Celebrating our area's four-legged, feathered and finned friends

By Patience Renzulli

March 25, 2009

Dixie May Be Wobbly, But She Still Runs the Show

Meet Miss Dixie, the Queen of the iPets!

Dixie, a little black Pug, was already a swaggering senior when she waddled into the lives and hearts of Steve Shirling and Michael Ross.

Steve fell in love with Pugs when the couple lived in New York City. Since his acting jobs didn’t allow time for a dog of his own, Steve volunteered to dog-sit for friends and got hooked on Pugs. When Steve and Michael moved back to Michael’s home turf of Paducah and found an old house to rehab, Steve surfed to the Kentuckiana Pug Rescue site, and the rest, as they say, is her-story.

“I didn’t even know what she looked like - there was no picture on the Web site," Steve recalls. “The only information that I had was that she was a 12-year-old Black pug named Dixie who was being mistreated because her owner had Alzheimer’s.”

And the little dog had arthritis, which would require her to be on medication for the rest of her days.

Steve hadn’t considered adopting an older pet, but when the rescue asked, “I gave it some thought and discussed it with Michael,” Steve says. “We both decided it would actually be perfect! Not only would I be getting a dog that was somewhat trained, but an older dog would be getting a permanent home to spend the last years of her life.”

Steve and Michael later discovered that Dixie was actually 10 years old when she came to them. She celebrated her 16th year this past January. (For the math challenged like me, that’s 112 in people years. I had to use a calculator.)

Steven and Michael adopted a second Pug, Gunther, just eight months after Dixie’s arrival.

Regardless of her advanced years, Steve says Dixie is doing great. “She’s a bit wobbly and doesn’t walk much unless food is involved,” he notes. “We pretty much carry her from room to room. Her exercise, pretty much, is standing for long periods of time. Other than that, she still has her wits about her. She’s also gotten really affectionate as she’s aged.”

Steve encourages others to consider adopting an older rescue. “They have so much love to give,” he says. “The only drawback to taking care of a senior dog is that there just may not be enough years to spend with them.”

Since they know so little of Dixie’s past, Steve and Michael like to fabricate it… a bit. “Like she was a dancer/mascot with the Radio City Rockettes back in the ‘30s, but got kicked out for smokin’ and boozing,” Steve says with a laugh. “And it’s been a rough ride ever since!”

Not too rough. When Steve and Michael go out, to keep the wobbly old gal safe, Dixie has her own cushy crate condo called “Dixie Land.” (Poor Gunther has to make due with the bed.)

“Dixie runs the house and our lives,” Steve says, “and we wouldn’t have it any other way!”


Rock on Dixie, the Queen of the iPets!