Tanks a lot for all the love

By Emma Sun
MOST children wish for a pet kitten or puppy at some stage of their life but not all have their wish granted.
Eight-year-old William Tankard from Pakenham is one of the lucky ones but his mother Lisa said it took quite some nagging.
“He has pestered me a lot,” she said.
“He’s always wanted a dog, and because we’ve rented we’ve never been able to have one. This landlord allowed us to have one though.”
On his eighth birthday last year, William received a 10-weeks-old King Charles cavalier and has been in love with the puppy ever since. They named him Tanks, after their surname.
“When we bought him he was a bit chunky, tanky, so that was the other reason we named him that,” Lisa said.
William plays a big role in looking after Tanks, and with the help of his mum, dad, brother and sister, taking care of the puppy is something the whole family enjoys.
“All three kids look after him, they all go out and walk him and feed him,” Lisa said. “The kids love him to death.”
Everyone loves to play with Tanks, but no one as much as William does.
“I like to feed him; I feed him once a day,” William said.
“I play games with him and we do races with my brother and sister.”
Tanks repays the attention he is given equally, and his affection for the whole family, especially William, is evident in the way he behaves around him.
“He loves to sit on William’s lap and get patted and cuddled,” Lisa said.
“He’s always there to make the tears go away when the kids hurt themselves.”
The family are slowly training Tanks, teaching him tricks and commands to obey. During the first few weeks, Tanks was taken to puppy preschool at the local vet so everybody could learn the tricks. Nowadays, the family teach him at home.
“We’re training him from the information (the instructor) gave us,” Lisa said.
“He knows sit and he knows to stay – my husband can put food on the ground and he knows not to touch it. He likes to put his paws up and hopes to get special treats. He knows to fetch, he brings (the ball) back and drops it.
“We’re still training him, but we’re mainly training him at home now.”
Lisa said getting Tanks for William was one of the best things they could have done, and everyone was reaping the benefits.
“He’s really brightened up William’s life,” she said.
“It’s the best thing we’ve done for him. (Tanks) loves the kids, he’s just a really good breed for kids. He’s never really play-bitten them or anything, he’s just a really playful dog.”
William said he loves Tanks and will continue to play with him and look after him everyday.
“He’s fun and he’s cuddly. I like him a lot,” he said.