Marley and Me

Update: I waited for three weeks after we got Marley to post this, because I thought after that time they were pretty settled. They were still getting along, so I expected they always would. But in the last week, Tika started to get a little fed up with Marley, and it culminated in some fairly vicious fighting on Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately, we have had to return Marley to her original people, and they are looking for a new home for her. We are very sad about it, but it wasn't fair to Marley to live in a house where she needed to be careful not to upset Tika, and we didn't want to put Nacho through a fighting-house either. We tried our best to help them get over it, but the best decision we could make was to be a one-dog household again.

I watched that movie on a plane to England, while I was sick, and sitting next to a stranger. I cried an awful lot, and probably made the poor guy next door feel all kinds of awkward. But this isn't a post about a dog movie, it's a post about a dog. Our new dog!

Meet Marley!

She was being given away on Gumtree, Australia's equivalent of Craig's List. Andy surprised me when he asked if we should get another dog. I was super keen, and we both thought that Tika, a very sociable dog, would benefit from having a constant playmate. We contacted her people, who were reluctantly rehoming her because they have kids and other dogs and horses and work, and didn't have the time that Marley needed (and she didn't get along heaps well with another of their dogs).

Our backyard is the stuff of nightmares for soft-toy lovers...

Marley is five years old, which is probably the same age as Tika. She is also about the same weight as Tika, though a touch taller - perfect playing size.

She is an English Pointer - with a pedigree and everything - and she is a gentle, sweet-natured girl. We joke that Marley is a genteel english rose compared to Tika's ocker Australian - Marley's head and face are delicate and slender while Tika has a hippo-style blockhead (which we love!). Tika is happy-go-lucky and Marley is a touch whingier and more emotionally needy. But they really suit each other, and I think we'll see Marley settle in and boganise more soon.

Marley and Andy watch Masterchef while Tika displays her lack of a pedigree.

She came with the name, which we're sticking with. For a while, Andy couldn't remember it - he called her Mallory a few times. I think he was willfully forgetting, because he didn't want a dog named after a movie. Then I said "What about Bob Marley?"and all of a sudden it was okay. I also call her Marley-Barley, Marley-Moo, and Marls.

Marley and Tika *loved* the crunchy loofahs when we pulled down the loofah vine.

Marley and Tika get along like a house on fire (is that the right way to use that phrase??). They both play hard.

And then they crash at the end of the couch together at night.

Marley is, ahem, not the brightest dog. She is very sweet, but when we try to teach her a trick like "shake" we are met with a vacant stare. (I wouldn't have known she was dumb, because she's a lot like the dogs I had growing up. But Tika is a super smarty pants, so it's glaring in comparison!) She is also easily amused, happy to spend a few hours chasing the shadows of butterflies and dragonflies.

Three of the four of us just love Marley. Nacho isn't sold on her just yet, but she still hasn't come around to Tika. There is a clear hierarchy in the house, and Nacho sits comfortably at the top, flicking her tail and throwing punches if any dogs piss her off.