Meet Finley and Frankie.
These little pups have made Mike and I's world a whole lot more colourful.
I don't really believe in having "a type." I always thought my type was tall, brunette and brown eyes and yet I found Mike, who is tall-ish, blonde and has blue eyes. I do, however, believe in having a list of "must-have characteristics". Among other things on my list is a love for dogs. That's why on Mike and I's first date, I asked the important question, "Cats or dogs?" Thank goodness the man answered correctly or else we wouldn't be here today.
Mike and I had been desperate for dogs since we moved in together at the start of 2019. However, we originally stayed in a relatively small flat. Despite our desperation, we agreed that it just wouldn't be fair to have a dog in the flat. I may still have been a student but there would be long periods where the dog would have to be alone in such a small space and we just couldn't do that to a dog. We knew that we would be moving into a bigger place at the start of 2020, as I would start working, so we just had to be patient- something that does not come naturally to either of us. We realised that we would need to be a lot more specific in our townhouse search. We would not be able to compromise on a big garden and the townhouse would have to be pet friendly. There were many nights where Mike and I would sit on our couch in the flat and try and find loopholes to our logic as to why we did not have a dog yet. Thankfully, logic prevailed and we always came to the conclusion that it wasn't about us, but about what would be in the dogs best interest. We knew that we wanted to adopt rather than shop. There are so many animals in need of loving homes and we knew that we would be able to provide such a home. We also wanted to support a no-killing shelter. We understand that there are many valid viewpoints in the ethical debate revolving around killing shelters. We also, however, understand that running a no-kill shelter requires a lot more resources and we wanted to support those entities that put even more strain on themselves by promising to forever provide for and love the animals in their care. The alarming number of stray animals and animal rights, in general, is something that Mike and I feel very strongly about and this was our chance be part of the solution, even if it is in a very small way. By June 2019 I had a serious case of puppy fever and signed up for every shelter's Facebook page in Pretoria and that's how I stumbled upon Wollies, a shelter in Pretoria North.
Our townhouse search was very much limited by our requirements and there were a couple of weeks where we were nervous about whether we would ever find a suitable place for us. Thankfully, the very first townhouse that we viewed was perfect. We did the thing that absolutely everyone warns you against and applied for the first place that we looked at. On 14 October 2019 (on Mike and I's three year anniversary) whilst at SunCity we got the amazing news that our application was successful. We now had the perfect little place for dogs, we just needed the dogs. For months I had scrolled through animal shelters' Facebook pages, looking at all the dogs that were up for adoption. This wasn't always the best idea as I often fell in love with a dog which would get adopted by someone else. Our original plan was to get one dog, for Mike, and then once we had worked out some kinks, we would get a second dog. I have always been a Scotty enthusiast, but I knew that the chances of me finding one up for adoption would be slim and therefore I was happy to wait awhile. A litter of Scotty-cross puppies had caught my eye though and every now and then I would check in to see what the litter's status was. Wollies advertised a puppy day in November 2019. We knew that it was still a bit early to be looking for dogs, but it was in the middle of my final exams and I needed some distraction. What's a better distraction than playing with some puppies?
We walked into the puppy day and there was Finley- one of the Scotty-cross puppies that I had been keeping track of and I immediately fell in love. We were supposed to be looking for a puppy for Mike, but before I knew it I was filling in an application form. Whilst I was running after Finley, a small little brown doggy immediately came up to Mike and climbed on his lap. This was Frankie. We had a fantastic day playing with puppies and by the end of it we had both filled in application forms- me for Finley and Mike for Frankie. We were over the moon! The process henceforth was really simple and easy- once we moved in, Wollies came to inspect the house (just to make sure that you have the means to properly take care of the dogs); we paid the R700 for each dog which covered their sterilisation and being chipped and then it was time to go fetch them. The month between meeting them and getting them felt like an eternity and even though we hadn't properly met them on the puppy day, we missed them tremendously. I decided to surprise Mike and go fetch them a bit earlier than he expected. My best friend, Megan Grobler, got into my tiny little Suzuki Alto and drove kilometres upon kilometres with me during a massive storm to go get Finley and Frankie. Poor Megan had to sit with two puppies on her lap, including one puppy with a very nervous bladder, all the way home. Did I mention that Megan is technically allergic to dogs? Now, that's true friendship. When Mike arrived home, there were our two adorable puppies and so our little family of two became a little family of four.
Finley is the baby of the house, mostly because when you look at him, your heart melts! He has a particularly special place in our hearts as he probably would've gone to doggy heaven had we not shown up. He wasn't in the greatest foster family- he was on a plot, with 35 other dogs. He didn't get enough food or attention. He was being bullied and was getting depressed. He was nothing but skin and bones when we first got him, full of ticks and fleas. His transformation has been spectacular. He is now the happiest of puppies, who loves his brother, Frankie, and plays all day long. Finley is a Scotty crossed with a Husky (yes, you read that right and no, I have no idea how that works). Mike has named the breed Scusky. He has the weirdest fur making it seem like he fell into paint with his odd patches of white, giving him the appearance of being a much older dog than he really is. He has the most beautiful eyes- a mixture of shades of brown with one blue stripe. His favourite toys always appear to be orange- he has a favourite pumpkin, giraffe and shoe and these toys need to be carefully put away by him in big holes that he has dug in our garden- to our dismay. No matter how many times we fill these holes up, they will always be dug out again. The little rascal can actually jump onto the bed and couch but hates doing it himself, so he will "awoo" at you until you pick him up. Speaking of "awoo", when he is bored he will have fat chats with you, letting out cute little howls. If we can't find him, we know that he is probably sound asleep in some sort of corner of the house under a curtain. He eats absolutely everything! He has eaten one of Mike's flip flops, a blanket and seems to have an acquired taste for grass termites. He loves licking ears. If he gets any kind of opportunity to do so, he will. He has the habit of copying his "big" brother, even though Finley is technically a month older. Frankie has always eaten lying down and after a couple of weeks, Finley also started eating exactly like his brother. He is impossible to teach tricks to- he just has too much of Scotty in him. He is a tiny bit cat-like in that he can sit for hours licking his paws and adores milk. He may be small, but he is ferocious. He often beats his brother, who is twice his size, when wrestling. When they play the most vicious sounds come out of his little body, whilst Frankie seems to be constrained to whimpering noises. Fin is completely dependant on his brother and goes crazy when Frankie is not with him. He is the cutest little furball, that always looks dapper with his bowtie and has completely stolen our hearts.
Frankie is more like the gangly teenager of the house who is not used to his long legs yet. He is a proper pavement special and has a whole mix of breeds in him: Doberman, Rottweiler, Jack Russel; Beagle etc. He has the softest, most beautiful fur. He is a lovable goofball that will do absolutely anything for us. He and Mike have a very special bond and Frankie will not survive long without him. Frankie follows him everywhere and if I wake up before Mike, Frankie lies in front of our bedroom door wining until Mike wakes up. He does not trust easily and does not do well with strangers. He is highly intelligent and Mike has taught him to stay, sit, lie down, give paw, give a hug and speak. He sounds exactly like a Wookie when he speaks. He has become a real cheeky monkey and now speaks whenever he doesn't get his way. He constantly seeks attention and sleeps best when he is nuzzled into you, which isn't exactly comfortable as he is a good 20 kgs. The more squished Frankie is when he sleeps, the sounders he sleeps. I have never seen a dog that dreams so often or who has to change his position so often, generally kicking you in the stomach, to get comfortable. He loves just sitting alone and staring out of the guest bedroom window, watching the world go by. He is a great guard dog, with amazing hearing. Mike once clambered up our steps and Frankie didn't recognise him, Frankie immediately jumped in front of me, ready to protect me against this unknown danger. Despite his capability of being very protective of us, he is actually a real softy. There is no greater feeling than have him nuzzle into you for a good, long cuddle.
Getting puppies is definitely a test for any relationship. It's a good way of seeing how you and your partner might handle kids one day. Mike and I have learnt a lot about each other during this process. Mike is much better than disciplining our dogs than I am. Every time I want to reprimand the dogs, they give me their puppy dog eyes and I'm wrapped around their fingers and believe me they know this. If Mike wants to put them to bed, they immediately run to me so that I might let them stay on the bed for a couple more minutes. It works every time. It has taught us to compromise. I wanted one spot, such as the bed, where I could cuddle with the dogs and Mike wanted no such space, so we compromised and now we have two cuddle spots- the bed and the couch. It has taught us to keep each other in check and take each other's views into consideration. We have learnt how to problem-solve together like how to handle a situation where Finley eats all of Frankie's food or how to stop them from digging holes. We have had to learn not to just assume that we are both on the same page but talk about small things like should the dogs sit before getting their food. They have also definitely gotten our priorities in order. They chewed up one of the legs of my antique tables, which was not pleasant, but I also realised that I would give up all the legs of my antique tables to play with them in the sun or cuddle with them on the bed. It is safe to say that these two dogs have changed our lives and us theirs. We are so grateful that we got two dogs instead of one, as originally planned, as they keep each other so busy and have become the best of friends. We are now those typical fur-parents: we think everything our dogs do is the best things since butter on toast; we do speak to them regularly (although Mike will probably deny this); we have more photos of them than we do of anything else and we cannot stop talking about them. We sit in extremely uncomfortable positions for hours when our dogs are sleeping on our laps, not stirring for in case we should inconvenience them. Mike has even gotten into the habit of showing his new clients photos of our two dogs and no the client did not ask for it. Thankfully, with the amount of online meetings which have ended with a bunch of attorneys showing each other their dogs, I know that we are not alone. One of the attorneys at work has even admitted to having to stay awake so that her dog can finish watching puppy shows on Youtube before he sleeps because he cries during the ads. We all do crazy things for our fur-babies, that we never thought we would because to them, we are their whole worlds. Mike and I are grateful every single day for our two little pups and would suggest adopting to anyone.
So, this is us- a very happy, little family.
