All About Ty
Rosewood's Second Mascot
(And others, because if I have the opportunity to talk about all of the dogs in my family, you bet I’m taking it!)
Lover of carrots, hater of all things water…
Meet Ty, my family dog! 5 years after our last dogs passed (both my sister and I can attest to those 5 years feeling like an eternity), we finally made the decision to start looking for our next dog. My mom was pretty set on having a Shar Pei, so when we found this little guy right off the bat we knew he was the one. We went to visit him a few times before making the commitment, and when we finally took the plunge in December of 2005, I still vividly remember how much he ran around the house when we finally got in, and how much he cried in his crate for the first few nights. (The crate lasted all of a week, by the way, before we all finally caved and let him sleep wherever at night). It didn't take long for Ty to become a fan of sleeping on the bed of whoever walks him the most. Clever dog.
(Don't judge me for this picture, you guys! My mom's house is currently under renovation so all of our family albums have been packed away meaning I couldn't find a solo pic of Ty as a puppy) This was a few weeks after we brought him home- my sister, my mom, Ty, and myself- Christmas 2005 at my grandma’s house
I've been surrounded by dogs my whole life- my mom's first dogs were around shortly before my sister and I were born and really took to both of us. Mason, the Rottweiler, was my dog, and Takya, the Chow Chow, was my sister's. Both of them followed us everywhere, slept with us at night, and even growled at approaching strangers when we were left in the car alone (the 90's, am I right?). At the same time as them my grandfather also had a Rottweiler, Gehrig (he liked to bark at the TV when he saw other dogs, and once jumped off the veranda to try and get to the neighbours backyard) and my other uncle/aunt had a Boxer, Rocky (who was deaf, and always had the stinkiest farts).
Little ol' me and Mason at my mom's wine shop- where the dogs used to hang out throughout the day
My sister, Alexa, and Takya the Chow Chow
Desmoe, the Weimaraner, 13 years old
Gehrig, the Rottie, and his paw after jumping off the veranda
Zoe the Black Lab, 13 years old (she's 2 days older than Desmoe)
Now, at 14 years old (as of 2019), Ty is full of white hair and a little slow now, but he’s still kicking it. He is the kind of dog that absolutely loves people- he has such an amazing temperament, and can make people who are nervous around dogs feel at ease. When he went to meet Blue for the first time (which was a complete accident! My sister & I went to drop something off at Hannah's, and Ty was in the car and decided to shimmy his way out by surprise) he was much more eager for Hannah's attention than Blue's!
Ty truly loves people so much that he makes it a point to always make an appearance anytime anyone is over and even sometimes will bring a shoe along with him for added attention! And don't get me started on the petting vortex he sucks everyone into- if you start petting him and then stop he'll give you those puppy eyes, maybe even a few kisses to never stop, and next thing you know it's 4 hours later and your hand is about to fall off but you just can't. say. no.
Absolutely any photoshoot I have ever had at home also includes Ty
My sister, Alexa, & Ty 2-3 years ago. Again, photoshoot = Ty must make an appearance
I could honestly ramble on day and night about Ty and all of the things he loves (carrots, watermelon, having to sit in the front passenger seat on car rides, getting out of the backyard and taking himself out for a walk) and hates (rain, puddles, bath time, thunderstorms, fireworks, being picked up), as well as other anecdotes (when he got sprayed by a skunk, and when he helped tear down wallpaper) but I'll end off with two quick things: Shortly after we got Ty my best friend, Solange, asked me why he had such small ears and I successfully convinced her for a while that my sister had cut his ears with safety scissors hahaha (we were kids).
Ty has always been a fan of sitting at the window when waiting for people to come home, so much so he's gotten others to adopt this habit too
A RARE occurance: Ty sittng in the back seat
And finally, if you've been looking at all of these photos and actually know what a purebred Shar Pei looks like and are shaking your head in confusion, that's exactly how we felt/feel too! We were constantly reassured, when he was a puppy, that he was truly a Shar Pei but as he continued to grow and lose his wrinkles we slowly learnt that he isn't. It's only recently that we've thought about taking him to get DNA test (not that it matters too much), so if that ever happens I'll surely post an update.
For now, I hope you all have enjoyed looking at so many photos of all of the dogs in my family throughout the years (I definitely had no problem looking for all of these!), and if anyone ever wants to have a playdate with our dogs we'd be more than happy to meet you at the park!
-Stef
PS. I find this photo soooo funny- Mason + Gehrig meeting baby me for the first time, with my grandparents AKA two big ass rottweilers meeting a newborn baby! I wonder what happened after this?!