BERLIN, Germany – After living on Hong Kong’s Lamma Island in the tropics, Eric the Beagle must take precautions to avoid freezing his tail bone. Winter weather in Berlin can chill even a durable dog right from his droopy ears to the tip of his tail. Burr!

Now five-year-old Eric lives in a 130-year-old, five-storey building in the former East Berlin just 50 metres from where the now-demolished Berlin Wall once stood. Often, he strolls past a square where a watch tower long loomed and across the “death strip” where unlucky East German dissidents died in storms of gunfire when trying to escape to the West.

Berlin has redeveloped the death strip into a recreational area called Wall Park. Eric enjoys recreation, and he never formally studied German history, but a dog with such a powerful snout can sniff out a lot. Some of the neighborhood’s history can give anyone a few chills, even in warm weather.

Like many ex-Lamma residents (mostly the people, mind you), Eric uses the Internet to stay in touch with old friends. He poses for photos, often in the snow, and his humans email the images, including to Gail, a dog at the headquarters of Cairns Media Magazine.

Originally from Germany, Eric lived on Lamma circa 2006-08. A fast learner, he soon adjusted to the tropics and loved to frolic on the beach. At other times, he trekked along hilltop trails, sniffing every inch of the way.

Soon he became one of Lamma’s best-known residents. People of the same name sometimes introduced themselves by saying: “You’ve heard of Eric, the Beagle. Well, I’m Eric, the human.”

Admittedly, Eric held mixed feelings when he and his family returned to Europe. On Lamma, life’s a beach. In Berlin, sometimes it’s a blizzard. Burr!



Ah, for the old days: Eric and
Gail sunbathe on Lamma.


(Photos courtesy of Eric's humans)


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