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| Perdie, her first day |
We have family members in the military and, for that reason, Remembrance Sunday* has always played an important part in our lives and that of our children. Since 2013, however, Remembrance Sunday has played an even more pivotal role in our lives.
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| Being a baby is tiring work! |
That morning Mr EE and I had been chatting in bed as we put off getting dressed for the lengthy outdoors ceremony in the biting cold of Astana and I had noticed an email calling for a forever family for a little black pup rescued at the university campus. I made the fatal mistake of opening the attachment and saw the most adorable baby looking back at me. She was about 2 months old and looked the spitting image of our dog Bessie.
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| Making friends |
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| Getting to know us |
Bessie had been very unwell and we were worried she would not last another winter (she is, thank goodness alive and happy here in Malaysia). 'What a shame', I said, that we can not take on this little dog. 'Why not' retorted Mr EE, 'she would give Bessie reason to live again'. I proceeded to outline the 1001 reasons we should not get a pup. I was working, we were going on a long holiday in a few weeks, we were expecting to move the following June and would have to pay for two dogs. Mr EE (and the children) waved away every single one of those excuses.
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| Settling in to a night of movie watching |
Mr EE was obviously determined to have that pup because at the Remembrance Sunday reception he showed to pictures to one of my very close friends, the owner of
Scruffy Nellie, (who was due to sit Bessie while we were going to be away). She immediately joined in, convincing me that there were no real obstacles, she would take care of the pup along with Bessie for Christmas (a true friend indeed), our housekeeper would be there in the day to look after her while I was at work. The consensus was that we owed it to Bessie to get the pup.
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| What is this wet stuff? |
Two days later Bessie and I went to meet 'Little Bear' who was living with her foster family. Bessie was a little cranky but within a few minutes had taken to the puppy. Quarter of an hour later and Little Bear had joined us in the car and we high tailed it to the pet shop to buy the necessaries.
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| What do I do with this? |
She made herself at home almost immediately, learning her new name (Perdita), snuggling up on Mr EE's lap, licking the children and playing beautifully with Bessie and it went well from there. House training, in an apartment with a slow lift, in the middle of a Central Asian winter was not fun but we (just about) managed it. Bessie got a new lease of life with a puppy to teach.
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| Water is fun! |
Since then every day with Perdie has been a joy. Although marked on her passport as a generic 'local breed' the vet thought she was at least part Tazi, a Kazakh breed not dissimilar to Salukis and Afghan hounds though a little smaller. She is certainly dim enough as I have never yet had a dog so hard to train! She was obviously designed for the Kazakh weather as she surprised us by needing no coat, even on the coldest of days, and managing the ice without recourse to booties. Her fur is more like hair and seems to be a single (very thick) coat. It is almost waterproof as water beads off it and it takes a long time to soak her in the shower and she dries almost immediately when she swims. She can also run faster than any other dog we have ever had (including my father's lurcher).
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| Sofas are fun too! |
Perdie coped with the move to Borneo with no problems, taking her to see the sea for the first time in her life was one of the most pleasurable experiences of mine. Watching her puzzled face change to a look of absolute joy as Bessie showed her how to play in the water made our day. Seeing her run for kilometres along the beach with no need to stop was fabulous.
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| Best pals! |
We have no beaches here in Ipoh but we do have a lake outside our house where she can swim (and chase fish) to her heart's content. She needs more exercise than that though and when she cannot join Mr EE on his evening run she gets frustrated and naughty. When she gets her run she spends the rest of her day alternating between snuggling up at our feet, content to have her ears scratched or chasing the cat up and down the stairs.
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| Going for a run - at least 5k a day! |
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| And a swim |
So this Sunday was the anniversary of the first time we ever heard of Perdita and Thursday is her official 'Finding Day'. Over the last two years she has grown up from a cute pup to a beautiful girl. Expats must be crazy to own pets, the cost, the stress and the hassle of the
import/export process is a nightmare but we are happy to be crazy. Our little lost one, who gives us more pleasure than we can ever repay, has a forever home with us, from Kazakhstan to Malaysia and who knows where else. Happy finding day our darling girl.
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| But snuggles with mummy are still the best! |
*Remembrance Sunday is the Sunday closest to 11 November when Britain and many commonwealth countries commemorate those who died in defence of the nation, 11 November is the actual day of remembrance as the Armistice to WWI was signed at 11 on 11 November (11th month) 1918.
Click on the picture for more posts on expat pets
Perdita is so lucky to have found you (and you her). Dogs give us so much for so little in return, I can't imagine not having a dog in our house. I think Mr EE was right Perdita did give Bessie a reason to keep going. I swear our older dog is kept young by the younger ones.
ReplyDeleteHappy Finding Day Perdita!
xx
Thanks Debbie, it is true a dog makes a home and Perdie is such a special little girl.
DeleteAwww lovely story and well done bessie for taking her under her wing (paw) Thanks for sharing, Lest we forget #AnimalTales
ReplyDeleteThanks - we were not surprised to be honest as Bessie has never been possessive and has always welcomed other dogs into our home and onto our laps. We will be forever grateful to Perdie for the new lease of life she gave to Bess.
DeleteWhat a lovely story and they make a great pair, It looks like they are loving each others compnay. Just as well you opened that email! #AnimalTales
ReplyDeleteYes I think life would have been very different had we not! She was obviously meant to be with us.
Deletewhat a gorgeous dog and so lucky to have found you all, yes the cost of moving around with pets is astronomical but so worth it and so much part of the family
ReplyDeleteThank you - I know I am biased but I think she is one of the prettiest dogs I have ever met. She is also, quite possibly, the stupidest but we forgive her.
Deletehow could anyone not forgive her?
DeleteOh she is just beautiful and what a lovely story. We also got a puppy to give our elderly dog a new lease of life and it worked perfectly. Our lurcher just wasn't cut out to be an only dog. I hope you have many more happy years with both of your beautiful dogs.x
ReplyDeleteI think some dogs do just crave company. When we were in the UK Bessie saw other dogs (particularly other family dogs) every day. I think she missed that a lot in Astana, we met up with other dogs from time to time but nowhere near enough. So pleased that companions worked for your Lurcher, they are such wonderful dogs.
DeleteI am starting to feel stupid about the fact that we deliberately didn't get a pet bigger than a goldfish because we knew we were moving abroad within a few years. Quarantine, I thought. No. I thought. And then, having moved, I discovered that the world has moved on from that and I could have had my cat after all. Well done you. Your dogs both look like fabulous fun.
ReplyDeleteQuarantine is plain nasty though. Our dogs had to go through a few months on the move from KZ to Borneo and it broke our hearts. My parents refused all postings back to the UK when we had dogs, asking to use the Netherlands as a home base instead because of the quarantine rules that were then in place. The sad thing is that with a vaccine the quarantine is completely unnecessary.
DeletePerdita is absolutely gorgeous and I am so glad your family ignored your protestations and she came into your lives. She has obviously also given Bessie a great friend. Such a lovely stpry for #AnimalTales, thank you.
ReplyDeleteThanks! We do get frustrated at how monumentally idiotic she is, she is the first stupid dog Mr EE or I have ever owned and it takes a lot to train her to do anything. We would not swap her for the world though, we love her to bits.
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