Happy Birthday, Tessie
By: Carrie
I have the opportunity to write again this week, this time in honor of Tessie's birthday. It’s hard to believe she is already four years old, especially since she still thinks of herself as a baby. On the other hand, she has been on many adventures during her time with the Wild Western Wanderers. It feels fitting that today is also National Puppy Day, as Tessie will always be our perpetual puppy.
While John wasn’t entirely convinced about getting another dog less than a year after Ella passed away, I felt ready. No dog can ever replace Ella, but Tessie has the same perfect mix of fierceness and sweetness. Although she isn’t a fan of being hugged, she enjoys cuddling in the evenings on the couch and in the mornings before we get up. Tessie has helped to heal my heart after the loss of my soul dog.
Fate brought us together. I applied to meet two other dogs available for adoption through New Hope Cattle Dogs, but I ended up clicking on Tessie’s photo on my application too. Although Tessie wasn’t listed on the website yet, she was included in the application form. As it turned out, the other two dogs had already been adopted, but Tessie was still available and being fostered just five minutes away from us. We met her at the foster home with Mala, and the next day, we brought her to our house to meet the cats. From the very beginning, Tessie was fascinated by the cats, and they seemed to like her as well. She and Mateo are best friends.
One of our first adventures with Tessie, before finalizing the adoption, was to take her paddleboarding on Evergreen Lake. John picked her up and met me at the lake. In that five-minute drive, she was all over the car, including down by his feet, making John worried about bringing this little Tasmanian devil into our family. But once we were out on the lake, she fell asleep and was so cute in her lifejacket that we couldn’t resist her. To this day, we comment on how sweet she looks when she’s asleep!
Tessie is exceptionally smart and always attentive, often sharing her opinions on everything. Unlike some cattle dogs, she is calm when we’re relaxing. She’s always up for an adventure. While hiking, she pauses at any trail junction and looks to us to decide which way to go. No matter which direction we choose, she happily accepts it and continues on with her classic Tessie strut and a smile on her face.
Given that Tessie is on the small side for her breed, we lovingly refer to her as Nugget. Happy Birthday, Nugget!
