Happy Birthday Ginger and Pebbles
Ginger and Pebbles turned ONE today.
As a parent, I have to say, I can't help but feel a little sentimental and glossy-eyed on my kids' first birthday. It's not just that I've known Ginger and Pebbles practically all their lives and am madly in love with them. It's a little more than that.
Singing the birthday song
It starts like this: One evening on May 28, 2004, our family Jack Russell, Millie gave birth to a litter of 5 puppies. This was no accident, of course. The litter was sired by our other Jack Russell and old timer, Rusty, under Mum's close supervision. The result, several weeks later, (in order of size): Toby, Lucky, Ginger, Snowy and Pebbles!
Ginger and Pebbles at 2 weeks of age
When the puppies were born, George and I talked it over and decided we could adopt two of the five and bring them over to live with us in Hong Kong. We moved out of our serviced apartment into a larger non-serviced unit and by November, we were ready to bring two dogs over. But which two? They were all so cute! In the end it was Ginger and Pebbles because they were the least noisy of the five and the fastest learners; qualities I thought would be useful for apartment living in Hong Kong. On November 22, 2004 the girls boarded a Cathay Pacific flight and arrived in Hong Kong without a hitch.
Things were going well until shortly after New Year 2005. For reasons unknown to us at the time, Ginger mauled Pebbles without any warning. Pebbles screamed in terror! Ginger had her jaws firmly clamped over Pebbles' face and neck and was dragging her around the floor. When I finally managed to pry the two apart, Pebbles had cuts and bruises to her lips, eyes and ears. She bled and messed herself all over our kitchen and dining room floor. It was horrific. Ginger almost tore her face off.
For nights after that, I cried and cried because I didn't know why Ginger did it (imagine one of your kids trying to kill your other kid); I had failed to prevent it - Pebbles was in pitiful shape; and the prospect of having to re-home one of the two loomed over us. Which child do you give away?
With a lot of support from our vet, dog trainers and people we met, we were eventually able to figure out what was eating Ginger and slowly correct the problem. It's a "work in progress" but today, we are seeing some great results in both Ginger and Pebbles' behavior. They are truly great girls!
Tonight our birthday party guest said "Thanks" to Ginger for "letting Pebbles see her first birthday". It was said in jest but looking back, it's amazing how far we've come. After all that has happened, I honestly can't believe we're here and I guess deep down, that's what makes me all sentimental and glossy-eyed.
"Happy Birthday" girls!
Make a wish!
As a parent, I have to say, I can't help but feel a little sentimental and glossy-eyed on my kids' first birthday. It's not just that I've known Ginger and Pebbles practically all their lives and am madly in love with them. It's a little more than that.
Singing the birthday song
It starts like this: One evening on May 28, 2004, our family Jack Russell, Millie gave birth to a litter of 5 puppies. This was no accident, of course. The litter was sired by our other Jack Russell and old timer, Rusty, under Mum's close supervision. The result, several weeks later, (in order of size): Toby, Lucky, Ginger, Snowy and Pebbles!
Ginger and Pebbles at 2 weeks of age
When the puppies were born, George and I talked it over and decided we could adopt two of the five and bring them over to live with us in Hong Kong. We moved out of our serviced apartment into a larger non-serviced unit and by November, we were ready to bring two dogs over. But which two? They were all so cute! In the end it was Ginger and Pebbles because they were the least noisy of the five and the fastest learners; qualities I thought would be useful for apartment living in Hong Kong. On November 22, 2004 the girls boarded a Cathay Pacific flight and arrived in Hong Kong without a hitch.
Things were going well until shortly after New Year 2005. For reasons unknown to us at the time, Ginger mauled Pebbles without any warning. Pebbles screamed in terror! Ginger had her jaws firmly clamped over Pebbles' face and neck and was dragging her around the floor. When I finally managed to pry the two apart, Pebbles had cuts and bruises to her lips, eyes and ears. She bled and messed herself all over our kitchen and dining room floor. It was horrific. Ginger almost tore her face off.
For nights after that, I cried and cried because I didn't know why Ginger did it (imagine one of your kids trying to kill your other kid); I had failed to prevent it - Pebbles was in pitiful shape; and the prospect of having to re-home one of the two loomed over us. Which child do you give away?
With a lot of support from our vet, dog trainers and people we met, we were eventually able to figure out what was eating Ginger and slowly correct the problem. It's a "work in progress" but today, we are seeing some great results in both Ginger and Pebbles' behavior. They are truly great girls!
Tonight our birthday party guest said "Thanks" to Ginger for "letting Pebbles see her first birthday". It was said in jest but looking back, it's amazing how far we've come. After all that has happened, I honestly can't believe we're here and I guess deep down, that's what makes me all sentimental and glossy-eyed.
"Happy Birthday" girls!
Make a wish!
posted by geraldine at 11:04 PM
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