Emmy and Annie

We have a dog here called Emmy, A staffy x Chihuahua...yep why would you breed that hey?

She was a rescue from Albury, pulled out of the pound on death day by a great Trainer up there who has saved so many dogs lives and got them into foster and rehomed.

Not that Emmy has ever shown much gratitude to this great lady but then that is dogs for you hey?

I got a call, "can you fit another dog in for a few days, bit of a head case and nobody else will take it and it's going to die"..well what can you say to that?

"What colour is it?" silence..."what?"

"What colour is it? i need a brown one for Annie, remember that job you dobbed me in for???"

"Oh...ummm yeah it's brown" (laughing at me)

"Does it bite kids?"

"Hang on I have Riv in the car lets see.... nup doesnt bite kids"

"Righto chuck it in your car and if you an keep it till thursday I will pick it up then"

"Done"

and that is how we ended up with one of the best (and weirdest) dogs we have ever had. She took a lot of work and rehab, still gives me stinkeye and varies between neurotic staffy and fierce little taco on a whimsy but has found her place here on the farm.

She is a great ratter, efficient and never cruel so i do not have that horrible job of baiting anymore. She mixes in with any dog or any other animal from chooks to lambs and can be taken to any consult safely.

Her ability to diffuse an anxious/aggressive dog is fascinating to watch and her tolerance around kids is amazing. She is a dirty husband thief though so we have had words about her tarting ways.

Her performance in Annie for the local colledge was not Melbourne standard but for a little dog that was scared of it's own shadow to come through in just 11 months from dumped to being on stage with a 17 piece orchestra behind her, loads of screaming kids all around and 500 person live audience out in front. Hey I was proud of her! She never missed a cue, never bit anybody and was passed from pillar to post. The kindness shown her by the girls and by all the adults got her through. Thank you again to the two Annies who were her main handlers on stage xxx

Her mate old Gidge had a bit part of the "50 cent dog" and was her companion in the dressing room and that combined with some good old fashioned shred the ted time kept her head space in a healthy place.

If you are going to put a dog (or any animal) through the stresses of stage or film work then you really need to plan well and have everything there on hand to make their lives happy and fun.

You need to be able to fulfill all their needs from toileting, water, food, sleep, time out, comforts of a good bed, play time, practice time. So for all of you who think it is 'glamorous' then think again. You are the dogs servant and have very little time for your own needs, you stress over their welfare the whole time. On the plus side you have a better relationship and get to know your dog better than you would doing this work than any sport or comp.