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As the Tail Turns

Tutsi/Erin Fogary

When Tutsi was a young lass every month or so we used to come across two fabulous spinster sisters who had salukis. Tutsi was passionate about one of the salukis and used to cry and whine like mad whenever he was near. In fact, one day we were about 30 miles from where we normally saw the salukis and she set up this wailing and howling and I said to the friend I was with: "That's weird, she normally only make this noise for the Ari, the saluki she's in love with." About 5-minutes later, Ari appeared over the hill! Tutsi was right. He was, unexpectedly, in the area [of course. Silly me to doubt her].

The Saluki people ended up with a rescue spinone which is pretty odd in NZ as they are more rare here than basenjis. They were fostering him but he really did steal their hearts. Such a noble and dignified chap compared with those equally noble yet spirited salukis.

Tutsi was diagnosed with bladder cancer recently and she really doesn’t have much time left with us. Of late she has enjoyed her walks but has shown some discomfort when attempting to perform her usual dances so I really thought that was over. I think the movement was throwing her off balance.

This morning, however, I’m delighted to say that she has worked out an entirely new dance routine which involved more forward motion, leaping and small steps from side-to-side rather than her usual twisting and head rolling. She looked so pleased with herself that after a week or so she has finally worked out how to dance again. The spirit in these animals is astounding.

We are lucky to have this time with her, to spoil her rotten, prepare special meals without having to consider her waistline, and just sit quietly and spend contemplative time with her. She had shown a passion for steamed fish lately and as the weather was so nasty last night I thought I’d give her a piece of fish with some pumpkin, kumara and yams rather than sending her outside with a bone. All was freshly prepared and presented to Her Majesty and I then had the pleasure of watching her pick each piece up, have a small chew then spit it out on the floor. The mess was unbelievable. Turns out she wanted a bone, like Eddie. She’ll be a Princess to the end.