Post by lotsoffreetime on Jan 14, 2017 14:15:09 GMT -5
Miss Tiana
A call from Bill in late June of 2010….”I have a shy little girl by the name of Tyra here who needs a good home, who would do well with a confident Grey like Rio…”
We were on the road the next day, July 1st, Canada Day, to pick her up from GRA. Our second Greyhound of what would eventually become known as “the Crazy Quints”. Her racing name was CTW Tyra Time, call name “Tyra”. On the way, we discussed what to call her. We chose “Tiana”, after Disney’s newest Princess from “The Princess and the Frog”, in the hopes that the spunk, courage and strength of that Princess would help our new little girl.
“Shy” was one way to describe Tiana. Genetically, she was a spook, traceable back through her pedigree to the famous Westy Whizzer, a Grey known for throwing spooks. When we first got her home, she remained frozen in her crate, immobilized with fear. She wouldn’t eat for days…it took some very stinky cat food and us nowhere to be seen or heard to tempt her to finally eat. We had to leave the back door wide open daily, and remain upstairs for her to finally venture outside with Rio, before she would bolt back to her crate at the slightest noise. She reminded me of the severely traumatized patients I work with every day.
We eventually won her over, with a lot of time and patience. It was so worth it. It always is with the shy, spooky ones. As I once read “The rewards, needless to say, of winning the trust and love of a true “spook”, are well worth the time and energy required. It’s almost as if they’ve kept it all stored up just to shower down their affections upon you, once you have finally broken through those vexing personality barricades”. It was so true with Tiana. Anyone who saw her greeting her Auntie Heather of GRA or Auntie Karen from Camp Greyhound after not seeing them for months can attest to that. Her whole body quivered with joy when she saw them! She loved her people with her whole heart, soul and body, once she trusted them.
The tiniest gains become major triumphs with Tiana. She moved from being catatonic for hours after a rain or wind storm, frozen in her fear, to pacing frantically around the house or hiding in the basement away from us, to eventually seeking us out for comfort, trusting that we would protect her. Her fears were many, and sometimes puzzling (floorlamps that had been in the same spot for years were suddenly terrifying, my laptop terrified her), but we met each challenge with patience, and eventually she learned that we were there to help her, and protect her. Throughout the years her crate or our bedroom remained her sanctuary, but she learned that we were to be trusted, and she spent more and more time with us in the other areas of the house. We all loved and protected her-Harold, myself, the kids, and the other Quints. Everyone loved Tiana, cheered her on, and helped give her strength, courage, and the safe base she needed to bloom.
But she was more than a Spook. I remember telling people that Tiana was like “Jeckle and Hyde”, because when she was relaxed and felt safe, watch out! This girlie was like the Devil himself! Stalking the other Quints while they were pooping, running at them top speed to knock them over, ambushing us in the backyard and running away laughing about it, being part of the “bad girls club” in the SSGG before she got injured in our backyard…and just let one of the other pups try to take away a cookie or treat from her. Even Mamma Rio, our Alpha didn’t try to challenge Tiana on that one. In fact, none of the Quints challenged Tiana when it came to food…and the boys outweighed her by 20 pounds! She could be one nasty (ahem)…you know! She stole stuffed animals from the kids’ bedrooms, ripped apart our bed and destroyed our sheets and mattress covers more times than we could count, destroyed the other Quints’ beds but left her own bed pristine, stole everyone else’s Kongs and hid them underneath her in her bed so they couldn’t have them…the list goes on. Every single night when I came home from work, she raced to the bedroom, dove on my bed, and pawed at me begging for tummy-rubbies, not letting me leave until SHE decided she had had enough. The Girl was a Diva. And the expressions on her face. There was no doubt what this girl was thinking, at any given time. Priceless. Hilarious. Such personality.
She was also the reason we started counting dogs when they went outside to make sure they all came back in. Her hole-digging skills are legendary in the GRA community, as many of you will recall the war between Harold and the Quints over the holes in our backyard, led by Miss Tiana. Her holes were so big and deep that she could literally hide in them for hours and we couldn’t see her to know she was outside to bring her in. How many times did he threaten to concrete the entire backyard because of them? In the end, the Quints won, though. As I told Harold, we could fill the holes in our yard, but not the holes in our heart. He gave in, and made them their own digging area in our new yard. Tiana was in heaven!
She had setbacks. Spooks always do. Renovating the old house 5 years after we adopted her, moving to the new house, seemed to be okay for her. We had gone slowly, done all we could to make it easy on her. She loved the acre property, the bunnies to chase, the birds to catch in midflight (we moved the bird-feeder to the back of the property to give the birds a chance…it didn’t help…the poor Finches never stood a chance), the grass to lounge in all day in the sunshine, the room to race around chasing the other pups. And yet 6 months after the move, she crashed, and had to be put on medication on a daily basis for the first time ever. It was heartbreaking. Our home went into lockdown, no visitors, no Christmas tree or decorations that year, vacuuming only when she was out for walks. Tiana was an absolute mess, refusing to eat due to anxiety (I learned to cook my own dogfood for the Quints to tempt her), insisting on staying outside out of fear, having panic attacks…we had never seen her so bad. We spent countless hours coaxing her inside, many times having to carry her back in when she refused to come in. When it got too cold for her to remain outdoors, our bedroom became her safe haven once again, and she never left it...we had to drag her both in and outside for turnout...this girl had a bladder of steel. The list was endless in an effort to manage her anxiety. She was worth it all. It took almost a year, but with time, patience, love, even more behavioural modification than we had done over the years, she conquered her fears, and came back stronger than ever, not needing any medication. In her final 8 months, she was truly relaxed and happy, more so than we had ever seen her in her life. She was finally, truly home. Our Tiana was a teeth-chattering, roaching, air-snapping greyhound. Her dreams were dominated by tail-wagging and silly grins.
Cancer is a thief. Tiana should have had more time to enjoy being home, to enjoy the joy and peace she had finally found in her last year of life. She fought so hard to achieve it. She deserved more.
On December 9th, 2016, after 2 days of back and forth at the vet, after being told her organs were full of cancer, I let her go, whispering in her ear how loved she was, how beautiful she was, how brave she was, that there were no thunderstorms, no scary winds or rainstorms, no scary ANYTHING where she was going. No pain. Only lots of birds to chase, sunshine to lie in, pools filled with water, TONS of holes to dig and Kongs filled with peanut butter all for her, and love all around her. I told her we all loved her, her Daddy-Man, her Auntie Heather and Auntie Karen, her GRA and Camp Greyhound friends, and her beloved Quints. I told her all the other SSGG Angels, her friends, were waiting for her, Ellie and Callie and Romi and Millie and Tarra and…I just can’t name them all here, it breaks my heart, but I named them all for her.
And I let my Babygirl, my Moo Moo, go to the Angels.
We are trying to heal. Mamma Rio and Mirage take turns sleeping in her bed. Willy-Bear still looks for her, but he is starting to snuggle with Mirage now…his new “Little Girl” to watch over, I guess. Mirage even lets him, something she had never done; I guess she knows he needs it. And Merlin, well, Merlin needs love from us all, his anxiety is now so high that he is on daily medication. I make sure they get as much love as I have to give them, every single day.
Tiana, my love, life will never be the same without you. But we are so much better for having shared the world with you. Run free and strong and crazy, my Girl. We all love you. Tell all our Angels we love and miss them for us.
Mommy, Daddy-Man, Alex, Nadia, Mamma Rio, Willy-Bear, Mr. Merlin and Miss Mirage
Pictures...
Tiana when we first brought her home
Stalking the Quints in the yard
Kongs? I don't know what you are talking about Lady...
The Trench, and The Hole after The Trench was filled in...
Oh Sh**, I think she caught us digging!
This hole is mine, all mine
watching Mirage...at this point the Trench was so long we could fit 4 Greys in it from end to end
Tiana was often found peering at us like this in The Trench
Only one day after The Trench got filled in, this was The Hole, and how deep Tiana had managed to dig it!
We tortured her...of course we did!
Beaver? Greyhound?
One of the last pictures we have of her...content, happy, home at last...hug your hounds.
A call from Bill in late June of 2010….”I have a shy little girl by the name of Tyra here who needs a good home, who would do well with a confident Grey like Rio…”
We were on the road the next day, July 1st, Canada Day, to pick her up from GRA. Our second Greyhound of what would eventually become known as “the Crazy Quints”. Her racing name was CTW Tyra Time, call name “Tyra”. On the way, we discussed what to call her. We chose “Tiana”, after Disney’s newest Princess from “The Princess and the Frog”, in the hopes that the spunk, courage and strength of that Princess would help our new little girl.
“Shy” was one way to describe Tiana. Genetically, she was a spook, traceable back through her pedigree to the famous Westy Whizzer, a Grey known for throwing spooks. When we first got her home, she remained frozen in her crate, immobilized with fear. She wouldn’t eat for days…it took some very stinky cat food and us nowhere to be seen or heard to tempt her to finally eat. We had to leave the back door wide open daily, and remain upstairs for her to finally venture outside with Rio, before she would bolt back to her crate at the slightest noise. She reminded me of the severely traumatized patients I work with every day.
We eventually won her over, with a lot of time and patience. It was so worth it. It always is with the shy, spooky ones. As I once read “The rewards, needless to say, of winning the trust and love of a true “spook”, are well worth the time and energy required. It’s almost as if they’ve kept it all stored up just to shower down their affections upon you, once you have finally broken through those vexing personality barricades”. It was so true with Tiana. Anyone who saw her greeting her Auntie Heather of GRA or Auntie Karen from Camp Greyhound after not seeing them for months can attest to that. Her whole body quivered with joy when she saw them! She loved her people with her whole heart, soul and body, once she trusted them.
The tiniest gains become major triumphs with Tiana. She moved from being catatonic for hours after a rain or wind storm, frozen in her fear, to pacing frantically around the house or hiding in the basement away from us, to eventually seeking us out for comfort, trusting that we would protect her. Her fears were many, and sometimes puzzling (floorlamps that had been in the same spot for years were suddenly terrifying, my laptop terrified her), but we met each challenge with patience, and eventually she learned that we were there to help her, and protect her. Throughout the years her crate or our bedroom remained her sanctuary, but she learned that we were to be trusted, and she spent more and more time with us in the other areas of the house. We all loved and protected her-Harold, myself, the kids, and the other Quints. Everyone loved Tiana, cheered her on, and helped give her strength, courage, and the safe base she needed to bloom.
But she was more than a Spook. I remember telling people that Tiana was like “Jeckle and Hyde”, because when she was relaxed and felt safe, watch out! This girlie was like the Devil himself! Stalking the other Quints while they were pooping, running at them top speed to knock them over, ambushing us in the backyard and running away laughing about it, being part of the “bad girls club” in the SSGG before she got injured in our backyard…and just let one of the other pups try to take away a cookie or treat from her. Even Mamma Rio, our Alpha didn’t try to challenge Tiana on that one. In fact, none of the Quints challenged Tiana when it came to food…and the boys outweighed her by 20 pounds! She could be one nasty (ahem)…you know! She stole stuffed animals from the kids’ bedrooms, ripped apart our bed and destroyed our sheets and mattress covers more times than we could count, destroyed the other Quints’ beds but left her own bed pristine, stole everyone else’s Kongs and hid them underneath her in her bed so they couldn’t have them…the list goes on. Every single night when I came home from work, she raced to the bedroom, dove on my bed, and pawed at me begging for tummy-rubbies, not letting me leave until SHE decided she had had enough. The Girl was a Diva. And the expressions on her face. There was no doubt what this girl was thinking, at any given time. Priceless. Hilarious. Such personality.
She was also the reason we started counting dogs when they went outside to make sure they all came back in. Her hole-digging skills are legendary in the GRA community, as many of you will recall the war between Harold and the Quints over the holes in our backyard, led by Miss Tiana. Her holes were so big and deep that she could literally hide in them for hours and we couldn’t see her to know she was outside to bring her in. How many times did he threaten to concrete the entire backyard because of them? In the end, the Quints won, though. As I told Harold, we could fill the holes in our yard, but not the holes in our heart. He gave in, and made them their own digging area in our new yard. Tiana was in heaven!
She had setbacks. Spooks always do. Renovating the old house 5 years after we adopted her, moving to the new house, seemed to be okay for her. We had gone slowly, done all we could to make it easy on her. She loved the acre property, the bunnies to chase, the birds to catch in midflight (we moved the bird-feeder to the back of the property to give the birds a chance…it didn’t help…the poor Finches never stood a chance), the grass to lounge in all day in the sunshine, the room to race around chasing the other pups. And yet 6 months after the move, she crashed, and had to be put on medication on a daily basis for the first time ever. It was heartbreaking. Our home went into lockdown, no visitors, no Christmas tree or decorations that year, vacuuming only when she was out for walks. Tiana was an absolute mess, refusing to eat due to anxiety (I learned to cook my own dogfood for the Quints to tempt her), insisting on staying outside out of fear, having panic attacks…we had never seen her so bad. We spent countless hours coaxing her inside, many times having to carry her back in when she refused to come in. When it got too cold for her to remain outdoors, our bedroom became her safe haven once again, and she never left it...we had to drag her both in and outside for turnout...this girl had a bladder of steel. The list was endless in an effort to manage her anxiety. She was worth it all. It took almost a year, but with time, patience, love, even more behavioural modification than we had done over the years, she conquered her fears, and came back stronger than ever, not needing any medication. In her final 8 months, she was truly relaxed and happy, more so than we had ever seen her in her life. She was finally, truly home. Our Tiana was a teeth-chattering, roaching, air-snapping greyhound. Her dreams were dominated by tail-wagging and silly grins.
Cancer is a thief. Tiana should have had more time to enjoy being home, to enjoy the joy and peace she had finally found in her last year of life. She fought so hard to achieve it. She deserved more.
On December 9th, 2016, after 2 days of back and forth at the vet, after being told her organs were full of cancer, I let her go, whispering in her ear how loved she was, how beautiful she was, how brave she was, that there were no thunderstorms, no scary winds or rainstorms, no scary ANYTHING where she was going. No pain. Only lots of birds to chase, sunshine to lie in, pools filled with water, TONS of holes to dig and Kongs filled with peanut butter all for her, and love all around her. I told her we all loved her, her Daddy-Man, her Auntie Heather and Auntie Karen, her GRA and Camp Greyhound friends, and her beloved Quints. I told her all the other SSGG Angels, her friends, were waiting for her, Ellie and Callie and Romi and Millie and Tarra and…I just can’t name them all here, it breaks my heart, but I named them all for her.
And I let my Babygirl, my Moo Moo, go to the Angels.
We are trying to heal. Mamma Rio and Mirage take turns sleeping in her bed. Willy-Bear still looks for her, but he is starting to snuggle with Mirage now…his new “Little Girl” to watch over, I guess. Mirage even lets him, something she had never done; I guess she knows he needs it. And Merlin, well, Merlin needs love from us all, his anxiety is now so high that he is on daily medication. I make sure they get as much love as I have to give them, every single day.
Tiana, my love, life will never be the same without you. But we are so much better for having shared the world with you. Run free and strong and crazy, my Girl. We all love you. Tell all our Angels we love and miss them for us.
Mommy, Daddy-Man, Alex, Nadia, Mamma Rio, Willy-Bear, Mr. Merlin and Miss Mirage
Pictures...
Tiana when we first brought her home
Stalking the Quints in the yard
Kongs? I don't know what you are talking about Lady...
The Trench, and The Hole after The Trench was filled in...
Oh Sh**, I think she caught us digging!
This hole is mine, all mine
watching Mirage...at this point the Trench was so long we could fit 4 Greys in it from end to end
Tiana was often found peering at us like this in The Trench
Only one day after The Trench got filled in, this was The Hole, and how deep Tiana had managed to dig it!
We tortured her...of course we did!
Beaver? Greyhound?
One of the last pictures we have of her...content, happy, home at last...hug your hounds.