Eva Bromée - "My dogs are everything"
Eva Bromée - "My dogs are everything"
If you ask Eva why she took the Swedish Hunter’s Exam, she’ll laugh. She probably never thought about this question when and where she grew up, in Klövsjö, Jämtland. It was pretty much cast in stone, there was never the question of whether or not she would hunt. It was just a question of when she would start.
In this case, at a pretty young age. Nothing strange. She followed along on her first hunt as an 8-year old. Then, she was already familiar with the forest, mountains, cleaning a grouse and making a fire. As a 13-year old, she guided her first group on a grouse hunt as a dog handler. She liked already then the autumn mornings, when breath exited the mouth and fog shimmered in the morning breeze. The increasing pulse when something close by moves, out of the corner of her eye. The dogs tense.
-The dogs are the most important I have. I would give my right hand for my dogs. It’s because I have grown up so close to dogs.
- The interaction you have when working with the dogs, when you work towards a common goal, you become like a team. Welded together. You know each other so well. All dogs are different individuals and you learn their bad and good sides. They have bad and good sides, just like people do. I think the dogs have learned my sides too. They probably already know when I'm going to be pissed off.
– Those childhood memories come with the seasonal fluctuations. For example, when I’m training the dogs, I remember how I did it when I was small. It was fantastic to have it like this when you were a child. I didn’t think that it was so special back then, but I can see the value in it today.
Today Eva works as a hunting guide and dog trainer. She follows the fluxes of the seasons, and she lives close to nature, being outside more often than inside and her four dogs mean everything to her. And when Eva says “everything” she actually means everything.
- The dogs are the most important thing I have. I could sacrifice my right hand for my dogs. I guess it's because I grew up with dogs so close. The dogs are always there for me. I follow them and they follow me. I am there for them, and they are there for me. They are not just work colleagues – they are also life partners. If I had to choose between the dogs and my partner, I would choose the dogs.
To state that Eva lives close to nature is quite the understatement. In late winter, early spring, most of her time is used to train the dogs. A good physique is a given for training hunting dogs. Just getting started with training before the hunting season is not enough, they have to stay in shape year-round by training.
There is a lot of skiing with the dogs during the winter. In the summer, without the snow, it’s training and fishing. When the fall arrives, it’s of course mostly hunting. But when there are mushrooms and berries, Eva even gathers quite a bit from the mountain and forest pantries. However, the dogs are the focus year-round. They always follow along. And it’s been like this since Eva was born.
There where up to 20 dogs at the family kennel, and this has of course affected Eva. For Eva, the best thing she knew was when she followed her father and the dogs into the mountains.
– I thought that school was the worst. I just sat there longing for 3 p.m., when school would end. I often nagged to follow along the with the dogs, so dad waited for me until the afternoon. My things were ready in the hall and outside the house. Shoes. Or skis. Jacket. Hat. Whatever was needed for the day. I always hurried home from school.
– Those childhood memories come the seasonal fluctuations. For example, when I’m training the dogs, I remember how I did it when I was young. It was fantastic having it like this when you grew up. I didn’t think of this like anything special back then, but I can see the value in it today.
The same lifestyle has followed Eva into adult life. But today, it’s the dogs that stand and wait for Eva and to follow along into the mountains. Today, she packs the food herself and confidently prepares her equipment.
Eva has never actually chosen her lifestyle. It has curiously chosen her. Indeed, she has made shorter appearances and worked at other jobs during the winter.have
– In the city, I felt like a bird in a cage. I’m not made to be trapped. I have to be close to the dogs, hunting, fishing. But it has its sides. Working with your passion can be slightly difficult. When I most of all just want to get out and hunt by myself, I might have to do something completely different. But I am happy that I most of the time have the freedom to work with what I love.