Tiny: a dog’s story and what happened next.
It was Sunday the 7th of May when a knock at the door and woke me, the whole gang of us went to the door, Siobhan, the kids and me. When Siobhan opened the door there was two people standing in the drive, I of course shied away, then within a millisecond I recognised it was Byron & Adrienne. It was a real light bulb moment, Yippee!!! There here, there here! I bounded towards them, jumped all over them, I took off, running around the garden like a looney, I couldn’t help it, I was so happy.
I was hoping they would stay for a good while and maybe I would get taken for a walk? I really needed a nice long walk, oh, that would be brill’. I would sleep happy if that happened.
Well I did get my walk, Byron took me for a long walk whilst Adrienne stayed and chatted with Siohban. When we got back I was mentally and emotionally prepared to say goodbye again, so imagine my surprise when they opened the back door of the car and told me “get in then”!!! was this really happening?? am I really going home with them? I was so scared to get my hopes up, but it was true!! All my prayers were being answered.
I really could not believe it, it was really happening. So we said our goodbyes, I could see Siohban and the kids were very upset, Siohban had tears in her eyes, she gave me a big cuddle and promised to come and visit.
We took off in the car and Adrienne opened the windows a little, I could feel the breeze on my face, flowing up my nostrils and it felt fantastic. This was one car journey I enjoyed beyond words.
When we arrived at my old home again I was ecstatic, I was going to be with my old pals and run around and play mad dogs.
Baron & Duke were happy to see me too and we took up where we left off, I was even allowed to fall asleep on Baron’s sheepskin rug that afternoon!!! Amazing or what?
Byron took all of us for walks as usual and we often played in the garden, it was great fun. Adrienne brought home a packet of tennis balls for us to play with, however, I think Duke got a bit jealous of my ball skills (the way I could throw the ball into the air and catch it again), Duke decided he could fit 2 balls in his mouth at the same time!!!! Needles to say he nearly choked himself and spat them out, he did not try that one again in a hurry.
Another time when Adrienne was out cleaning the car I decided to explore the house, I went into Byron & Adrienne’s bedroom where I found a handbag on the floor, I rummaged through it and found a few interesting things. One of them was polo mint (too hot for my taste buds) and a bottle with a spray top, I jumped on the top and stuff came out of it. I thought it was great fun and just kept jumping on it, each time I did it sprayed at me. Each time I tried to catch the spray, it stopped. I did this jumping about until nothing more came out of the bottle so I got fed-up and returned to the back garden.
Back in the garden I started to torment Baron & Duke and they kept moving away from me, even Baron was not up for my antics.
Adrienne arrived in and went straight to her bedroom, where she discovered what I had been up to! She called me over and sniffed my fur, she just broke out laughing!!! Instead of being mad, she just stood there and laughed, I did NOT understand what was so funny?
I discovered eventually that I had been playing with her bottle of ‘Perfume’. No wonder Baron & Duke kept moving away from me and for the next few days all of the dogs in the neighbourhood gave me a wide berth. After all, who wants to hang around with a Rottweiler smelling like a Poodle!
Now, on a more serious note, I have to point out that I did know that Byron & Adrienne could not keep me. I know they were given the task of finding me a home and I was in no doubt that they would find me a wonderful, secure, loving home and a special owner.
So to achieve this mammoth task Byron put a picture of me and my CV on the fence outside the house in the hope that someone passing would be interested. Well it was only up one day when a man called to the house and enquired about me (he was obviously very impressed with my picture and credentials what can I say).
His name was Seamus and he was making enquiries on behalf of his niece, I was in bed and did not get to meet him but Adrienne filled him in on my story. He went off with a copy of my biography to take away with him and to pass it on to his niece.
The following night we got a knock at the door, it was about 8 o/c and it was a young lady, Seamus’s niece, she had call around to meet me. At first I was the usual big baby, hiding behind Adrienne’s legs, but I could feel that the niece was nothing to be frightened of. I could sense straight away that she was gentle and kind and I started to relax a lot quicker than I normally do! I approached her and I felt this natural little spark between us.
She had a warmth about her and a softness and I began to wonder, will you be the one? Will you be my new mummy? The young ladies name was Julieanne and she became a regular visitor to the house. She walked me everyday and we got to know each other very well. I think she was mighty impressed with my lead behaviour and my obedience skills. We walked for a long time so I had no trouble sleeping each evening. I was always sad to see her go but hoped I would see her again, soon.
It was when we were out on one of our long walks that I started to wonder what Julianne thought about me having no tail, and if she thought it was a bit strange looking. These thoughts brought back a memory I had as a little tiny pup of about three weeks old.
I remember when I still lived in the ‘Junk Yard’ asking my Dad how I lost my tail? So Dad explained what happened; he said that some special dogs lose their tails when they are very young because they have special powers. These powers help other dogs that are not having a good time somewhere else. So their tails help spread the power to them. I asked my Dad what are the ‘Special Powers’?
Well, he said,
*You can make everyone happy
*You are everyone’s favourite
*Everyone plays with you
*And everyone loves you
My little eyes widened as he continued the story. He said that we get our tails back when we go to heaven but he said, that only the well behaved and gentle dog get them back.
I asked him, what if I don’t go to heaven?
And he famously replied,
“All dogs go to heaven”
So I have promised myself that I am going to be the bestest dog ever so I can get my tail back.
But, you know, sometimes I wish I had my tail now. I would be willing to forego all those powers for just one chance to show Julieanne how happy she makes me.
For one chance for her to see my tail wag till it nearly drops off all by itself. However, that’s not to be. I just hope she can see how wonderful she makes me feel by just looking at me.
Coming back to the present, the next day I not only met up with Julieanne but Uncle Seamus and Orla, his dog. Now, when I say I a bit scared, you can multiply that by a zillion!!!! Uncle Seamus was a giant and Orla, his dog, just happened to be an Irish Wolf Hound! I thought, “your having a laugh lads”.
However, after a while (quite a long time may I say), I eventually started to relax, Uncle Seamus even knelt down and handed me a treat to try to get me to relax and communicate with him.
We ended up going for a long walk together, Adrienne, Julieann, Seamus and Orla. Orla is a true blonde, a little older than me and b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l! I did the ‘puppy behaviour’ on her but her being a girl, she was having none of it!!!! with one growl she put me in my place. Now, even I know you don’t mess with a female that with one lift of her legs, she could step over you without even knowing you were there! but I think we are going to be good friends and I think me a Uncle Seamus will be good friends too.
On one of Julieanne and Seamus’s visits with Orla, Adrienne arrived home and to her amazement she was confronted by a sea of dogs, there was Me, Baron, Duke, Patch and Orla, all running around each other and going mad. We were having a fantastic time and got on really well together. Adrienne was so impressed with my behaviour and bonding skills, as were Julieanne and Sheamus.
One evening Byron & Adrienne were out for the evening and Julieanne came around to take me for a walk, afterwards she put me in my kennels and closed the gate, she was going home for the night, I was supposed to go to bed for the night! I on the other hand, had other ideas ! ! as Julianne walked away from the gate I ran at the gate and with one big leap, I jumped it, I had become an escape artist ! !
Now this could have been a deal breaker with Julianne as she lives near a busy road, she obviously did not need the worry of me being run over as my ‘Hudini’ skills developed over time. But I think she realised; I just didn’t want her to go home without me. It was only a piddley little gate, anyway, Orla could even have stepped over it !
The time came, finally, for Julianne to bring me to her home for good. It was a Saturday and Adrienne went into to work late so she could spend a bit of time with me before I went off to my new ‘permanent’ home. We played for a long time before it was time for her to go to work, I know she was sad but genuinely happy for me, she knew I was going to a fab’ place and that my hectic life was just about to really begin.
When I got to my new home with Julianne I turned scardy cat again, I was introduced to her Dad and Brother, they were very nice to me, gentle and kind.
If they were anything like Julianne then it would only be a matter of time before I relaxed and trusted them.
It wasn’t long before I was introduced to Julianne’s other dog, Storm. He is at this stage, shall we say, a little bit elderly but very friendly. We hit it off right away and I knew I was going to like Storm from that moment on. It was then that I was shown to my sleeping quarters WOW!!!! It was this brand new dog house !!!! it was beautiful, humans could live in it. The house was for me and Storm and had a new ‘Futon’ bed on the floor for me to sleep on, with a large puffy mattress so we would not get cold in the winter!!!! What do you think of that then, posh or what!!!
That was it! That clinched the deal there and then, this was going to be home, no doubt about it.
I settled in within a couple of days and started to feel much more secure. Every time Julianne came home she would walk me and sometimes Storm would come along with us. Storm did not always come on our walks as he could not go long distances because of his age, he did however love playing football!!!! When I ran after the ball, he was right on my heels trying to get it too…… see there is life in the old boy yet, as they say.
He also started to show me the ropes, ie the routine that was expected of us plus his technique for getting treats from all of the family, this I practised quite a lot, it worked perfect for Storm so it was only a matter of time for me to perfect, after all it is part of my job, it’s a doggie law!!!!
I in turn tried to teach Storm how to open the backdoor of the house, I demonstrated this a few times much to the amusement of Julianne and family. However, Storm wasn’t interested in the antics of this young pup, he had his routines and was very happy without trying something new at his age, so I suppose it is correct to say “you can’t teach an old dogs new tricks”, awe well, never mind, I think he’s cool just the way he is.
Another thing I must tell you about is the new neighbours: I met them on the second day and my eyes nearly jumped out of my head, besides beautiful Orla living there, there were three other female dogs, yes my friends “doggy heaven”…….
So to finalise my story, I just have to tell you that my new mummy is amazing, my new family and new friends are fantastic too.
We still see Byron, Adrienne and the lads when we are out walking and I get so excited to see them. But, you know what, I look up at Julianne and realise what an unbreakable bond we have developed. It’s like we were searching for each other since I was born……. It has been a rocky road for me at times but I knew in heart that I was meant to be somewhere special, with someone special, it just took a few of life’s experiences to get me there, to reach my final destination and find happiness ‘beyond my wildest dreams’.
Thanks to everyone involved in my story and I love you all.
Kindest regards from a very very happy puppy who really is living ‘happy ever after’.
Tiny