So today I feel drawn to write about one of my greatest passions which is my animals and to be fair, animals in general.
I began my appreciation journey of animals way back as a child living in Rome. We had a tabby cat called Eulalio whom I talked to about my problems and my hopes. I was an only child growing up in a dysfunctional one parent home - even though I do acknowledge my other "parent" stepping in in my grandmother Lucia. My mother was highly preoccupied with her career, providing for us, and consequentially I became not only a rather lonely child but quite off the rails too in certain areas because of many things that happened to me which are well depicted in my autobiography Seventy Thousand Camels - A Motivational Survivor's Memoir.
Eulalio was my go to for true companionship, and throughout my life there have been a steady line of cats who followed him up until the day my eldest daughter brought a Pomeranian cross Japanese Spitz to our new home in Springton South Australia where she lived for approximately three months. Once she moved taking Gogo with her, I experienced an enormous void I couldn't fill with just my long term cat Mango. Gogo had so much personality; she was very outgoing and even a little naughty but - completely and utterly lovable. Enter my youngest daughter Kristen who is the quintessential people pleaser and hearing my lament about missing Gogo sent me a photo of a beautiful little Pomeranian in Salisbury adding she'd even loan me the $750 cost. As urban legend has it, Conan chose us and not the other way around. Although we had his picture upon arrival we were met by a whole crate filled with adorable fluff balls but it was Conan (whose name was chosen by Adam long before we’d even known we'd buy a dog) who came up to us first and, it was love at first sight. We were dog owners with me for the very first time!
I instantaneously became a "dog person" and have been since that wonderful day in 2014. I still own a rescue cat called Caesar who we adopted in 2016, a year or so before our beautiful Mango passed away aged 14 but I am now definitively a bonafide dog person and the relationship I have with dogs include every one else's dogs too. I used to be a people watcher once upon a time but these days whenever I am out, I notice only people's dogs.
Seven years ago when my daughter Kristen decided to spend two working years in the UK, I inherited her one and a half year old Yorkshire Terrier Frodo. When Kristen returned to Australia there was no talk about getting Frodo back because after two long years the writing was well and truly on the wall regarding who’s dog Frodo had now become.
Baby Conan
Baby Frodo
Conan, Gogo, and Frodo circa 2019
With our babies whilst on holiday in Bruny Island, Tasmania
Conan is now 11 years old, and Frodo 8. They are the best of brothers and Frodo in particular, cannot be separated from Conan more than a few minutes before fussing all over his older brother upon reunification.
