A long life blessed by the love of dogs

In my experience there is always another beautiful dog waiting to meet with you and deserving of a second chance and a new home.
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Christine, Jamie and Cillar
Over a long life (I am 82 years of age) I have been privileged to share the friendship of 14 beautiful dogs.  Three were in England in earlier years, Sandy, Fox Terrier; Diana, Cocker Spaniel and Sport, Labrador/Retriever.

I have been fortunate to live in Tasmania for 50 years, arriving in February 1972, and my first dog here was Duke, a Labrador puppy. Then followed four Dobermans, two of whom were both called Dane, and Sasha and Rupert. The second Dane was my first dog to be adopted from the Dogs’ Homes of Tasmania. Subsequently, Sport (Labrador puppy) and Lucy (Labrador/ Doberman) were my new companions.

Kally, a Kelpie cross German Shepherd, came from the Dogs’ Homes of Tasmania as a young puppy and was with me for 13 years.  Streak (Weimaraner) and Blink (Doberman) were succeeded more recently by Jennifer the Greyhound; Cilla the Ridgeback and Jamie, my second Greyhound (all three also from the Dogs’ Homes).

Shortly after Kally and Jenny passed away, I noticed a post about a dog named Cilla at the Dogs’ Homes. She was nine when she was surrendered and sadly her right eye had been removed because of a growth which meant she didn’t look very pretty in her adoption photos. I watched the post for a couple of weeks and it appeared no-one was interested in rehoming her.  I went to meet with Cilla and knew that we would be going home together.

Our subsequent meeting with Jamie at the Dogs’ Homes was accidental, but the two since have become the best of friends.  Now that I’m older, I walk Cilla and Jamie individually as my friends were worried that I might not be able to manage two big dogs at once. I walk each dog twice a day, so I’m out on four short walks a day plus plenty of playtime and chill time in the garden.

More recently I was delighted when the Dogs’ Homes got in touch with me earlier in the year to ask if Jamie could be their ambassador for their Winter Appeal.  Both Jamie and Cilla were involved in the promotion, and the Home reportedly raised more than $70,000, which was just fantastic.

It will be seen that I owe a huge debt of gratitude to the Dogs’ Homes of Tasmania, and indeed to all of my canine friends.  Dogs are a major part of my life and I am fortunate in having been able to establish a new friendship with so many dogs, despite the devastation experienced at the loss of each individual one.

In my experience there is always another beautiful dog waiting to meet with you and deserving of a second chance and a new home.

Chris , TAS

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