Mê Thú Cưng - Pet Magazine for Vietnam TET 2017 Issue | Page 62

URBAN PETS Living with Pets in Vietnam

EXpaTpET oWnErs Q & a

How I developed a love of dogs from my Dad .

By Elizabeth Homfray
In Australia I always had dogs around me . My love of dogs comes from my father who was a ‘ man ’ s man ’ I guess is how you would describe him . He lived in inner city of Melbourne but spent a lot of his free time in the country areas of Australia , fishing , shooting and living off the land . He was a ‘ bushy ’ at heart ( an Australian term for a man who loves the country ) and started his working life as a shearer traversing Australia in a Ute ( utility vehicle ) with nothing for company but his dogs . He mostly had Kelpies and Whippets and as a child he would tell my 3 sisters and I stories about his dogs . One in particular Tally who every time he went swimming in the river would dive in after him and try and save him even though wasn ’ t drowning . These stories were better than any books I had ever read and peaked my interest in dogs and their connection with humans .
What you have read above , I actually started writing on the 11th October , 2015 and have only been able to come back to it now as my father died suddenly on the 19th October .
He taught me about dogs , he taught me how to handle a pack , how to care for our dogs , how to feed them properly and to make them part of our family . The few times I ever saw him cry was when one of his dogs died , he developed intense connections with them , he often said “ he preferred dogs to humans ”, as an adult now I can understand those feelings .
My father dying left me feeling very alone , what gave me solace was my pack of 5 dogs back home in Vietnam . How can some people ’ s connection with dogs be so intense ? I got home to Vietnam after dealing with his funeral , an intense family dynamic that comes with being one of 4 siblings and having an aging mother that I had to leave behind . My dogs are so much part of my family that they were who I turned to for healing and there is nothing better .
Having dogs in Vietnam
My family and I came to Vietnam 8 years ago after my husband was offered a job here . It was big move as our daughter was only 2 at the time and I was running a successful design business , it was a lot to give up but we have never looked back .
My 1st year in Vietnam was back in 2007 not long before I moved here I had lost my beloved Whippet Misty . She was bitten by a paralyses tick at my parents farm North West of Brisbane and died within 2 days of the bite . I felt like I wanted another dog in my life as soon as I arrived in Vietnam , I was very lonely . It was such a huge change to my busy working life in Australia to all of sudden be sitting around a house with nothing to do but a bit of cleaning . But where to start back then ? There was no Dr . Nghia and no ARC ( Animal Rescue and Care ). I saw a Vietnamese man walking a dog on a leash a rare instance back then . I loved the look of his dog which I later found out was a Phu Quoc Ridgebback dog that was it , I was in love .
It was a few months later that I constantly saw an ad on Dr . Nghia adoption emails about Tiger . A female brindle who was found on the street half beaten to death and pregnant . They actually didn ’ t think she would walk again . The day she arrived at our home she was full of anxiety and would bite each time any of us went near her . My husband totally freaked and told me to take her back because we had a young child . I asked him for 1 week . Every day I got up at 5:30 religiously and walked her and Misty together several times . Tiger freaked out and pulled out of her harness and started to run . I simply sat on the ground and waited for her to come back the longest I waited was 5 minutes . Within the week after
62 Mê Thú Cưng / Tập 01 2017 / methucung . vn