So, a bit more about what my life entails, here we go.
I’m a dog person, love dogs, almost all shapes and sizes. Though I do prefer a larger dog, the smaller ones can be quite affectionate and just as good a friend anyway. I like mid sized dogs, anything between 20 and 40 kilograms is what I call mid sized.
Cats are not my strong suit, most of the time they don’t like me, but every now and then there’s a lovely cat or two. There once was a fluffy white cat in my life, many years ago now. Her name was “Shazza” pronounced sh-ah-zz-uh, she was a nice Persian cross something that had a few adventures around the house.
My first dog was a lovely border collie, pure bred. Trained from a puppy by my parents, he was 4 years old when I was born. He was my best friend growing up, that wonderful dog.
His name was “Samyang” and he was fiercely intelligent. He surprised the dog trainers with his training and obedience. That dog was the best dog I could have ever hoped for, he was my big brother, and will always be remembered. He passed away from cancer in 2001,that was a sad day, one that I will not soon forget.
However, before you start reaching for tissues, a few months later we adopted a young puppy of about 12 weeks. He was a fluffy little pure bred border collie, so small and lively.
His name was Pascoe.
I know what you might be thinking, “hey wait, so you just replaced Samsung?? That’s kind of cold, man.”. However I know that nothing could replace my best friend, and nothing ever will. But there was a void inside of me, of all of us (family) that could only be patched by a companion. One that will yield many years of love and happiness, and so, Pascoe came along.
I have never seen another dog like him, so unique, so different from any other. He was timid, gentle as a feather, and at the same time, he was guarding, strong and loyal. He was quite intelligent, and rather agile for his size. With distinctive white highlights through his jet black hair, he was truly one of a kind.
Leaving us in easter of 2011, liver failure was his downfall. He will not be forgotten, and will stay alongside the master (Samyang) in a well deserved rest. We do not bury them, we have them cremated and placed into a lovely ceramic urn. Each with their own brass plate (images attached).
Once again, we are all left with a hole in our hearts. We trudge on day after day, having a pain inside whenever we opened the door with nobody to greet us. Nobody to listen to us, to be excited and to bring excitement into our home. Time does help ease the pain, but it cannot remove the scars.
In June of 2011, a puppy unbeknown to us was born in a little breeder’s home not far from where we live. After being alerted of a new litter, we drive over to find that happiness once again.
Small and fragile, with a pink nose and closed eyes, Captain Billy Mills chose us as his new family. A few weeks later, he was big and strong enough to leave the pen, he was washed, brushed and smelt like apples, of all things (must have been the shampoo).
We took him home when he was about 12 weeks old, and have been loving him ever since. He is smart, has a lovely coat of shiny black and white fur, and has the temperament of a monk, with the attention span of a teenager. He is once again, one of a kind. So similar to the ones before him, but so different that none of them can compare to each other.
Captain Billy Mills, Billy, Bill, Bill Bill, Billsy, Billy-Bum, Bilbo Baggins, Fluffy, Dog, Buddy, Mate. All of these names and more are the things that he responds to, and names that we all know and remember.
He is obedient, when he wants to be, and easily motivated by food. He is a trickster, in that I mean he knows a lot of tricks like roll over, beg, play dead, spin, lay down and a few others. He’s constantly being trained, and constantly being loved. He is a creature of habit, and one of my very best friends.
He even has his own Facebook page, you can find him if you want to, just look for Billy Mills, and a picture of him.
Long post, but that’s what this blog is for, so hope you enjoyed the words, and I’ll post again soon. Probably with how they got their names.
– Travers
