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We walked back to the office, discussing along the way .....................................
Believe it or not, the canine phobic was the FOR and the canine phile was the AGAINST! Five minutes later, the kennel owner was laying down the law about making more from keeping him than from letting "learners" take him on and then returning him for them to sort him out - "AGAIN" Her ploy worked, we gladly paid the required compensatory fee. At that point, she disappeared....... The lovely kennel maid spent as much time as we needed re-assuring us that we could cope and then took the returned lead to go and get him. That ten minutes was the longest I think we have know, will leave it to you to imaging how little we talked, each in their own thoughts. When they returned to the office, we first saw a skinny hound that was so big his head was above the desk. And, even then, it did not fully dawn on us just how big he was. To be honest, at that moment, we were BOTH scared of him.
Two minutes later, we were outside the gate with an unknown huge hound and our tailgate up. deciding that we would have to risk life and limb by lifting him, I thought to say, "in you go." He popped over the bumper and took up anxious residence. He stood up for the whole 2 hour journey home ................. He panted and pranced at being indoors when we got him there; he refused to poo or pee within 3 miles of the house! For 3 weeks, we walked him a minimum of 3 miles, 5 times per day to get him to evacuate anything! The food the kennels recommended gave him galloping, yellow diarrhea but he held it 'till he was far enough from the house [in his estimation] to let it RIP! Can you imagine the cruelty that must have been applied to make him insist on that amount of distance for himself? He then weighed 38lbs, after 3 months of feeding up. He now weighs 62 - 64 lbs and is regarded as FIT by us and our vet, but skinny by our friends Over the next year, we managed to negotiate with him a new food that suited; words that gave him permission to poo & pee and eventually to do those in our garden; a quiet tone and thinking time that allowed him and us to do things together; a family routine; it took 18 months to get a recall though. Had we got him from a Rescue Organisation, be assured that he would have gone back several times!!! Thank God that we did not have that option. Nowadays, "Red" is regarded by all that know him as the most perfect dog anyone could ever have and, we agree. He goes visiting at a hospital for the chronically (terminally) ill and always knows who to lie alongside; he visits the housebound and cheers them up; he is the perfect Schoolmaster for us and our new hound, Runi.
Mary
& Ken Snowdon |
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