Many of you will know that Melba, the beautiful Braque Allemand, was reserved by my son and eventually arrived chez moi last Thursday! Because I had 5 other foster pets I didn’t think it was fair to bring Melba here until I could give her all of my attention but at last she was there, her first step towards a happy future!
Melba arrived at the SPA as a pup and really did have the ‘cute’ factor so was adopted from us fairly quickly. She was then abandoned, a boisterous adolescent who had received no training, little attention and had been left to her own devices! We all know the havoc that a bored, unexercised and ignored pup can cause but I knew that Melba was a clever, keen girl.
Anyone who knows me well also knows my dogs Zac and Phoebe. Zac is a Labrador cross Collie who I have had from a pup and gets on with anyone and everything. Phoebe is a Boxer cross who I have had since she was 2 and is a fantastic people dog but needs careful introductions to other dogs. If things are done at Phoebes pace then there are no problems but she likes to dictate that pace! After picking up Melba from the refuge I had my hubby meet us with my dogs and off we went for our first walk together. I breathed a sigh of relief when Madame Pheobe gave Melba a sniff and then ignored her; this really was the doggy equivalent of the thumbs up! When we got back to the house Melba had a good sniff around and hoping she would settle I popped her in her cage. She howled and after 10 minutes I gave up and let her out. She quickly jumped up on the sofa and went to sleep…hmm…should I let her settle or what? By this time it was dinner time so the lure of food and a glass of wine was much too much for me so I let her sleep.
At bedtime I was a bit wary about putting her back in her cage but she quickly settled and slept until morning. Next day we packed up a picnic and the 3 dogs, then headed up to the Pyrenees for a long walk to tire them out before their big journey to Scotland. This certainly worked and after 3-4 hours walking on the hills we had very tired dogs!
Next day was hectic with an early morning walk and then a very special pick up in Limoux, a lovely little Pincher cross called Petit who was also travelling with us. Petit had been fostered by our volunteer Di, who had gone out of her way to accommodate this young chap, even although this is her busiest time of year. When Petit arrived at Dis a few weeks ago he was scared, not house trained and very wary of men but the Petit I picked up was confident, clean in the house and for all the journey and fine with my hubby. This was all down to Di’s hard work socializing and training him so a massive thank you to her. It’s so hard to hand over a foster pet especially when you know that they have a 16 hour journey ahead of them with people and animals they have never met and Di would be the first to admit there were a few tears!
Petit made the animal count in my car up to 6 so we decided to travel at night. We left France about 4pm and had a very relaxed drive through France. 3am we were walking along the promenade in Calais with all the dogs and the smell and sight of rabbits around the beach huts certainly perked them all up! The animal checks at Eurotunnel went painlessly and we arrived in Folkestone at 7am where Ellen the new mum for Petit and Kevin my son who adopting two kittens were waiting to meet us. Ellen had brought along Zelda, her staffie cross whippet to meet Petit and both were delighted with the new arrival!
Off we set again through the UK with only 10 hours drive in front of us until we reached home! That was a journey of 27 hours for Melba who arrived a bit bewildered but ready to begin her new life roaming the Scottish hills. A walk in the woods, a splash in river and lots of new smells really perked Melba up and Stuart and Juliette were absolutely delighted with her. We shall definitely have regular updates of Melbas progress. This will be their first dog and I am very proud how they have thought long and hard about the dog they wanted, have planned training classes and also considered how Melba will fit into their lifestyle.
For rescue dogs like Melba and Petit, to travel so far to a new life certainly is an incredible journey!
Melba in the Pyrenees
Ellen giving Petit his first cuddle.