Talula’s Hitch-hike

Talula’s story all starts one sunny day in Northern Nevada.

David came home from work grinning from ear to ear. “We almost got a new dog today.”, he announced.

I had always wanted a companion for my Italian Greyhound, Mojito, so I asked David to tell me more. He explained that while out in his van, a cute little dog had wandered into the middle of the road. All the vehicles stopped to avoid her, but the dog refused to move. David opened his van door, and to his surprise, she hopped in as if she had been hitchhiking.

To figure out where the little dog had come from, David took her to the local no-kill animal shelter to be scanned for a chip. To his surprise, he discovered that she had escaped from that exact shelter on multiple occasions. Smart and a little stubborn, I felt like we would get along great and we really hoped her breed would be a good match for our Mojito. When David showed me her picture and I was looking at a beautiful Boston Terrier, I knew she would fit right into our little family.

“The dog ate my slippers.”

David didn’t yet know how often he’d be saying that.

Eager to bring her home, I called the rescue shelter the next day. They informed me that there was a 48-hour waiting period before she could be adopted. The waiting felt like an eternity, and to my dismay, it ended on a Sunday when the shelter was closed. First thing Monday morning, I called again, only to learn she still needed a vet evaluation before we could take her home. On Tuesday morning, determined and hopeful, I took my laptop to the shelter and set up camp in the waiting room, working while I waited.

“I was not going to leave without my little dog.”

After a few hours, the vet told me she was next in line for evaluation and microshipping, making her almost ready for adoption. In Nevada, all shelter animals must be spayed or neutered, so we still couldn’t take her home just yet. Since Boston Terriers are a sought-after breed and rarely found in shelters, I wasn’t the only one interested in adopting her. Of course, I was having none of that and ended up in the shelter’s waiting room every day that week to make sure there was no doubt as to who was taking her home.

When the vet’s office sent a van to pick her up for her surgery, I followed in my car. Upon arrival, I was delighted to see a friend of mine would be performing the surgery. After a quick chat, my friend looked at the dog and said: “You’ve just been adopted by the best dog family in town!”, knowing about the wholefood fresh homemade dog food I had been making for Mojito for years.

“Talula’s human sisters were over the moon when they realised the new addition to the family.”

While our new dog spent the night at the vet’s, I picked up my daughters from school. I left the adoption papers on the back seat, hoping they would notice. My eldest daughter handed them to me, saying they looked important. “They might be”, I replied, urging her to take a closer look. As she read it out, smiles spread across everyone’s faces: a new sibling had been added to the clan!

The next day, David picked up the newest addition to the family from the vet, Talula Trixie Bell, or Trixie for short. Every member of the family welcomed her with open arms, including Mojito, who quickly became Trixie’s best friend. The mischief those two would get up to could fill a book and is a story for another day. We are grateful every day that Talula decided to jump into David’s car and be part of our family. We wouldn’t have it any other way.

As the president of Talula Eats, Trixie ensures our quality is up to scratch, everything tastes delicious, and nothing is wasted…