Watch dog soar through the sky in his custom paragliding harness
Who said dogs can't fly?
Ouka, a 6½-year-old Samoyed, often defies gravity by paragliding through the skies in a custom harness alongside his human companion. Video footage of a recent flight in the Norway shows the dog sitting comfortably between his owner's legs, enjoying the wind as it ruffles his thick white fur.
Watch dog soar through the skies in his custom paragliding harness
Shams, a filmmaker who shares his paragliding adventures on Instagram, told USA TODAY that he and Ouka have been flying for a few years now, and his pet pooch loves joining him on these sky-high adventures.
But that wasn't always the case.
Living in India during the height of the pandemic, Shams felt lonely. "I was there with my van, but COVID and heartbreak pushed me to come back to Europe," he shared. "It was quite a difficult time for me as I was in depression."
The filmmaker received a Facebook post from friends about Ouka, who was looking for a new family. Two weeks later, he found himself at the shelter in France where the dog was living.
"Ouka was not super lucky, neither in his previous life as he was (with) two different families before me," Shams said.
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Training Ouka for the skies
The two started flying together just two months after Shams adopted Ouka in 2021.
"It was quite fast, but very easy," Shams said. "I went through different steps to check if he was okay to fly with me."
According to Shams, he figured his dog was not afraid of heights because Ouka would "always be standing next to (a) big cliff" when they went hiking together.
After several rounds of training, during which Ouka observed pilots flying, he got a custom harness from a French company called Ripair, and the two were ready for takeoff.
What was Ouka's, Shams' best flight experience?
Shams said he also taught the dog to come between his legs and run on the command of "take off."
The two have been on multiple adventures together now, Shams said, adding they always aim to fly in good conditions, "which means, perfect wind speed and orientation."
The most unique flight they've been on was when they flew "above the Arctic Polar Circle in Norway on Senja Island," Shams said.
Besides parasailing, the two enjoy running together in the summer and skiing in winter as they travel around Europe in their van.
"We spent quite some time in Norway (in the) last (few) months skijoring," Shams said. Skijoring is a winter sport involving a dog pulling Nordic skis, according to the Heber Valley, Utah.
'To make him happy makes me very happy'
Shams said Ouka, which means "cherry blossom" in Japanese, is always happy and easy to live with.
"(He) just wants cuddles from everybody (and) is super expressive," Shams said. "He helped me find motivation to do stuff when I was depressed. I think I needed him as much as he needed me. To make him happy makes me very happy."
This story was updated to fix an error.
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.
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