All-round ‘sportsdog’ we will never forget
To all animal lovers
I’m sure most of us have experienced it. During our schooldays, there was always that one individual who was good at everything, both in the classroom and on the sports field.
We had one such guy when I was at high school. He was deputy head boy, a straight A student, captain of the first cricket team and one of the stars of the first rugby team.
You might be wondering what this has to do with sport and this column in particular. Well, this is about one such individual.
Our beloved Jack Russell, Mia, passed away suddenly the day after Valentine’s Day. She was only six years old, so it came as a real shock.
Mia was good at EVERYTHING. She was the smallest being in our household but was without doubt the alpha dog, so much so that she even had the humans in the house wrapped around her little paw.
She was incredibly intelligent and when you spoke to her she looked at you like she knew exactly what you were saying. She attended dog school when she was younger and was a boffin at agility.
She learnt all the tricks in the book, from sit to beg to roll over to play dead, and she offered us many, many days of entertainment
Guy Hawthorne
with her antics.
She was unselfish with her love and would sit on a lap and smother the owner with wet kisses, or curl up and catch a nap.
I’m certain she must have been a sports star in a previous life. She could run like the wind, those muscular little legs carrying her over the ground at twice the speed of one of our Border Collies, who is no slouch in the sprinting department.
She loved water and could dive like Greg Louganis, without cracking open her head on any diving board. She could swim like Chad le Clos and whenever we had visitors over for a dip, she was always quick to join in the fun in the pool.
And she had genuine ball skills. She loved her tennis balls and would spend hours on end playing fetch with anyone patient enough to indulge her. She was, admittedly, a bit selfish like Cristiano Ronaldo in that when she was playing ball, none of the other dogs was allowed to join in. And if one of them did happen to snag a ball, she would snap incessantly at their heels until they conceded defeat and left it to her.
She was one of those gifted individuals and I would bet my bottom rand that she has a special place in dog heaven, dominating the other canine souls and captaining all the “sports” teams.
She made a real impression on all who had the privilege of crossing her path and will be sorely missed.
She brought us so much joy in her short stay on Earth and has left a void that will never be filled. The memories will last forever and she will always have a place in our hearts.
Rest in peace our beloved baby.