Want to talk about your pet subject?*If you would like to feature (with your pet) in a forthcoming edition of this regular column, please contact Colleen Morgan at Colleen@MoodieDavittReport.com |
The Moodie Davitt Report is delighted to bring you the latest edition in our Petsonality Profile column, in association with Tito’s Handmade Vodka.
In this regular fun feature, we discover more about travel retail pet-sonalities, their back stories, traits and habits, as well as offering some insights into their owners. Each pet-sonality is also painted digitally by pets and equine artist Sami Moodie.
In this edition we meet Reklaim Global SVP Revenue Travel & Hospitality Nadine Heubel* and her two Rhodesian Ridgebacks, Rhonda and Tara.
Names and nicknames: Rhonda, who is also known as Rhondi, Ponsi-Bear and Fräulein whenever she is naughty. Tara is also called Tari and Tarissil when she is not on her best behaviour.
Breed: Rhonda and Tara are Rhodesian Ridgebacks.
How old are they? Rhonda is eight-and-a-half years old, and Tara is five-and-a-half, although she still acts like a puppy.
How did you meet? I met Rhonda for the first time at the breeders’ house when she was four weeks old. My ex-husband and I were invited together with another couple to meet the litter of 12 Rhodesian Ridgeback babies. They were all in a squared fenced area when we saw them for the first time.
I can’t remember why but I decided to place myself at one corner of the fence away from all the others and while I was watching the puppies, Rhonda came and stood in front of me. She stared at me and then she started crying. That was the moment I knew I wanted her and no other puppy.
Tara is Rhonda’s niece and I met her for the first time at Miami Airport. At ten weeks old she flew all by herself with Lufthansa from Frankfurt, Germany.
Love at first sight? Absolutely. I cannot imagine life without them.
Quirky habits? Rhonda loves to chill with me on the couch in the evening. We watch TV and I think that is her favourite time of the day. If we have dinner guests, there is always a time when Rhonda lets us know she has had enough and it’s ‘couch time’ with me. She will sit in front of the guests and start crying, basically telling them to wrap it up and leave.
Tara likes to eat socks and underwear, which is very atypical for a Rhodesian Ridgeback. On her second day with me she ate my mum’s hairband and we had to take her to the vet. In the end, everything was fine, but I think that hairband was so delicious that she just loves to eat socks/panties/hairbands ever since.
Funniest and/or nicest moments? In Florida, you can’t really walk your dogs off leash. For that reason, I love spending time with them in South Carolina where you can walk them off leash at many beaches.
Hilton Head Island in South Carolina is my happy place and I think it is Rhonda’s and Tara’s as well. We love to walk on the beach together and they love to run… until Rhonda doesn’t.
She has a mind of her own and is very strong willed. Sometimes she just stops walking and makes herself comfortable on the beach. I can’t negotiate with her to walk one single step further, no matter how big the treat to reward her for walking. Absolutely no chance, even if Tara and I want to continue. Sometimes it also happens that she just turns around on her own and goes back to our sunchairs/towels on the beach.
Tara is a very happy dog, always friendly (unless you are another big dog) and has absolutely no attitude.
Favourite trick? And treat? Tara is an amazing student; she loves to learn new things. We recently went to an advanced trick class and she learnt how to rotate around her own axle left-turn and right-turn. She’s very food driven and she would do anything for a treat, with favourites all kinds of fruit and vegetables.
Rhonda is different – she will only do something if there is a treat involved, but if she doesn’t want the treat there is definitely no trick (as shown in her beach antics). She loves chicken.
Social media account? They are on Instagram: RhondaandTara.
If Rhonda and Tara could talk what would their first words be? As I am travelling quite a bit, Rhonda would say ‘Where the hell were you? I’ve been waiting for you’ and Tara, ‘Do you really think you can leave without me without any consequences?’. She tends to leave little ‘gifts’ in my bedroom the first night I am away.
Favourite airport/airline? They both have only flown Lufthansa from Frankfurt to Miami airport and loved the animal lounge at Frankfurt Airport.
Anything else we should know? Rhonda had a boyfriend called Marley (a Goldendoodle), and the two of them were inseparable until Tara came in our life. Sadly, Marley decided to dump the older girlfriend and take the younger one – Tara – as his new girlfriend.
If I had more time my dream would be for the two to be Instagram stars with millions of followers but for now, I am following my passion to bring pre-owned luxury to travel retail. Therefore, the girls have to wait for a little bit longer to become social media stars.
[Check out a recent post from Nadine on LinkedIn where she offers “unsolicited advice” for dog owners when they are taking their pets out for a walk. Hint: Leave your phone at home.]
*Pre-owned luxury specialist Reklaim is expanding into travel retail, with a ‘technology-first’ approach and a vast catalogue spanning 1.2 million handbags and 600,000 timepieces with merchandise value of around US$8.1 billion.
Click here for our introductory story on the Duty Free Unleashed partnership with Tito’s Handmade Vodka. The independent vodka brand from Austin, Texas has had a close connection with the welfare of dogs since its founding by Bert ‘Tito’ Beveridge in 1997.
The company has always been committed to rescuing and protecting the animals that have come into the lives of its people, and has even created a programme, Vodka for Dog People, to help that come to life.
Note: Through this new column, Tito’s Handmade Vodka and The Moodie Davitt Report are partnering to promote the work of brokenbiscuits.org, a disabled animal charity. As the world’s first disabled animal centre, its work includes:
- Providing equipment to families
- Offering homes to paraplegic, deaf, blind and disabled animals
- An education programme of visiting schools and universities
- Working alongside rescue centres, rehabbers and veterinary professionals
- Caring for stray and surrendered disabled animals
To support the work of Broken Biscuits, you can donate via this link or find out more via the youtube channel.
Previously on Pet-sonality Profile
Meet Sharon Crompton, Bruce and Dexter
Meet Jeff Butler and Rosie and Rascal
Meet Hannah Tan-Gillies and Charlie
Meet Daniel Levin and Garfield
Meet Denz van der List and Jazz
Meet Tankred Stachelhaus and Pepina
Maitreyi Karanth’s Shaggy (and Demi) dog story
Meet Jilly Brocklebank and Sadie
Meet Alex Thompson and Chester
Meet Sinéad El Sibai and Guinness
Meet Bronwyn Clementson and Harvey
Meet Jeff Bond and his four-legged friends
Meet Pauline Prescott’s Daisy and Digger
Meet Julio Cesar Magaña Ortiz and Hope
Meet Barry Geoghegan, Milly and Jess
Meet Duke and Lindsay Hitzeroth
