"And I’d choose you; in a hundred lifetimes, in a hundred worlds, in any version of reality, I’d find you and I’d choose you."

~ Kiersten White - The Chaos of Stars

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Both Tia and Snow are rescued dogs. Tia arrived as a sickly, unweaned pup at about 4 weeks of age, via a lovely lady who brought her to us from a S.A.F.E (Save Animals From Euthanasia) group north of Perth, who helped rescue her. We have never been quite sure of the full story, but think Tia ended up at a vets, having been taken from who-knows-where by someone who did not know how to care for her. 

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What can one say about Tia? The photos tell most of the story. We think she's either a Jack Russell or Tenterfield terrier x Chihuahua. I've had Chihuahuas as well and she has similar traits as well as some very terrier ones! The one good thing is that she loves chasing balls but won't chase rabbits or go exploring down holes.

 

She was a sickly child with serious digestive issues, probably due to being taken from her mother before a healthy weaning age. She threw up a lot and no, it wasn't caused by the usual things. (We have become well acquainted with a lot of vets over the years!). She had entropic eyelashes (inward turning) in one eye as well, and malnourished bandy back legs. It took months of working out what she could keep down that was also healthy, holistic medicine like essential plant oils to help cure infection (antibiotics and things such as puppy wormers or any chemicals made her throw up)...vitamin and mineral paste...carrying her around in my jumper because she was so tiny even rugs didn't keep her warm enough down here (which is why she ended up sleeping in the bed at night, we had no electric warming blanket). She needed a lot of care.

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The end result was to be expected. She's nearly 6 years old now and she's absolutely bonded to me and goes everywhere with me, unless left in the house with Snow, in which case she goes to sleep. Otherwise, she gets stressed and anxious if she's not near me or under my jumper. Yes she still sleeps in the bed at night. My darling husband has learned to cope. (Having said that she stays near my feet out of the way, not his.) 

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My previous Chihuahua, Conan The Barbarian, was much adored and was put to sleep at 14 years of age. He was my second ever dog. I hope Tia lasts longer. She is the absolute joy of our lives. Because she is so joyful. She has always wanted to be on the planet. She loves life. She attacks it, ferociously. She is all in and all 'on', or all off and sleeps so soundly she bites you if you startle her awake. These days she still throws up occasionally. She can eat only a couple of brands of dry food and really nothing else processed at all. She has a very healthy diet though, and plenty of exercise, and is super fit. She's greedy, resource-protective, demanding, noisy - she has an outrageous range of vocalisations due partly to her breathing/internal issues, loving, playful (but on her terms), sensitive, silly and obsessive, but we love her. She makes us laugh.

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And cry. She's also now epileptic and has balance and vision issues, due to being kicked in the head by one of our largest fillies when she was two years old. On Kevin's birthday. Which was totally my fault. Dogs and horses don't mix and she wasn't in the same paddock, but ran in among the horses to get to me because she got nervous and wasn't tied up. One of our 600kg two year old fillies lined her up, ran her down and kicked her playfully. Twice. I watched it happen and it was the most terrifying, sickening few minutes of my life. Kevin was on the tractor with his earphones on and even he heard me scream. Tia flew through the air and landed - stiff and not breathing - on her side on the wet ground. It took me two minutes to get her breathing again and several more for her to regain consciousness. Very, very fortunately there were no broken bones and it was 'only a light kick' to the head. We drove her to Dr Sheila Greenwell (friend and vet) in Margaret River and Sheila gave her a long-acting anti-inflammatory injection immediately, which stopped Tia's little brain swelling and killing her. She took several weeks to recover and has ongoing minor challenges like not being able to walk quite straight anymore, and occasional small epileptic seizures as a result, but she's still with us and still enjoying life. A great deal.

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Snow Of The Black Watch (named yes, after Jon Snow's character in Game Of Thrones, for a number of reasons), came to us as a 10 month old. He was rescued by another lovely dog lady (who lives here in WA) from the Blacktown Pound in Sydney, NSW. He was flown over. Our beautiful old long coat German Shepherd, Jamila, was ageing and we had made the decision not to buy from breeders anymore. FYI some of our best friends are animal breeders. We respect and love them, it's just a personal decision. We don't have children and we don't breed horses anymore for similar reasons. We just think there are too many animals - and humans - on the planet. So we choose to adopt rescued animals. (Still not a cheap option in many cases!)

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Anyhow, Snow is a (desexed, microchipped) male black German Shepherd. Not a show dog but the sort they sometimes use for the Police and the Military. He's a bit different. He's bigger (nearly 50kg), has a straighter back, is exceptionally good natured but very protective regardless...and he doesn't bark much at all, except at night and at animals. He almost never barks at people. Which disconcerts some people because he just stands and stares. Which is fine by us! He's a great guard dog and likes to meet everyone before they come in the gate. If he doesn't get to meet them first, he can object to their presence. 

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Rescuing any older dog, particularly bigger ones, can sometimes be a bit of a gamble. Sometimes previous abuse or trauma can cause them to suffer behavioural and/or emotional problems. As far as we know, we have been exceptionally lucky with Snow. He came and went from 5 different homes (so we were informed), before coming to us at 10 months of age. He was taken back to the pound every time and as a result suffered from anxiety. He was underweight and smelly and obviously the plane trip stressed him out as well. We fed him and gave him a bath using the hose and shampoo, outside, on his first day here. It was the bath that did it. His whole demeanour changed. You could see that he realised that he was being cared for. He loved the wash but he loved being dried off even more. You know how they get - head butting the towels and rubbing into you with pleasure. Snow did that. He still does. He loves being groomed and dried. I think he regards it as his little reminder of how much we love him.

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Snow has a forceful personality and he needed a lot of training and exercise. It took him nearly 10 months to completely settle in and trust that every time he got into the car, we weren't taking him to dump him somewhere else again. Unfortunately, because of his breed and nature, he has a high 'chase' drive. If it moves, he wants it. We have a large, escape-proof back yard and we are careful when we let him off lead on walks, but occasionally he'll still get away and set off after a kangaroo or emu, or rabbit or duck, if he sees them. Or Tia (in fun) if she's hooning around. As soon as that animal stops moving, however, Snow stops too. He doesn't really know how to take it further. He has bailed up large roos and then just stood there barking at them until we find him and pull him off. He hasn't killed any, thank goodness. 

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Both Tia and Snow love water and love swimming in our dam. Tia has a proper life-jacket these days because she tends to swim in circles after that kick in the head, but she still loves it. Snow also loves the attention he gets when we have vet/animal science students visiting. Extra walks and cuddles? Yes please! He's a very affectionate dog. Tia is not quite so good with strangers but does her best to be brave. 

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If you like dogs and you've read this far, you'll probably enjoy the photo history as well. Again, both Tia and Snow are nearly 6 years old now. Snow, being larger, may not last as long, but while he's with us we will do our best to care for and love him. Tia as well. And yes, they seem pretty happy living here!

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If you want to read more about the House Hounds, check out my blog posts. Updated regularly.