Pim, Memoirs of a canine raconteur: Day One

Feb 14, 2021 | News

‘May Fly’ was just another black greyhound boy. He came to Tia Rescue as a stray from South Yorkshire, UK, on 9th April 2009, thin and filthy, and was renamed ‘Pim’ after his registration ear tattoo. Foster carers help when Tia is full (a common occurrence) and Joanne, mum to two three-legged dogs, happily stepped forward. Little did she know what she was letting herself in for…

Two books were published detailing Pim’s antics, which quickly become the stuff of legend. Tia will be making our remaining copies available very soon and we’ll keep you updated on the facebook page and website as soon as they’re available. In the meantime we’ll be publishing highlights weekly on a Sunday – think of them as a ‘Sunday Funnies’ present from us during these dark times.

All Pim’s stories are true. No names have been changed to protect the guilty. Tia would like to advise that Pim is very much an exception to the rule that greyhounds are placid, well-behaved and make great pets. Mostly.

DAY ONE

Who would have thought this day would be so different? It started just the same as every other one recently. But early afternoon everything changed. I thought I was being good, but I was jabbed in the neck then bundled unceremoniously into a car, after which I set off with two strange women.

It wasn’t too bad as the one who was not driving talked to me nearly all the way. The other one stopped the car rather suddenly a couple of times so I’m afraid I farted! Not loudly, but rather for the benefit of the deaf (silent but deadly, or ‘SBD’s).

We dropped off one of the women who left us in the car and returned a couple of minutes later with some food dishes and an extending lead for me. That left me alone with the driver lady – a few more SBDs! Minutes later we arrived at a farm where I had a little walk and was introduced to the men and two very strange dogs. You really must check this out – they only have three legs, but I must admit the do seem to have a jolly time.

We went in – guess what? – A HOUSE!! I spent the next two hours checking it out and soon discovered that upstairs the cats get fed and they always leave something in their dish. Unfortunately I hadn’t worked how to get back down before the driver lady discovered where I was. She had to carry me down – cue another SBD! By the third time she found me there, I was frog-marched down and had to learn pretty fast how to negotiate stairs in reverse.

Went on to discover I could lick the cooker, fish banana skins out of the bin, and wee on the carpet which seemed a good idea because it didn’t splash my legs but got me shouted at. I got my own back though – you guessed it – more SBDs!

Another walk and it was time to do something really weird. We all went into a room with a box full of people! I checked it out thoroughly, but couldn’t get any of the box people to pay me any attention, no matter how much I nudged that box.

Then I discovered a settee and – even more importantly – I discovered down the back of that settee two manky bones! All my birthdays came – at once! Apart from a few more SBDs, they kept me occupied for the remainder of the evening. Whilst everyone else watched that pointless television box thing.

Another late walk and it was time for dinner and bed, but I have to gobble mine up so quickly in case the others take it from me. I had a raw egg in mine – yum yum! I saw the chicken on one of the walks. Yup, it has been a strange day, and yup, I can fart for Britain. Wonder what’s happening tomorrow?

From: Pim’s Book: Memoirs of a canine Raconteur, written by Joanna Sewell, Illustrated by Neil Houghton.

Curley & Little Minch

Feb 12, 2021 | News

…….so we jabbed her with a Tia chip while her scumbag owner was still coming up the drive. If you had seen the state of Pandora you would have done it too.

It wasn’t the first time we quickly chipped a stray to Tia, nor was it to be the last. Striker who went back to the pound was found in a wood near Durham having been abandoned by lampers. Didi was discovered exhausted in a Kent field, six months after her overnight stay at Moorside, Didi was heavily in milk and her pups needed her so she had to go back to the backyard breeder. Both of them were in a terrible state when they re-surfaced but eventually became much loved members of their new families.

Curley and her daughter Little Minch are on their way home together. An earlier post sets out how Curley was found straying on the A1 in 2016 and rehomed, missing the arrival of her daughter, also a stray, by days. Little Minch was surprisingly claimed but we knew the inevitable result so we chipped her to us like the others.  When Minch did resurface four years later, she was fast tracked to safety within hours. Nobody puts a Tia dog in a corner.

Everyone is asking if they knew each other. Of course they did. Had we engaged our brain first we would have filmed it but the images speak volumes and we have a nice rosy feel inside today. Curley has been safe and loved for years and no doubt will play her part in settling her daughter to home life. Minch’s pressure sores, teeth and nails suggest she has lived in a shed all this time. Minch has had many puppies judging by her teats but no litters are registered. Perhaps she has been churning out lurchers. If any come through Tia, we won’t know they are hers, they won’t be tattooed. 

So let’s finish on happier thoughts. Tonight the two will be tucked up together, Curley’s head over her daughters back (if you know the breed) and Minch will have a better name. We would like to thank their family for making room for her, there couldn’t have been a better outcome. Enjoy your remaining years sweetheart, God knows you have earned a change of luck.

We love it when a plan comes together.

Sid & Clive in their new home

Feb 9, 2021 | News

All too often at Tia we see black dogs overlooked for others, so we were delighted to hear from Kate and Justin about how well Sid and Clive (formerly Barra and Milton) have settled in and how rewarding it’s been for them.

Just thought I would give you an update on our two boys who you kindly let us adopt last year.

Sid (formerly Barra) is a big bundle of fun just a big puppy at heart and loves everyone and everything he comes into contact with – he is very affectionate and loves nothing more than cuddling up on the sofa or even better chasing after his favourite tennis balls. We have tried him with footballs and basketballs etc but he is devoted to tennis balls (he would be a brilliant ball boy at Wimbledon!).

Clive (formerly Milton) is a quieter chap – he was initially scared of most things – there was so much he didn’t understand. Where Sid has thrown himself wholeheartedly into his new retirement, Clive has been more reserved, but cuddles on the sofa are his favourite pastime. He has needed a lot of TLC and we are more than happy to make sure he feels safe and loved. We’re enjoying spoiling them rotten! I just wanted to let you know they are a wonderful fit for our family and have taken to their new family routine perfectly.

I have attached a couple of photos – one of them together in their bed bought from the Tia shop!

Thank you for all you do Deb, it can’t be easy – particularly at the moment – but without you, Bob and all at Tia these wonderful dogs wouldn’t get the second chance that they so desperately need. I hope this goes to show that big black male greyhounds are just as wonderful as all other greyhounds and deserve all the love and affection we can give – they are beautiful and we adore them.

Valentine’s Hamper draw

Feb 7, 2021 | News