Abandoned at five weeks old beneath the grapevines on a Robinvale vineyard, weighing as much as a piece of fruit himself, the odds were not in this little silky terrier-cross’s favour.
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In a miracle akin to making wine from water, however, Sumi thrived after his rescue and has not long celebrated his 17th birthday.
It’s an age equivalent to 119 human years.
Sumi is Shepparton woman Leonie Wilson’s best mate.
He was brought to her home by her daughter, Jo, and her grandson, Asher, the day after he was found, when they came to visit after Leonie had just endured three months of chemotherapy and before facing another nine, in 2008.
“My muscles and legs weren’t quite right after the treatment and he was so little, I was scared I was going to trod on him,” Leonie said.
“But Jo and Asher said they couldn’t take him home with them, so he stayed.”
Asher, who is now almost 25 but was seven at the time, wanted Leonie to call the puppy Sumo after watching his tiny belly swell whenever he ate.
Leonie thought the name was more suited to a strong dog breed, such as a Staffy, but she liked the ring and wanted to appease her grandson, so she modified it to Sumi.
About six months after Sumi moved in and with two breast cancer treatments to go, Leonie’s mum passed away.
It was a tough time, Leonie recalled with fresh tears, but her little bed-hogging sidekick was a great source of comfort to her.
Now, at 17, despite still getting bursts of youthful puppy-like energy to playfully chase balls for a few minutes here and there, his eyesight is fading and he often looks for Leonie in the house so that he may cash in his I-owe-you tickets for his own comfort.
“He gets a bit lost, a bit disoriented,” Leonie said.
“But he has a great appetite, sleeps well, his heart is good, his stomach is good, he has no arthritis. The vet said on his annual check-up in March, ‘We’ll see him on his 18th birthday’.”
Besides having a couple of teeth out, a sore foot and one little lump, Sumi has led a healthy life.
Maybe it’s the premium diet of chicken (his favourite) and steak Leonie has lovingly spoiled him with.
“He basically has whatever I’m having,” she said.
“He loves chicken, but I only feed him cooked chicken that I pull apart nowadays.
“He prefers Charcoal Chicken over Coles chicken. And topside steak.”
Leonie said Sumi doesn’t have an aggressive bone in his body and isn’t a fuss-maker.
“He’s got a wonderful personality, very calm, nothing much fazes him,” she said.
But as he’s grown older, he has become more particular about a few things; a right we can probably all agree is earned after ‘119 years’ earthside.
“He used to like all three flavours of Schmackos, but now he will only eat the chicken ones,” she said.
“He likes ice-cream. He thinks if I have one that he should have one, too.”
As a visiting crow came down to bathe in a bird bath at ground level in Leonie’s backyard, she said Sumi used to chase birds, but had given up that pastime in recent years.
The birds know it, too, with many varieties regularly visiting Leonie’s lush garden sanctuary comfortably.
The crows pop in for food every morning, coming to the backyard if they’re not fed in the front.
Sometimes, they will even follow Leonie down the street as she and Sumi walk if she doesn’t provide an edible offering before stepping out of her gate.
Once upon a time, Sumi would walk a few kilometres each day, but now he wanders short distances in small bursts — although he had still clocked up about 1.2km the day The News visited.
Leonie said she hadn’t planned on buying a dog pusher, but was pleased she had, as it allowed her to get Sumi out and about easily in his twilight years.
“If he wants to get out, he stands up in the pusher, or if he’s walking, he will just stop still to show me he wants to get back in,” she said.
“Wherever he wants to stop, we stop. He commands the walk, I just hold the lead.”
While walking is one of his favourite things, Sumi also loves the things most dogs do: car rides and snoozing.
But for something a little less common, this winter he’ll be kept toasty during those naps by not only his long coat that Leonie lets grow out after his trim in spring each year, but by his own shorn hair of seasons gone by that Leonie has had spun with Merino wool into balls of yarn.
She is currently knitting Sumi a little blanket with the unique fibre crafted from his own cuddly cladding.
There’s no doubt the pampered little pooch is spoiled, but there’s nothing bratty about this 2008 vintage.
Like a fine wine, he’s just gotten better with age.
Senior journalist