When we got Indi she was about 1.5 years old, and very energetic but also quite wary of strangers and timid at times as though she’d been hit. It took her a little bit of time to fully trust us and for a while she was scared when we came near her carrying a rope, the hose or sticks. She did not like strange men at all. We had recently lost our old Rottweiler, Babe, and our other Rotty, Nero was very sad and lonely on his own. He was the kindest gentle soul and the two of them were fantastic together right from the start. She got lazy Nero, who was 2 years older than her, up and going from the moment she got here! They adored each other and being farm dogs living on 10 acres was a perfect life for Indi, once we taught her that horses and chickens were not for chasing! She loved swimming in the dam, chasing rabbits, and going for car rides, and generally just loved to be with us. If we went out at night, we’d find her curled up on our bed when we got home with a guilty look on her face, and I think she just wanted to be where she could smell us. My partner, Glenn ate breakfast each morning with Indi under the table with her head on his leg and if you weren’t patting her, she’d nudge your hand until you were. She loved cuddles and was constantly giving us kisses.

We did a couple of years of obedience training at dog club and while she was pretty smart, Indi spent plenty of time rolling around on her back having a play, with Glenn dragging her along trying to get her to heel with the rest of the class! She ruptured a cruciate ligament at about 7 years old, running across the paddock but we followed the rehab instructions to the letter and she bounced back really well after the operation, only to do the other cruciate 2 years later. We called her the bionic dog because you could feel the screws in her legs on the titanium plates.

After we lost Nero at 10 yo, we got a kelpie shepherd pup called Mac. We had thought that Indi was a very active dog, but we’d never had a kelpie and it was a massive eye opener!! Indi could be a bit funny with other dogs but this bold little puppy walked straight up to her and insisted she play with him and we knew Mac was going to be great for her. The first night we had him he curled up in front of the fire with his head on her, much to her disgust at first, but this set the standard and they slept curled up together in our bedroom every night for the rest of her life.

At almost 13 years old, her arthritis was making her very lame, and she had quite a large lump which had grown on her nose. Not wanting Mac to be lonely, we decided to get another dog while we still had Indi, and we got a rotty pup, Brynn. Indi was the perfect “auntie” for the baby, and Brynn would follow her around the paddocks and if she got left behind while we were out feeding horses she’d quickly find Indi again and stick to her like glue. Having the pup gave Indi a bit of a break from Mac’s rough play, so she would play for a bit with the others and lie in the sun and watch when she got tired. She did a terrific job of putting the pup back in line when she got too cheeky, unlike Mac who let her get away with everything and left the manners training for us to do! We had the three dogs for about 2 months then had to make the very hard decision to put Indi down. Little Brynn had some huge feet to fill, and she’s proving to be a lovely girl just like her big sister Indi.

I don’t think I could ever imagine a more loyal loving dog than Indi. It was like she absolutely lived to be with us and we loved her more than you could imagine. Our dogs are our babies, and I am so glad that Vic Dog Rescue saved her and after whatever had happened to her in the past, we could give her such a good home where she knew she was loved and looked after.