A puppy born on Halloween

Most people are celebrating Halloween today but the most important thing in our home is a birthday, because exactly one year ago this little ray of sunshine was born.

Six short weeks later, she became part of our small family and a large part of our joy!  Will’s condition for taking her home was that we keep with our pre-nuptial pet agreement and derive her name from the Anchorman movie.  Much to my dismay, the gorgeous little baby was given a grandma’s name and Dorothy Mantooth was homeless no more!

She was so tiny that she fit XS clothing and such a baby that she wasn’t even weaned from her doggy mummy, trying to find a suckle-point every time anyone held her. 

When we brought her home, her older brother Baxter experienced a range of emotions that changed daily.  First he was cautious: keeping his distance and fleeing the room every time she made a sound.  Next he became curious: sniffing her, her toys, clothes, blankets and bowls incessantly.  Once he figured out that she was staying, he became mean and jealous: inserting himself between her and whomever was cuddling her at the time, taking away anything she was playing with and putting a resounding growl and STOP to whatever fun she was having.  This period lasted longer than the rest, yet Dorothy has the sweetest, most forgiving nature and never even considered holding a grudge.  Her older brother was back then, just as he is now, her absolute idol.  She followed him from room to room and tried to mimic him in every way, much to his ever-increasing irritation!

As the months went by with her trailing him and Baxter taking steps to shake her off (if anyone knows poodles, they know how smart they are –and some of his methods were HILARIOUS!), her resolve and adoration never wavering; Baxter’s began to crack. 

The first sign of his changing affection came on a trip to the park when a border collie tried to get too friendly with his sister – Baxter wouldn’t have that for a second! Up went his tail; out came his teeth and high-pitched bark as he ran charging at the imposter, not stopping until quite sure that the collie was a safe distance away.  Since that turning point, their friendship has grown slowly, starting with Baxter allowing Dorothy on his couch, then closer than 3ft to him, then it progressed to him not taking toys away from her the moment she picked them up, then she was allowed to sit NEXT to him, then drink out of his water dish and finally to touch him!  Now he’s as smitten with her as we are, still enjoying his time alone but clearly missing her before long.

Although Will and I never expected to have two dogs – let alone two small dogs – we are thankful every day that we gave Dorothy Mantooth a home.  She is absolutely the best dog we could ever imagine to complete our family and make us smile numerous times a day.  Thank goodness for a tiny dog who – through her complete way of forgiving, loving and not sweating the small stuff – makes us conscious daily of the type of people we should be.  

Happy birthday bubba x

Transitioning

Just over two weeks ago Will, the pups and I moved from our brand new, high rise condo in Midtown Atlanta GA to an old, ground floor unit in a lush, green suburb in Austin TX.  After spending the first week without furniture, as we waited for the moving truck to make its marathon drive across States, we made do eating and relaxing in the evenings on a pair of outdoor chairs that we purchased from Lowes and watching DVDs on our laptops that were either perched atop the wetbar or a step ladder. 

Now that we have our things and are (mostly) set up, it’s beginning to feel more like home but still not quite as we adjust to hearing bird song outside our windows instead of traffic, horns and sirens or seeing a plethora of wildlife on our evening strolls, instead of people and expensive cars.  The pups love where we're at because they have a front balcony, a back patio and plenty of grass space nearby to chase their balls, which is a definite improvement on how they lived in the city!

We might never stop grumbling about the old kitchen appliances, the air conditioner that barely works but sounds like a freight train when it does, the bugs or the constant moisture in the air; but we are happy we made the transition.

Welcome to my life

Hi.  Here's a little about me: I'm a girly-girl, wife, mother of two puppies, daughter of a happily married couple who live in Australia, bilingual, a free spirit; lover of wine, music, antipasto and sitting around a campfire, under the stars, with friends.

My background is: born in Kazakhstan, grew up in Australia, moved around a lot after university, which I never finished so that makes me a failed business graduate but also one of the lucky few in this life who find their passion: writer and world traveler. My husband, my best friend and my all shares my passion for travel and it's because of him that I'm able to see so much of planet earth.  We travel a lot.  We move a lot.  

I named this blog the Unwavering Part of Me to signify the unchanging part of who I am inside, in amongst all the constant moving, exploration, lessons and changes in my life.  At times I feel homesick and lonely so I want this space to be my home and a place where I can reflect on experiences.