Tina Jane Turner

by Carole Turner
(San Diego, CA)

This picture was taken 06/07/09. Tina had just gotten a carrot out of the fridge (she liked to get them out the bag herself), and I was cooing at her...telling her how funny she looked. I rescued Tina (my gentle 84 pound Pit Bull / Lab mix) when she was a baby (approximately eight weeks old.) I was pulling up in front of my house after work one day, and some teenage boys (approximately 15 - 16 years old) were in the process of throwing something black in the shrubs in front of my house, which I thought was a black plastic bag. Little did I know it was a puppy. She fell out of the bushes onto to the sidewalk. I Jumped out of my car, grabbed her and ran into my yard and shut the gate. There was also a little boy and girl (maybe around seven years old) standing there and the little girl was crying. I asked her what was wrong and, as she opened her hand she said, "I've been following these boys around the neighborhood, and they were hurting her. I have $1.92 cents left from my allowance and I was trying to buy her from them so they would stop hurting her." I then screamed at the boys to get out of my site or I'd call the police. I let the little girl and boy pet the puppy, thanked them for caring, gave them a hug and they were on their way. I took the puppy inside and immediately named her Tina Jane Turner. She still to this day has marks on her face and tummy from the abuse she suffered. The little girl told me what she saw them do, however; I prefer not to share the heart-break.

...Three days later. I was at home enjoying my new baby. Suddenly there was a loud banging on my front door. It was a man yelling at me that I had his nephew's puppy. I told him that his nephew and some other boys were abusing the puppy, had hurt her and that I'd already pre-paid for her shots so she was mine. He started yelling at me and told me he was going to call the police, if I did not give her back. I told him to go ahead and call them because it was too late...she was already mine. He told me that I could have her if I gave him some money. I opened the door and told both him and his nephew to get off my property. Once they were on the

other side of the gate I asked him how much he wanted (thinking he would probably say something like $500), which would have been fine. He said, "I'll have to have at least $20." I was so angry that that's all she was worth to him, but I considered the source. I came back inside the house, got "two" twenty dollar bills, rolled them up into balls, opened the door, threw them out to him and told both of them to never come near my property again.

...Tina was also diagnosed with Parvo just before she was due to have her first puppy shots. She almost died, but put on a good fight. She spent a week at the vet hospital, and they administered lots of IV's and meds into her sweet little body. I ended up spending $1,800 on her care...but she was worth it...and SHE LIVED!!! Well, to make a very long happy story short, that was back in 2001.

Tina is one of the funniest dogs I've ever owned. She flips her water and food bowls over, if they are almost empty (keeps me busy.) She sleeps in bed with me, and she'll kick me with her paws when she wants "tummy rubs." She also likes to sleep on her back, and if she's getting tummy rubs and I stop, she'll start kicking all four feet (paws) stright up in the air until I resume. She gets jealous and has a special talk she does when I do not pay attention to her (I have four other dogs.) She backs up the steps rather than walk up head first (she learned this when she was a puppy.) She learned that, if she backed up to me, she'd get a good butt/back scratchin'....and she's done it ever since. She has her own pillow that she moves around (as needed) to wherever she decides to reside on the bed. She grins from ear-to-ear when I talk baby talk to her (my brother says she looks like an alligator.) She loves carrots (she likes to get them out of the bag herself) so I have to make sure I keep the fridge stocked because she will also let me know when she wants one.

There are so many other unique things about her personality...my Miss Tina Jane Turner. She's literally the funniest dog I've ever had. (she has a different face for every one of her emotions.) It is amazing how "one moment...at the right time" brought us two together, and has given me some of the greatest years of joy I've ever experienced.