す - 無料

SCALING NEW HEIGHTS OF LOVE

Scottish Daily Express

|

May 10, 2025

Mountain guide Cédric Sapin-Defour was struggling with grief when Ubac the Bernese dog bounded into his life. Their unique bond inspired an extraordinary book that has taken France by storm

- By Jane Warren

SCALING NEW HEIGHTS OF LOVE

AFTER losing his beloved Labrador to cancer, 37-year-old PE teacher and mountain guide Cédric SapinDefour stood quietly before a litter of twelve Bernese Mountain Dog puppies he had seen advertised in a local newspaper.

Most of the puppies bounded toward him with wagging tails and hopeful eyes. But one didn’t. The sweet one with the blue collar stayed where he was, casting only a shy glance. “He didn’t seem the least bit interested I was there — unlike his brothers and sisters,” says Cédric. “And, as with every relationship, indifference is magnetic.”

That puppy would become Ubac - named after the shaded, often mist-covered north side of a mountain - and the steadfast companion of a man who found in the blackand-tan dog an unconditional friendship that asked for nothing and gave everything.

He had spent months looking in rescue centres, preferring to adopt rather than buy, but had no success. Then along came the advert.

“I'd been seriously looking for another dog and was keen to adopt a Bernese. I love all dogs but I see this breed as the dog for the mountains, and having been raised on Alpine myths, I wanted that breed above all others.”

He had lost Iko, nine, to cancer after seven years together. “It was violent, quick, cruel,” he recalls of Iko's death. “I wasn’t ready.”

But as grief turned to acceptance, he found himself feeling open to the possibility of new life. And the bond he formed with Ubac was destined to be so intense that Cédric wrote a bestselling first book about what happened next.

His glorious ode to the dog, Son Odeur Après La Pluie (His Smell After the Rain, in French), became a literary sensation in his native France and is about to be published in translation in the UK.

Scottish Daily Express からのその他のストーリー

Scottish Daily Express

Scottish Daily Express

Trump threat to sue BBC for $1billion

President: Beeb must say sorry by Friday

time to read

3 mins

November 11, 2025

Scottish Daily Express

‘Oasis tour has saved my life’ says Gallagher

LIAM Gallagher says the Oasis comeback tour has saved his life by making him quit drink and drugs.

time to read

1 min

November 11, 2025

Scottish Daily Express

Scottish Daily Express

Andrew 'had several prostitutes in hotel suite on taxpayer trip'

ANDREW Mountbatten Windsor had several Asian prostitutes brought up to his hotel during a taxpayer trip to Hong Kong in 2010, the disgraced royal's unofficial biographer claims.

time to read

3 mins

November 11, 2025

Scottish Daily Express

Setting a generation of 'lost' boys and girls on right path to become confident adults

ARMY cadets have been inspired to greater things - and may become Britain's next generation of soldiers - at an eyeopening boot camp.

time to read

4 mins

November 11, 2025

Scottish Daily Express

Scottish Daily Express

YOU WILL 'PAY THE PRICE' FOR VICIOUS' OAP TAX RAID

RACHEL Reeves must spare pensioners \"vindictive\" tax rises or Labour will pay at the ballot box, campaigners are warning.

time to read

3 mins

November 11, 2025

Scottish Daily Express

Sunset Song fans will be praying for goodwill as church goes on sale

READERS of Sunset Song will know 'Kinraddie Church'.

time to read

1 min

November 11, 2025

Scottish Daily Express

Scottish Daily Express

Olympics set to ban transgender athletes from women's events

TRANSGENDER women are set to be barred from all-female events at the Olympic Games, following a decision by the International Olympic Committee.

time to read

1 mins

November 11, 2025

Scottish Daily Express

BREN COULD SHEIKH IT UP IN SAUDI

Clamour for ex-Celtic boss

time to read

1 mins

November 11, 2025

Scottish Daily Express

Scottish Daily Express

CRAZY DAYS FOR MOORE

Mikey: Mad Ibrox stint has toughened me up

time to read

3 mins

November 11, 2025

Scottish Daily Express

Scottish Daily Express

Family bite back in cottage rental row

A HOLIDAY rental cottage booked for a family celebration looked ideal at first, but a disturbing discovery then revealed it was definitely not up to scratch.

time to read

2 mins

November 11, 2025

Listen

Translate

Share

-
+

Change font size