Bogged down by past heartaches, globetrotting and work, it took forever before Jay Raj finally made the decision to get a furbaby. The pandemic changed that.
Unfortunately, she was unable to adopt a rescue dog for two reasons. Firstly, condo-living meant that space for the dog to run around in would be limited. Secondly, she suffers from allergies, so picking a breed that didn’t shed too much fur was preferable.
“A lot of research went into this. My family and I also spent a considerable amount of time online looking for a reputable seller,” Jay tells FMT.
After much thought, Jay and her family decided on getting a Mini Dachshund.
“It was love at first sight when we met eight-week-old Lady Sansa Von Rothaarige in May. We are fans of the Game of Thrones and Rothaarige means redhead in German and Von is German, too,” she explains of the rather long and aristocratic name the tiny pup was given.
“But from the start we knew something wasn’t right. Although the seller told us that the emergence of sight takes longer for certain breeds, we took her to a vet. Sadly, it was confirmed. Sansa was born blind.”
She tells FMT that the seller gave them three options:
- Return the pup and get reimbursed. He assured them that Sansa wouldn’t be put to sleep but they were sceptical about it.
- Make an exchange.
- Keep the pup with the condition that she is spayed and loses her ‘royal’ status. They were told Sansa comes from a highly recognised lineage and this would have been on her chip.
Though they had each made up their minds privately about Sansa, a pow-wow with the family clinched it. Sansa was staying put.
“And, it didn’t matter whether she lost her title or that she turned out to be a Standard Dachshund and not a Mini as requested, we still loved her to bits,” Jay says.
And so it was that Sansa stayed on with Jay and her family.
“Sansa has a unique character and she’s the cleverest pup we have ever met; from learning tricks to ‘telling’ us her requests,” Jays says.
“I’ve never had an Instagram account but just to show people that Sansa is no different than any other seeing-eyed furkid, I created one just for her here.
The moral of this story, Jay says, is that sometimes, life’s finest journeys begin with a blind leap of faith.
Here’s wishing Sansa a blessed life with a family who adore her.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR PET: FMT Lifestyle readers are invited to send in pictures (landscape format) and a short video (if any) of their furry, scaly or feathery friends to [email protected]. Don’t forget to include details like your pet’s name, age, breed and a short story about them.