Georgina
Georgina Covington has been surrounded by dogs all her life, growing up amid a pack of ten Old English Sheepdogs and one wiley Fox Terrier. Animal welfare is her enduring passion, and her hair-raising adventures have encompassed everything from injured snakes and orphaned kangaroos to troubled horses and shy dingoes.
A qualified biologist and experienced veterinary nurse, she has worked – quite literally – with all creatures great and small, in zoos, vet clinics and both wildlife and domestic animal shelters.
For the past fourteen years, she has devoted herself entirely to dogs, and is a canine behaviourist, Certified Family Dog Mediator and Internationally Certified Master Groomer.
When not grooming dogs, training dogs, home-schooling her son Daniel or mending fences broken by her motley collection of horses, she is usually reading about dogs, listening to podcasts about dogs or going for a walk or a bike ride with… you guessed it… dogs!
Qualifications
Certificate III in Pet Grooming
Certificate III in Dog Behaviour & Training
Bachelor of Science, major in Ecology, minor in Behaviour
PostGraduate Certificate in Canine Science
Industry Certifications
Internationally Certified Master Groomer
L.E.G.S. Applied Ethology Family Dog Mediation Professional Course
Aggression in Dogs Master Course
Sparkles
Sparkles the bouncy Bichon Frise joined us in February 2019 at 16 weeks, and has the biggest case of small-dog-syndrome known to man! Forthright and utterly fearless, she stops all customers at the gate with a Earth-shuddering show of force her dearly departed Dobermann brothers would be proud to see.
When the world returns to normal, Sparkles has a big future ahead in the grooming competition arena, but currently she is content patrolling the boundaries and praying fervently she will wake up one morning miraculously transformed into a pit-bull.
Kora
Joining us in March 2020 at 12 weeks, Kora is an Azawakh: a rare breed of sighthound bred by the Tuareg nomads of West Africa, traversing the Sahelian zone of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. Azawakh are coursing hounds and guardians, helping their masters catch food in the harsh desert environment by day, and protecting their camps and livestock from raiders by night.
Named after a West African instrument, Kora is just 5 generations down from her African ancestors. Whilst Azawakh are fierce guard dogs, Kora has a keen sense for telling friend from foe, loudly demanding pats from her favourite people.
Calabash
In West Africa, the kora is made from the gourd of a calabash plant, and so, it seemed only fitting to have Kora’s baby half-brother, Bash, join the family in May 2021.
The punkiest of punks and the kissiest of sappy kissers, he is a big boy with a big bark, but underneath at all, loves nothing more than a snuggly snooze on Georgina’s lap.
His maternal grandfather came straight from the Sahara, and Bashi’s cunning desert blood helps him steal sandwiches and slippers with lightening speed.
Amzhad
Kora’s sweet and gentle mother, Amzhad, came to enjoy her retirement with us in 2022, aged 7. A little more circumspect than her daughter and stepson, she will be the one at the back of the pack assessing carefully whether your presence requires her attention or whether “the children” have you suitably under control.
In West Africa, the amzhad is another musical instrument made from the gourd of a calabash plant, so our theme continues to ring true as Amzhad lends her deep, measured contralto to her daughter’s soprano yodels and Bash’s baritone growls.
And watching over us forever…
Seamus
Seamus the Dobermann joined us in January 2012. Ten months later, two days after his first birthday, he came Third in his first Obedience Trial, in a class of 27 dogs.
He was Daniel’s constant companion from birth. With a fetish for ears, he smooched all he met, and had the most entertaining range of peculiar personal habits ever encountered. He had a passion for kissing cows, yet maintained an ongoing feud with a Shetland named Tallula.
He died suddenly of genetic heart failure in August 2020, aged 8, leaving a hole in our lives which can never be filled.
Fergal
Fergal was the face behind In The Pink. His arrival in August 2010 changed Georgina’s world, leading to new goals, qualifications, friends and romance. Thanks to him, she leads the life of her dreams.
Fergal lived to worship his mum. Born with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (common to his breed), he was prone to deep anxieties out of keeping with his imposing stature and big fat waggy bum. With flawless obedience skills and a yearn to work, he joined a demo team at 18 months, and ran many a class. He died suddenly of genetic heart failure in August 2017, aged 7, and not a day passes when we don’t long for him back.
Kimberley
The memory of Kimberley the working Border Collie long kept the In The Pink team on the straight and narrow. She was the most extraordinary dog Georgina and many of her colleagues have ever worked with, capable of performing any new task asked of her …at any age, under any circumstances… from herding and obedience to trick training and scent detection.
With us until the age of 12, her innate wisdom, and quiet, steady presence saw Georgina through some of the toughest times of her life, and she is very sorely missed. Her picture hangs by our front door, those hypnotic, yellow eyes watching over us forever.
