Puppies Time!

All my life, I lived around animals from goats and horses to rabbits and dogs. I use to put goats and lambs on my lap and pet them just like a dog when I was a kid. My first ever dog was Rex. He was a tiny Chihuahua did fit in your pocket. One day I remember that I had spent months in the hospital my aunt came to visit me as soon as she opened her handbag Rex’s head popped out. He jumped on the bed and licked my face, and when he heard a nurse coming, he hid under the blanket, and he didn’t come out till the nurse left the room. It’s something that stayed in my memory even if I was only five.

I never saw a dog, so in tune with his family as much as Rex was. Sadly a few years later, someone stole Rex from us, and I lost a loyal friend. Don’t get me wrong we looked for him everywhere, including asking people on the radio and tv but we never found him. At the age of 11, my mum brought home this puppy that looked like a teddy bear, but for some reason, her owner didn’t want her even if she was only six weeks old. So, my mum stepped in and brought her home. The day I met her is still one of the best days of my life.

We named her Yoka in honor of a family friend’s dog that just passed. She escaped a few times but thanked god we always found her nearly unhurt till she was old enough to get her microchipped and somehow, she learned not to run away. Fast-forward a few years my blood pressure dangerously low and I fainted without having time to call my mum luckily Yoka sensed it and went pulling on my mum’s leg and started barking to let her know that something is wrong which in a way saved my life. Yoka is now 13 years old and lives with my dad.

When I finished my A-levels, my mum, sister and I moved to Malta for a few reasons but mainly for me to find a job. However, my then-boyfriend decided to stay in America and not come to Malta to see me. I got pretty depressed, so mum took us to a dog shelter to see if we could volunteer there. Little did we know that we’ll end up getting another dog and me finding my first job at the shelter charity shop. When the workers there started to tell us a little bit about each dog, Abby’s story got to us.

She was ten years old they people who had her kept her on a roof and would just feed her. Before her new home, the cannel. She was getting overlooked by potential adopters because she was ten years old and moving a little slowly. By the end of the visit, our mind was made up, Abby would come home with us. She chose my sister as her person, and anywhere my sister so did Abby. We had put Abby to sleep last year since at the age of 16 she got cancer.

Now we just got two new puppies and it wasn’t planned, especially two. When my sister saw a post on Facebook of 15 puppies, need homes, she went to look at them and my sister and her boyfriend picked up a puppy and named her Abby yet again. This made me very upset because my anxiety has gotten worse, and the only thing that helps me cope was having a dog. So, my mum surprised me with a puppy which I named Snow. (Abby and Snow are brother and sister.)

Alex