Sunday 20 November 2011

COCOA & DUDLEY


I received a call from Paul to tell me about a little old male that had been taken into a rescue by police and needed rehoming as soon as possible. So we went to see what he was like. when we got there it was heartbreaking to see all the rows of kennels and the barking was deafening. As we were lead to him all of the dogs were jumping up the wire and running around trying to get some attention, and then we got to him he was just curled up in the corner of his kennel in a plastic dog bed like a little bony moth eaten ball and he wouldn't even look at us. He looked so sad and withdrawn I immediately fell in love and said we'd have him. So we took 'Cocoa' home and he just ignored us for weeks as he was so frightened of people. It took ages for us to gain his trust

But when we did it was all worth it, to eventually see him standing at the bottom of the stairs wagging his tail in excitement when I got up in the morning and when I  would get back from shopping to see him trying to jump around in his funny little unflexible kind of way. He was a typical male, not liking any public displays of affection (kisses and cuddles) but i knew he'd started to love me as i did him. Sadly about a year after id got him i noticed he was starting to feel unwell and getting lumps around his neck - it was lymphatic cancer. It seemed to get worse so fast in a matter of weeks until it got to the point where he didn't even want to go for a walk so i made the difficult decision of having him put to sleep.

Paul has been there for me all the way through even when i was crying down the phone to him. Even though at the end of his life it was such a sad time for me I will never regret having Cocoa as I have so many such good memories of walking him down the riverbank or at the seaside and things. And I'm glad that I could make the last year of his life such a happy one. A few weeks after Paul urged me to get another one but I was unsure because I felt bad like i might feel like I'd be trying to replace or forget Cocoa, but i've since realised that they are all so individual and nothing can replace the memories.


That brings me to the next nameless unwanted little soul who is now called Dudley. He also needed a home urgently as someone had found him left in their garden and took him to a vets. When we went to pick him up he was also very scared but differed to Cocoa in that he was defensive and was growling at me not wanting to come near. I was a little nervous about taking him but could see he was just so scared but that soon changed. On the way home I was sat in the back of the car with him and he was sick on me. I cleaned it up and straight away he came and cuddled up on my knee and went to sleep and from then on he trusted me. He didn't like strangers and would be frightened if anyone made any sudden movements. He's improved so much since and is still improving. He occasionally gives my nanny a growl but he's never liked her for some reason.

One of the most rewarding things with Dudley was teaching him how to play with toys and balls as he's only still very young, but didn't seem to know how. They thought he was about a year old when we got him but he's grown so much he's now the size of a labrador. He loves sitting on the door step smelling the air and I often look out of the window to see o.a.p's talking to him on their way past the garden while he walks around the railings with them. His favourite thing is kisses and he also enjoys a massage. At night he often climbs on my knee and has a cuddle. Im so grateful to Paul for both of them. Sorry its so long, i didn't know what not to include.

Thank you, Kimberleyx