Amidst the seemingly endless reports of puppy farms, cruelty and neglect I sometimes try to remember that there are still countless dog owners who do care deeply for their pets. In a Facebook post recently where a member of a Dalmatian Owners group noted the death of their 15 year old Dalmatian, the expressions of sympathy…
Category: Dog Welfare
Fahrenheit 451
Yesterday’s news. I came across the 2015 Dog Control Statistics for Ireland. Superficially at least, the headline figure in the Euthanasia section seemed like good news, half what it was when we first adopted KiKi, standing at 1,824 rather than in excess of three thousand dead dogs. Move over a couple of columns though and…
5420
Five thousand four hundred and twenty days give or take since we first saw her. Ninety miles or so from here, with her sister Flash and her mother Cindy, now both gone. Leica turns fifteen today in the company of our two ‘rescue’ dogs, KiKi age four and six months and Django age two and seven…
The Dimming of The Day
It seems like forever ago that she came to live with us, eight weeks old, with her sister Flash. Inquisitive, gentle, intelligent, affectionate and full of mischief. Leica’s world is dimming now as her eyesight and her hearing slowly desert her and she becomes ever more frail. Bonded to her sister since birth, separated from her…
Other Lives, Loved
In the two year life of this blog, I’ve talked mainly about our personal, direct, real life experiences with our dogs. At the heart of it though, the issue that prompted its inception, is the needless euthanasia of so many dogs around the country, and our apparent willingness as a society to allow it to…
The Adjustment Bureau
As we expected, the introduction of a third dog was going to bring up some issues. Once more we have a dog whose first two years we know only a little of. Like KiKi too, this dog has spent the last several months in a pen and is going to need time to readjust to domestic…
Kindred
One more week will see the second anniversary of KiKi’s arrival here with us. Two years ago she was still in the care of ASH Animal Rescue in County Wicklow, two days ago, we went back with her. In her life with us KiKi has been an unexpected mixture of delight and at times, distress….
Indivisible
It’s hard to imagine the it’s now a little more than two years now since Flash left us. The strangest, sweetest little dog that she was. Her sister Leica carries on, older and increasingly frail now she shares her days with KiKi and at night they too huddle as foxes for warmth.
E Pluribus Unum : Out of many, One
Since this blog first began it has dealt in the main with our experiences with KiKi and our mutual adaptations and re-learning. Now, almost two years have passed since Flash died and the journey we found ourselves on started, finding KiKi and learning something of the reality of dog euthanasia here in Ireland. Yet however special we…
Total Recall
OK, I admit the title may be a little misleading. Perhaps “50% Recall” would be more accurate, just not as catchy. KiKi turned four last week and the past 18 months or so of living with her have been a bit of a rollercoaster ride. Her recall behaviour remains selective, but it’s perfectly clear that…
Catch 22
Since she first arrived to live with us, it has been clear that KiKi found the world outside utterly absorbing. Her enthusiasm to scent and track, her eagerness to explore new places and her seemingly unbounded enjoyment in being loose to run have been evident from the outset, leading us to imagine that perhaps her previous…
Nearly Normal
It might not seem like a big deal to most dog owners, but after 18 months of life with KiKi, seeing her remain entirely calm in the sudden presence of a strange dog is a significant milestone. We’ve seen this crusty old boy regularly taking himself for a walk for years now. Leica seems to…
Half-Life
KiKi was 2 years and 4 months old when she came to live with us, a little younger obviously when she was take in by ASH Animal Rescue. In a little more than a month, on May 27th we will celebrate her fourth birthday. I’ve mentioned before that the early experiences in a dog’s life…
Wounds
Looking after a dog, or indeed dogs, involves a great many things, visits to the Vet being just one of them. Aside from the routine vaccinations, there are likely to be other, less predictable issues too. Flash really should have had a ‘Frequent Flyer’ badge of some sort in light of her many trips arising…
3000 Dead Dogs 