Feb 23 2008

No rest for the wicked

Published by Karlin at 12:49 pm under dogs

As my grandmother often would quip impishly! That's the situation right now for me with rescue dogs. The period leading up to and just after Christmas was insane -- I had 12 cavaliers over 5 weeks, with several of those being of the 'come get my dog right now as it is inconvenient to hang on to him' variety. As I learned from Helena le Mahieu of the wonderful ASH Animal Rescue in Wicklow, people always think dogs get abandoned post Christmas but actually the bigger problem is pre Christmas as people decide they are inconvenient to their holiday plans. Also, the puppies they got last Christmas are no longer cute and small so it's time for a clear out. Of course some rehomings are for good reasons but the majority are people who find a dog takes time and commitment (surprise!) and won't adjust their life to actively include their dog. The dog-as-accessory lifestyles of numerous airhead celebrities doesn't help either. All those dogs are now homed -- including, I am proud to say, three sets of dogs that were homed in pairs so that I didn't need to break apart old friends. My priority at my Irish Cavalier Rescue is never to split pairs if at all possible. And then I had 9 peaceful days of no dogs in rescue at all -- meaning I had a lovely weekend where I wasn't transporting a dog or homechecking.Now, in three days, I have had three cavaliers come in. One is now homed, with two to go, a three year old and a five year old male. My goal is to try to get those two into homes this coming week as I leave for about two weeks in the US on Friday. Never a dull moment. (So if a cavalier interests you, get in touch!) Update: The five year old was supposedly a family dog seeking a new home. He's actually a bedraggled stinking anxious boy with overgrown nails, and probably was caged or tied up and used for breeding. God love him, probably has been a puppy farm dog. He is now with my Number One foster chilling out with her dogs, and he'll be off to be snipped and chipped during the week, bathed, nails trimmed, and will start to learn how to be a proper pet. The cruelty of people never ceases to amaze me.

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