Meet 'Tilly'

Yesterday was slightly cooler, Kate and I ventured south east to the nearby town of Inglewood and picked up this little bundle of shaking fur...

Meet 'Tilly' - she is Tyler's Christmas present to Kate, a Jack Russell x Fox Terrier pup. 

We pulled up in front of two houses in Inglewood, a relatively nice house and a relatively very 'rough' looking house. We couldn't read the numbers at first and secretly hoped the nicer looking house held Kate's new pup. Unfortunately it didn't and we crept into the yard of the second house with the falling down front fence and gutters, littered with kids toys, bikes and general rubbish. Oh dear. 

We joked that it was like RSPCA puppy rescue mission! Unfortunately it turned out more like that than we joked about. We were handed a box at the front door with the tiniest runt of a puppy inside, all quivering and with bulging eyes. The ad in the classifieds had said 6 weeks old.

"When was she born?"

"December 3rd"

Clearly maths was not these people's forte. We basically just wanted to get out of there after an incident with a 6 year old telling us we were lesbians and then his old sister yelling for his mum to tell Jake to $#%! off. Nice. 

We couldn't get out of there fast enough. When we eventually got the little pup home we discovered she was riddled with fleas, ticks, mites, had worms which might account for her bulging eyes, big head and lack of growth. She was also just generally filthy so we gave her a bath in warm water and eucalyptus oil, which seemed to kill most of the fleas/ticks/mites which were crawling all over her, especially on her face and ears. Kate combed them out with a nit comb and Tilly promptly vomited three times all over her new custodian. Being a mother isn't very glamorous is it? quipped Kate.

Last night Tilly didn't cry too much, she slept in a box in the laundry, shaking herself to sleep as she was so scared. This morning she is much better, cleaner, happier. Yesterday she wouldn't leave the darkness of Kate's arm, now she is exploring a little bit on the grass.

She is off to the vets to get a check up and for pseudo-mum's Kate and I to be advised on how on earth to deal with a pup who clearly should still be with her mum?! 

We've decided though that she is much better off with us and healthy, than with her mum but struggling to grow and survive. 

Poor little Tilly. She's started off life a bit behind the 8 ball, but she's going to be ok. She's tiny, tough, Tilly.