We have received the first photograph of Farage in England, meeting his new mum. Another successful handover, and as Moira said, we have transport going to the UK in early December, so don’t let geography come between you and the dog of your dreams!
Yesterday saw the adoption of Enigma, the second of the beagle pups. This leaves just Tara in terms of very young pups, although inevitably we have several dogs who have outgrown the initial “cute puppy” stage and have sadly been abandoned at the SPA, or more frequently dumped in the middle of nowhere and brought in. I hate to see young dogs growing up behind bars. I hate to see ANY dog behind bars, but it is heart-breaking to know that dogs are missing out on valuable socialisation time, usually due to irresponsible breeding.
The other adoption was that of Prosper, who had been adopted once already and brought back due to his inability to share the affection of his owners with the other family dog. Although he shares quite happily at the SPA, strangely enough. This time he had been waiting since mid-April, and as he will have his seventh birthday next month, this is quite a long wait. However I am sure he thinks it was worth it, as he has a lovely new family with three children and NO DOGS. We are confident that this time it is for ever!
Today at the SPA there were no adoptions, but equally there were no arrivals. However there were lots of walks. So it was a good day. For those of you not in the Carcassonne area, we are still in T-shirts down here and the temperature is still in the mid-20s. We know it can’t last forever, but we and the dogs are making the most of it while we can!
Finally and a propos of yesterday’s blog, I would just like to talk briefly about Thérèse, a dog who was adopted from the SPA two and half years ago. She was one of the “plump brigade” and although we did our best to help her lose weight, with over a hundred dogs to walk, it was not easy. Very sadly she died a month ago of renal failure (she was no spring chicken when she was adopted, and the extra weight will not have helped with her health problems). Her owners came to visit us on Tuesday to tell us the sad news and we all had a little cry together. Thérèse was one of my favourite dogs, and I am so pleased to hear how much her family adored her right until her last day. It was humbling to hear that despite all they had done for Thérèse, they still felt that she had given them far more than they had given her. If only all our dogs could be this lucky. And yes, before you ask, once she was out of the SPA and having regular walks, the weight dropped off her no problems.
Maybe we should have an “adopt a fatty” campaign?!
Tara – Why am I left behind?
Prosper- ADOPTED
And beautiful Thérèse. Loved till her last breath.