Puppy Love

Roxy and Nina

My first two pets will always have a special place in my heart. Raised from the streets in Tunis, Tunisia, Roxy and Nina were my first two dogs. I remember the first day that I ran my fingers through their glistening fur which reflected the warm African sun. One of them, Roxy was a tree toned dog with a beautiful blend of white brown and black fur and the other one, Nina was a funny looking mixed labrador with black fur and white accents especially on her feet which made it look as if she was wearing little socks. They had made moving continents a silver lining. They become an unstoppable pair just like my sister and I. Roxy and Nina, themselves sisters, reflected mine and my sister’s relationship. Roxy was hers and Nina was mine. Therefore my sister and I discovered the most beautiful parts of Tunisia with our best companions: our dogs. 

We embarked on wonderful adventures especially on the warm Mediterranean beaches. The beaches crashed to the sound of our laugh as we saw Roxy and Nina rushed up and down the long white sand beaches. They ran marathons up and down the coast and around the dunes which were painted a rich green color a couple feet from the beach. There was not a place that they had not parcoured in that small beach in the white and blue cities of Gammarth, la Marsa and Carthage. Their happiness always reflected my sister and I’s disposition. We let Roxy and Nina explore every inch of the beaches as we followed them walking or on the backs of camels and horses. The camels were a frightening sight for Roxy and Nina which surprised me as they had found confidence on the Mediterranean beaches almost like the restless waves which painted the coast white, almost as white as Nina’s socks. 

“They ran marathons up and down the coast and around the dunes which were painted a rich green color a couple feet from the beach.”

We brought Roxy and Nina everywhere whether it were our tennis lessons or we were horse riding. At our tennis lessons their barks and wagging tails resembled encouraging voices. At our horse riding stable their presence made their excitement skyrocket seeing the horse gallop and jump over the wooden obstacles reminding them of their dashes up and down the Tunisian beaches. The ambiance of having our dogs beside us at every challenge lifted our spirits and ceased our nervousness at horse riding competitions as well as tennis matches. Roxy and Nina were our biggest supporters. Even after every school day, Roxy and Nina greeted us with smiling expressions and enthusiastic barks and wagging tails. But they were street dogs and we had never had dogs before which made training them much harder than we presumed. This created a lot of distrust and arguments between my family. Something that once brought us together was pulling us apart. 

The white socked dog and her sister just became wilder and wilder as they grew up and the long walk on the beach could no longer appease their energy. Roxy and Nina had taken upon themselves the duty to protect our home by barking at every shadow that appeared on the street. This gave our home an unpleasant ambiance as the barks that once reflected encouragement and happiness now echoed between the house’s cold white marble floors. But there were always small sparks almost like a silver lining like the cracks of the marble. They always made me laugh. Nina was a dumb dog and often found herself in clumsy situations; contrastly Roxy was the confident leader to balance her sister. This again mirrored myself and my sister’s relationship. 

Nina’s clumsy nature always got her into trouble. Once I had gotten mad at her for walking up the stairs at the beach fearing she would get hit by a car. I ran up the stairs and urged her to come down. She became stressed by my anger and nervousness and decided to jump down the stairs and crashed with her whole body into the hard wet sand below. I stood there in awe and prayed she would not be hurt. Nina was fine and both her and I were baffled by her ability to survive that jump without injury. Roxy on the other hand was busy fighting the waves in the ocean and jumped in snout first into the crashing wave. Nina had just crashed into the sand and a wave had just crashed into Roxy. Roxy struggled to paddle against the waves’ strength with her snout barely on the water’s surface and her eyes wide open by surprise. Now our voices echoed like the seagulls above urging her to swim towards us. She finally struggled her way back onto shore and ran towards her sister. Roxy never returned into the water and we never returned to that beach. 

Through all the hardships that come with having a dog I will miss Roxy and Nina and wish to see them soon enough. They brought my family apart at times but together all at once. They strengthened the bond between my sister and I. Nina and Roxy complimented each other like my sister and I. Nina always got into trouble and Roxy got her out of it. They led us through the Tunisian beaches, followed us to our tennis matches, and cheered us on during our equitation lessons.  The day they left for Portugal and left our home marked the day of one of my hardest goodbyes.