Tia was born on December of 2007, and arrived at Wild Spirit in August of 2015. Some consider the rare and wild New Guinea singing dogs to be most like dingoes, but others report that they have completely unique DNA. They get their name from their equally unique howl which is nearly impossible to describe. Some say it sounds like a barbershop quartet, and others describe it as an ethereal trill. When we rescued our first group of Singers, Bono, Reba, Princess, Foxy and Bowie, we heard there were less than 200 New Guinea singing dogs in captivity, and that they may already be extinct on their native island of Papua New Guinea. We read that on the island, Singers were seen more in pairs than in packs. Recently, however, we learned that a very small number of wild singers still exist on their native island!

Juan and Tia were held for over 6 years by a breeder in Tijuana, Mexico. When Tia and Juan were no longer successfully breeding, the two were scheduled to be euthanized in 2015. That’s when Wild Spirit, the New Guinea Singing Dog Conservation Society, and many other caring folks came together to save their lives.

Unfortunately, in 2020 a routine vet visit revealed that both Tia and Juan were both nearly blind, deaf and suffering from arthritis. Tia in particular was struggling with a severe eye condition, and began to show signs of organ failure. Her life-long companion, Juan, passed just two weeks prior, and seeing her declining health, we made the difficult decision to help her along. Tia was a special addition to the Wild Spirit family, as one of the few critters who would curl up in our lap, and insist on being held. She is missed, even to this day.