Frankston odd couple, Trixi and Tabitha, are not your average dogs. Both girls can surf. Tabitha enjoys launching herself off the jetty onto a board, while Trixi takes a subtler approach. They can also commandeer the little boat their owner, Gina Proietti, built for them. Tabitha has the added skill of surf lifesaving which she rapidly deploys on command. These dogs seem to have been born for water sports. Their aquatic shenanigans have provided many hours of joy to Gina and countless beachgoers.
Trixi is a dainty little cream-coloured Maltese terrier cross. She’s twelve and a true lifelong adventurer. When Gina would go out for scenic rides around the Mornington Peninsula on her 250cc Yamaha cruiser, Trixi would come along in her specially designed basket. Trixi just loves the wind in her fur. She also enjoys dressing up (including pearls!) taking great pleasure in being the centre of attention. When she and Gina would visit the Camberwell market, Trixi delighted in riding around in a vintage pram dressed to the nines lapping up the adoration of passers-by.
Tabitha is a black English Staffordshire terrier. She’s eight. While also outgoing, she’s the more subdued personality of the two with a remarkably calm demeanor and exemplary behavior. Tabitha is so much like a person, you’d swear she had a human soul. She even sits like a person. She recognizes human speech and seems to understand everything Gina says. In fact, Tabitha thinks she is top tog and has a few ways of implying that.
If Gina is too slow letting her out of the car, Tabitha honks the horn telling her to pick up the pace. If her meal doesn’t come at the right time, Tabitha carries the food bowl to Gina and places it at her feet. When not competing with each other for attention, Trixi and Tabitha are incredibly close. Despite their different ages and breeds, they are true sisters.
Tabitha enjoys surfing, but her real pleasure comes from lifesaving.
Tabitha enjoys surfing, but her real pleasure comes from lifesaving. She swims out to Trixi, takes the board lead in her teeth and pulls Trixi to shore – every single time. Gina only has to say, “Go get your sister!” and Tabitha bounds off at full speed, leaping into the water and swimming out to get Trixi. If Gina is ever in trouble, she calls out to Tabitha who tears into the water to help.
Gina thinks of herself as an ordinary woman. She sells lotto tickets at a Frankston post office/newsagency and wishes her customers good luck, but behind this humble mild-mannered woman is an exceptional animal lover whose affinity with her dogs has brought out their extraordinary characteristics. Gina feels she won the lottery when she adopted Trixi and Tabitha. If they could speak, they’d probably same the same.
“I never had children. My dogs are my children. They are my life. I just love them. We have always been together. I never leave my dogs alone,” she says. Gina has been an animal lover her whole life. Born in Camberwell and raised in Chelsea Heights, Gina’s family always had a menagerie of pets: dogs, cats, turtles, chickens, ducks, guinea pigs and rabbits. Furred and feathered friends were constant companions.
“I have always loved kids and animals. When I go to the beach, kids just flock to me. One little girl who was about four asked if she could call me Grandma. Another little girl cried when she couldn’t see me at the beach,” she says. Parents love Gina. They know their kids are safe with her and the dogs. At Frankston beach, everyone knows Gina, Trixi and Tabitha.
Of course, the dogs are a sensation on Instagram. They had thousands of followers before their account mysteriously vanished. They are popular pooches with or without social media. Gina’s videos have been pirated and appear on TikTok in various iterations. During lockdown, the dogs even made the local Channel 10 news broadcast (though the incidentals were inaccurate).
While Gina takes no credit for her extraordinary canines, she’s nurtured them into the beautiful animals they are, fostered their love of the water and trained them to look out for each other and anyone in need. Gina isn’t an ordinary woman. There is something special about this woman who attracts animals and children like the Pied Piper. We need more like her.
IG: @trixi_and_tabitha