I moved from Norway to Melbourne with nothing but a suitcase and everything I could squeeze into it. Within 2 weeks I met my partner Branden. I fell in love with him and the city he lived in. It can be incredibly difficult to build a new social network in a foreign country, and it was especially difficult for me as I struggle with social anxiety. Even when I did make new friends and have Branden by my side, I still felt lonely. Regardless of how many friends you have or how close you are with your partner or family - social anxiety can have such a huge impact on people’s lives. With all I had built while living in Melbourne, I still felt empty within.
From a young age, I always had a family dog. I really wanted to get a dog when I moved here, but it wasn’t right at the time because I didn’t have a permanent visa. 3 years later Branden and I sorted out my partner visa, we had a place to live, and we were both in good jobs – so we decided it was time to get a fur child. We searched all sorts of rescue groups, but we just couldn’t find the right match for us. It was October last year, when I stumbled across an ad about Japanese Spitz puppies. 2 hours later, we were on our way to say hello to a puppy (who already had the name Marshmallow) and who was going to change our lives forever. When we got there, he (Marshmallow) didn’t show any interest to us. We were intimidated by his hard-to-get attitude and decided that he was the one! I fell in love all over again. With his funny/quirky personality, he didn’t quite fit the name Marshmallow, so we changed it to Hamish. We took the name from the well known radio and TV personalities Hamish & Andy.
From the day we welcomed Hamish to our home, he has kept a constant smile on our faces. From the very first waking moments of our day, to the last at night. He provides so much love, joy and emotional support. Hamish is intelligent, funny and warm. He is an extrovert who loves meeting new dogs and humans. He is my best friend, my biggest fan and he makes sure I always feel safe and loved. Even though my homecity is 16241km away, my home will now and always will be where Hamish is. Says Celina & Hamish – Elwood, Australia.
