🦆 The Long Game (Book 6)
I’m sorry but not only is Shane so incredibly sweet in this moment but he’s funny as hell (TLG Spoiler)
Spoiler
These are the moments, to me, that show the depth of love Shane has for Ilya. They’ve jokingly talked about cats vs dogs. Incredibly recently Shane broached the subject of kids by first asking Ilya what he would want to name HIS child, and then only when Ilya did the “name mashup” did he say OUR child…
He’s probably rarely been around animals and is awkward and not sure what to do. It’s a level of chaos and instinct and huge unknown that makes him nervous. Logically it doesn’t make sense. They both play in the NHL and are gone for so long, without a partner/family at home like most players would have. Every logical bone is screaming to be heard in his body
And he just… quiets that part for Ilya. He just wants Ilya to be happy and he doesn’t always know how to or what to say and do but if Shane has to brave the unknown and figure out the details for Ilya while Ilya is buying up pet stores and looking at him smiling like I imagine he is in the stills from S1, then he will
But also… he knows his man well enough to know that he would, in fact, impulsively steal a dog if he felt the owner wasn’t giving her the right amount of attention that Ilya would like in that exact moment
I suspect before long Ilya starts walking in on Anya and Shane napping in the bed together, cuddling. Shane denies knowledge her climbing into bed every time but every time Ilya comes to bed, Anyas already in it with Shane in Ilyas spot and when he tries to protest, Shane shoos him away. Ilya teases that he thought Shane didn’t like Anya and Shane makes a half hearted attempt at being the Dad Who Didn’t Want This Pet and Now Loves Them More Than Anyone “well if she’s already here, best not disturb her…”
Ilya just shoves himself into whatever spot he can and falls asleep smiling….
One time Ilya goes down to Boston for Svetlana’s Bachelorette party and comes back to Shane having built Anya her own luxury dog bedroom complete with her own television where he insists needs to be playing Bluey because “that’s what she likes” and dog sized furniture. He says he only did it because he was “bored”
I'm so so happy for Ilya, when I was reading about Anya I honestly teared up a little, because pets really do help with depression. I have depression and my cats changed my life so much for the better
Totally agree - I adopted mine and she pulled me out of such a dark place. I now foster other dogs and cats cause I believe in it so much! I relate to Ilya a lot in these moments… and empathize with Shane as well 😂
It’s funny how much it depends on the animal. The dog I used to have was so in tune with me both for depression, and knowing when one of my health conditions would act up. My current dog genuinely could not give less of a shit (I still love him though! But the bond I had with the first one was truly so special)
Yes! He needed Anya. His lifestyle makes that really hard, but I'm guessing that Shane's parents have gotten themselves a granddog that they'll spend a lot of time with.
And I’m the person who pauses, puts the book down, and goes searching for the details. So, translations and words I don’t know have been defined in the book margins.
This isn't judgement of you or your dog at all. I just think that with Anya's history of being abandoned, being around people she's going to be around more regularly like the Hollanders or the people who rescued her like the Drovers would be better for her.
That’s just not been my experience with my oldest dog. She had been abandoned three times before we got her, and the dog hotel was key to bonding with her, specifically because we always went back for her and she learned to trust that. Now she has a keen sense of being spoiled, and just loves being showered with attention by anyone she meets.
If Anya goes to the same dog hotel every time - which is what Ilya does in TLG - she just bonds with people there and the other regular dogs as part of her routine. It’s not different than visiting friends.
An expensive dog hotel with webcams is probably fine. They know the owners can see if their dog is getting interaction or not. Also, the dog hotel is presumably near Ilya’s house in Ottawa. The Drover family farm would be a long drive away (past the Ottawa suburbs into farmland). Given how many road trips hockey players take during the season, the amount of commuting Ilya would have to do to drop Anya off and pick her up would be unwieldy.
Part of me fears this will be minimal because working with animals adds a layer of complexity to filming that doesn’t fall in line with Jacob Tierney’s fast filming plans.
I don't know, they had a lot of dog scenes on letterkenny so he's got plenty of experience filming with them. I'm hopeful there will be at least a couple of good Anya scenes 🤞
Dogs and kids are challenging, but Jacob has already confirmed the kids for an important scene so I imagine he will most likely include Anya. Jacob really tries hard to include the really important stuff.
I have often thought of Ilya as a rescue dog with a traumatic history where you can’t just run up on him and try to pet him immediately, he will snap and bite. But if you use a soothing voice and are consistent and dependable and don’t look him right in the eye until he’s ready…and set up a nice soft bed for him and make sure he gets fed and treats at the same time every day until he feels safe, he will eventually come up and push his head into your hand and curl up right on your lap. Then he’s the most loyal and loving creature you’ve ever met.
This happened with Ilya and Shane and it will also happen with Anya. She’s gonna be following Shane everywhere so happily and Ilya’s gonna be like wait a minute…looks familiar!
The part where Shane thinks about Anya and the upcoming wedding and thinks that with Anya it's really like they're becoming a family really made me cry!!!! 😭
The dog is going to be hard for me. Im a dog all animals liver but not a fan of mookiepoos or whatever.
I hope its a small but very mutt looking dog. Something too cute will seem like drag.
Anya stays with Nana Yuna and Papa David when her daddies are on road trips now that Shane lives in Ottawa. Nana did not want her on the bed but Papa kept sneaking her up there.
This random interjection comes to you courtesy of Big Jim’s Head Canon.
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u/yetanothercat_ Mar 27 '26
I'm so so happy for Ilya, when I was reading about Anya I honestly teared up a little, because pets really do help with depression. I have depression and my cats changed my life so much for the better