A tale of two tiggers

The life changing magic of dogs

Jan 13, 2024

Good morning from the subcontinent - having just experiencing the most hair raising road/off-road/near road/indefinable as a road experience of my life as we searched for elephants, buffalo and bear (only finding a very angry buffalo…), I come back to what is possible my favourite creature of them all (well, apart from elephants), and something much closer to home.

Happy Saturday folks ❤️

Here’s one I prepared earlier…

The wonderful thing about tiggers…

When I began dog boarding last year, I think I had forgotten just how life changing having a dog can be.

We have had many wonderful dogs through our doors in the last 6 months, it has been a joy, and now that we have our settled ‘regulars’, they really have become part of our family. None, perhaps, more so…than Tigger.

Oh and Tigger.

Let me introduce them one at a time…

Tigger is a lurcher, and lurchers have a very, very special place in my heart. My beloved family dog when I was growing up was a lurcher, and like Tigger and many others of that breed, she was a rescue dog. She was, in fact, found by my a friend of my sister’s, drowning in the River Thames. Utterly heartbreaking.

We took her in for just one night, this scared, bedraggled, disorientated girl; and she was with us for 17 years. It kinda goes like that.

When we first met Tigger, his owner had had him for just 2 weeks, and we didn’t know much about his past. There are indications that he has perhaps not been used to having outside space, or much socialisation with other animals, yet whatever he has experienced, his gentle and loving nature has been abundantly clear from the outset, and well, he sure is bouncy, trouncy, flouncy, pouncy, fun, fun, fun, fun, fun!!

He was joyfully living out the lyrics of his namesake as he explored the house with his extraordinarily springy feet (he can literally lift all four limbs off the floor simultaneously), before skidding up to me, paws on my shoulders (he’s taller than me) and as good as singing straight in my face that the most wonderful thing about him was…

'…………..I’M THE ONLY ONE…………’

But then…another Tigger arrived. [sound of record needle scratching across vinyl].

What the blazes?

And then there were two

Tigger 2 shall be called so for ease of distinction, NOT in any way because Tigger 2 is secondary. Oh no. Tigger 2 is not subordinate in any way.

Tigger 2’s owner described him in her initial contact as a dog whose care consisted of lots of cuddles, and who was very lazy. A dog that likes to lie around and watch TV. I liked him already.

When he arrived, he was indeed a walking cushion, and a little bit of a tart. A long-haired blonde miniature dachshund, with a brilliant air of confidence, who strutted in and rolled over for a belly rub before finding a premium spots on the sofa for a snooze. Bouncy Tigger was also here that day, and champing at the bit to play with his new friend. Tigger 2’s owner deftly hid her alarm at the size of Bouncy Tigger and left her baby in our care.

The two of them were just brilliant.

Although they couldn’t be more different in size and breed, they both have the same beautiful temperament. They also both really love a warm sofa and a solid kip - what more could you ask for.

They love to leap in your laps

One of the things I love most about the Tiggers, is their unbounded cuddliness, their gorgeous friendly nature, and their love of being on a lap. Tigger 2 is my best writing buddy. He sits on me like a live, fluffy hot water bottle that never needs topping up. Although he does have a habit of resting his chin on my mouse pad - I think he actually wants to write his own chapter.

Bouncy Tigger also loves some lap time, and it’s like he’s not even there. I can barely notice his presence.

I think Bouncy Tigger has the opposite of small dog syndrome. He thinks he’s tiny. He has the most enormous bed that fills up half of my front room, but no, he prefers to be in Tigger 2’s bed whilst Tigger 2 helps me in a meeting.

But the most wonderful things about the Tiggers? It is 100% whole family love. Some dogs gravitate towards some family members more than others. Some don’t like males, (although Himself is the most gentle dog loving person). Some just want to be with me the whole time and no-one else. The Tiggers love ALL of us, and we love all of them. Every bit of them. Fiver is slightly obsessed - I think Bouncy Tigger’s owner might fear that he won’t get Tig back at the end of the day, and she loves brushing Tigger 2 so much - I sense it’s a very mutually pleasing arrangement. Even Taz stops in her tracks when the Tiggers are home.

Like doggie like parent…?

Dogs and their owners are a study in themselves. It’s like observing parenting (with no judgement I hasten to add!!). Calm dogs have calm owners, anxious dogs have anxious owners, cheeky dogs have cheeky owners, pain in the arse dogs have…well…you get the picture. Our beloved spaniel Fizz who died 2 years ago was loving, messy, friendly, chaotic, slightly smelly, snuggly, happy and loved nothing more than to jump in a freezing body of water and come back and curl up with a blanket. Read into that what you will (although I do not smell).

Both the Tiggers ‘parents’ are just wonderful. Bouncy Tigger’s doggy dad just exudes love for his rescued boy, it’s absolutely beautiful to see their devotion to each other. It really is a privilege to be able to provide a safe space for a rescue dog, and for their parent to know they are safe and loved. Bouncy Tigger is also a blood donor for doggies - I did not know such a thing even existed - just when I thought I couldn’t love him more. His owner even bought Fiver some chocolates for her birthday - he’s definitely a keeper!

Tigger 2’s mum is almost indescribably brilliant. Her work takes her to all manner of places, and she returns with biscuits for the girls from the V&A, champagne for me from Fortnum & Mason. One day she dropped Tigger 2 because she was going to see Madonna in concert at the O2. ‘Wow'!’ I exclaimed, ‘how did you even manage to get tickets?’. ‘Oh I don’t have a ticket darling’, she explained, ‘but I’m sure Andrew will sort me out’.

Andrew? Andrew Lloyd Webber? Prince Andrew? Nothing would surprise me. Sure enough she went to the gig - I’ve no idea how. Just fabulous.

She is so generous, sweet and kind, and once we’d got to know each other a little she told me how nervous she had been that first day she’d dropped Tigger 2 off, seeing Bouncy Tigger in the background. She explained that Tigger 2 had lost his lifelong doggie buddy, Mr T, the year before, just a week after her own husband died. My heart cracked more than a little. In the space of a week their unit of four became a unit of two, and Tigger 2 had not been around any other dogs since. He hadn’t wanted to socialise or separate from her, but now he had found some joy, in our home.

Again - just when I thought I couldn’t love him (or her) more.

Tiggers are wonderful things

Walking Bouncy Tigger is like walking a deer. He’s skittish, hypervigilant, reacts to a puff of wind and wants to bolt at any given opportunity. He also has a particular reaction when he sees a squirrel….

I must say I’ve never seen a deer do this. I wonder what he’d be like on ice. #bambi

Tigger 2 is clearly having an existential crisis regarding identifying as a cat. He doesn’t really want to go anywhere, certainly not if it’s cold or wet, and just wants to be on the sofa being stroked. Go anywhere near him on a rainy day in an attempt to put on his harness and he just rolls over. Nah - not going out in that. But I’ll let you stroke me!

Whilst we aren’t currently in a position to have a dog of our own, it is an absolute delight to look after dogs like these. Writing life can be isolating, is by nature very solitary, and indoors based, but there is NOOOO chance of being solitary with these guys around. As much as they love a kip, the moment I move to get up to make a cup of tea, eat, go to the loo, answer the door, they both jump up for their positions of recline and follow at my heel. ‘Where is my temporary hooman going?’ ‘I must investigate’. It’s like I have some kind of inverse e-tagging device. I think their noses need to remain within a metre of my presence. When I actually manage to shut the toilet door, I am greeted post-wee with the exuberant delight of young children on Christmas morning. Their joy at seeing me appear after a 30 second absence makes me laugh out loud every time - subsequently tailing me a la Pied Piper until they are assured I have settled in a spot, and then they too, can settle.

As I sit here writing this, with a Tigger on my lap and a Tigger by my side, I could not be more content, and I think they would say the same too.

Tiggers truly are a wonderful thing.

If you enjoyed this post please do share it with your friends. In the meantime I’d love to hear about your fur babies!