A dog's life

Getting a dog was the most furthest thing on my mind when Therese recently passed me the laptop and said “Would you look at that?”. She was on donedeal. There in the middle of the puppies for sale in the run up to Christmas was Rusty. Sitting forlorn with straw in the drinking bowl in the middle of bleak looking farmers shed was a sheep dog.

If there is one thing I have enormous issues with it is the use of websites at this time of year to sell pets for Christmas.  The Late Late Show on Friday night gave one insight to where some of the supply to meet this demand comes from; puppy farms. There are other ways to get a dog. You’d be amazed at the number of people who have got dogs from WSPCA. Often it’s a case of a dog who has been abused, taken into care and is looking for a home. Not all dogs are lucky, but that’s another story.

However Rusty wasn’t for sale, he was free. If you want to sell something you put up a picture that draws the buyer in. I emailed the owner and was told he’d been on the site for weeks and there were only one or two offers for him. Not surprising  then that when placed alongside dogs worth hundreds of euro there was little interest.

And so it was that on Bank Holiday Monday last we ended up not too far from Lough Corrib in the farmers shed. At first I was apprehensive. When we entered the shed he was curled up in a ball on the floor and hardly raised his head when his owner called his name. I was fearful as the dog was larger than I expected that he might snap at me. We put the lead on his collar and coaxed him out into the yard.

He sat in front of me and I petted him for a minute and talked with the owner. His story was that Rusty was owned by a cousin of his who had been left a farm locally. He had returned from England to work the farm with his family with great plans. Rusty was going to be the sheepdog to work the farm. It didn’t work out, his family didn’t settle. They went back with the notion that when the kids were older he’d be back. In the meantime, can you get a good owner for Rusty?  The farmer didn’t have sheep and was simply raising calves. He’d no use for him and aged 3 an early retirement for Rusty was on the cards, if he was lucky. His eyesight is not the best either.

I stood up and took a step back from him so as to get a better look at him. Imagine my surprise when Rusty stood the step in my direction that I had stood back. Seemingly, I wasn’t going to get away too easily. Therese smiled. She knew we’d clicked.

So into the car with him and off we went home. He stank out the car, his hair was matted and he panted. Somewhere on the M6 we asked one another, “What were we taking on?”. He was undeweight, he stank and his coat was matted. He'd been sleeping in his own dirt and panted in the car as he seemed to be thirsty.

Rusty arrived home at teatime, showered and fed. Our own pair of dogs took to him quickly. First thing the next day he was brought to the vet who discovered he was running a temperature. A long lasting antibiotic did the trick. By the end of the week he was vaccinated, microchipped and licensed.

This week he was neutered and continues to settle in well. He’s a gently giant who belatedly is getting a go at life. His days of working on a farm are in the past. With strength like his, he’d be at home in a team of huskies.

With Christmas on the horizon, the production line that is puppy farming is already gearing up. Before you click on a pretty photo, ask yourself is there a dog needing a life or are you looking to buy a canine accessory?