Indi & Lilo - The Odd Couple

Working on the Northern Beaches as the Perfect Pet Sitter I care for a great variety of dogs of all sizes, shapes and breeds. But last week I spent 10 days living-in caring for a pair of dogs I nicknamed ‘The Odd Couple’!

There was Lilo - a tiny 7 year old Jack Russell who lived with the latest addition to the family, Indi. A German Shorthaired Pointer only 10 months old, Indi was already huge, but a total glamour girl – stunning and elegant. To look at her reminded me of my own pair of eye catching GSPs, Flash and Harry, who I’d loved so much years before back in the UK.

Like a family where a new baby gets all the attention, Indi being so beautiful means little Lilo sometimes gets forgotten down there so close to ground! But like many tiny dogs, Lilo might be small in body, but she’s got a big heart.  When Indi’s pestering to play got too much for her, little Lilo would bare her teeth, snarl and grow - looking really quite fierce. But Lilo was just doing her best to avoid getting squished by Indi’s exuberance - and great big feet!

Pups push the limits, so during my stay it was fun to teach Indi a few basics:- to sit and wait instead of rushing her food bowl; to stop getting on the sofa; and to leave little Lilo in peace – well, for at at least part of the time!

Despite Indi’s confidence in the home, outside it was a different story. On our daily Adventure Walks she was quite nervous with other dogs. To help her I brought along a couple of calm doggie pals. With these dogs I know and trust, Indi and Lilo made up a mini pack. I’d take them all swimming and hiking and day-by-day as she interacted with them it was great to see Indi coming out of her shell.

A few days after my sit with Indi and Lilo had ended, I bumped into them with their owner at our local dog park. The first thing she said was she’d noticed Indi was far more confident with other dogs now – and how much her swimming had improved!

Meeting characters like Indi and Lilo is what makes this the most enjoyable job – if you can even call it that – of my life. To live with dogs is to love them, and the only down side is I’m always sad to leave. But then I’ll be off to meet some new fur friends and more examples of just why a dog is a man’s (and woman’s) best friend.