Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/arctic-circle-walking-dog-tiktok/

Svalbard is a series of Norwegian islands that are located along the Arctic Circle. Since it’s so far north, temperatures are usually well below freezing, there is plenty of snow everywhere, and there are several straight months of darkness. Oh, and you can’t rule out the potential threat of polar bears, either.

While this place may could quite unforgiving, it’s actually inhabited.

One resident, Cecilia Blomdahl, showed TikTok what it’s like to live her everyday life in this location – primarily what it’s like to take her dogs for a walk. It’s certainly nothing like taking your dog for a stroll in sunny Southern California.

As she demonstrates in her clip, it’s quite the process getting her dogs, as well as herself, ready for a simple walk.

As explained in her TikTok, the current climate outside her residence is total darkness. “Pitch-black 24/7” as she phrased it.

This means that she has to put her dogs into clothing items that make them visible in the dark. Naturally, that entails high-visibility collars and brightly-colored vests.

Of course, for Blomdahl, she can’t go anywhere herself without piling on the layers to combat the cold. But perhaps the most eyebrow-raising part of her dog walking routine is the fact that she doesn’t leave her home without arming herself with a rifle.

She explained that she must bring a gun with her as protection from polar bears. That is perhaps what drove it home for most viewers that her daily routine is not your average daily routine.

There were many reactions and comments to her insightful video, with one person writing, “I’m sorry. RIFLE? POLAR BEARS?”

Someone else joked that they were “annoyed” about having to go outside with their dog in “28-degree weather,” but cited that no guns were needed.

Watch the clip for yourself:

@sejsejlija

Svalbard lifeee #meanwhileinthenordics #northernnorway #tiktoknorge #tiktoknorway #fyp #foryou #viral #dogsoftiktok #norway #norge #svalbard

♬ original sound – Cecilia Blomdahl

This video just reinforces for me the fact that no matter how much the idea of spending the winter in the arctic circle might sound like the perfect writer’s retreat for me, I’d certainly become a hermit with a multi-million dollar heating bill.

But both Blomdahl and her dogs are more than well-adjusted and they aren’t at all bothered by the cold. Her dogs were thoroughly enjoying their frolic in the snow.

While this clip is only one of Blomdahl’s many TikToks, the majority of her social media page is dedicated to giving the rest of us a look into life in one of Earth’s more remote and frozen places. Pretty cool, right?

Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog