Story by Bonnie Craig
Happy fall, Tucson dogs! The leaves may not get colorful in our neck of the woods until December, but it sure must be nice to have cool nights and mornings to frolic and fetch, free from those embarrassing booties the humans make you wear all summer long. Of course, somehow you sense that they do it out of love, much like nail trimmings and vet trips and… entering wild and wacky pictures of you into some kind of contest?
Yes, they do! Your people love you so very much that they want to share your oh-so-kissable faces with the world, or at least our little part of it. Speaking of kissable faces, this issue features one that may look familiar. Twice gracing our pages as a runner up, and a 6-time entrant, Trixie has finally made it to the cover! We will hear more from her soon, but first, let’s learn about our runner up!
Cayenne is a spicy little guy, thought by his people to be a “Schnocker” (Schnauser Cocker Spaniel mix). The three-year-old fellow, adopted into his family in February of last year, hails from Mexico originally. There he was surrendered by his former family and ended up in the care of Desert Rotti and Pals rescue, by way of PACC. His current and forever family believes that their elderly dogs, who had passed the previous year, may have been working their magic from behind the scenes to bring their family and Cayenne together. He is now enjoying life as the smart, amiable, and happy go lucky pup he was always meant to be, and he’s bilingual to boot! ¡Felicidades, Cayenne!
Now we reach the main event. It is the one, the only, the two-time runner up and finally the winner, Trixie! That’s right, she has finally joined her sister Koko in the hallowed halls of cover dog stardom. This mini/standard Australian shepherd mix is nothing if not persistent, or perhaps that is on the part of her person, but regardless, she was clearly born camera ready.
After a stint running wild on the streets of South Tucson, Trixie was rescued and found her way to Aussie and Friends Rescue, where she was cleaned up and cared for. Her formerly matted fur quickly gave way to the luxurious locks she now rocks. In a continuation of her streak of good luck, she was quickly adopted into a fun and loving home, with a sister her own age. This sister, the famous Miss Koko of former cover dog fame, proved to be a most excellent foil to Trixie’s personality.
Trixie is the life of the party at the dog park, acting like a social butterfly with the other dogs, while Koko prefers to mingle more with the two-legged crowd. On walks, Koko is all business, sniffing her way forward, as her goofball sister runs circles around her.
With an outsized personality like hers, it’s no wonder Trixie has earned herself the nickname of Susan Lucci. If she starred in her own soap opera, called All my Puppies perhaps, we know Trixie would take Hollywood by storm, of course earning herself a star on the walk of fame alongside Lassie, Strongheart, and Rin Tin Tin.
We will stay tuned for her tinsel town debut, but in the meantime, she has always been a star in our town, where she can keep jumping on her person’s head every morning at walk time and goofing around at home with Koko. Who knows, maybe Trixie was meant to be a home town hero all along, and she finally has her day in the sun as this issue’s Tucson Dog cover queen. Bravo, Trixie, Encore!
