Wishing you all a very healthy, safe, peaceful and happy New Year. I have had a strange couple of years - was in and out of hospital and pretty much confined to bed for 8 months. I was told that if I dropped any more weight then I would have to become resident in hospital just to feed me as my organs were on the verge of shutting down. Never got a diagnosis, not really back to full health but feeling a lot better (did not have too many problems putting the weight back on once the big lump in my side went away!) and trying to live life as best I can with attitude and gratitude - it can slip away so very easily! I lost my old faithful, Paddy, a few years ago due to a tumour on his spleen and decided to go to the Dog's Trust and look for a Greyhound or Lurcher once I was back on my feet. To cut a long story short all the breed types I was looking for had already been reserved (yeah, was really happy at the same time as being disappointed) but one little bitch caught my eye and I kept going back to have another look at her. Her card said she had medical problems and she was very stressed, jumping vertically at the back of her kennel. I eventually decided to ask about her and was told she was very difficult, could probably never be let off the lead, was destructive and very hard to train. I took her for a walk and she came home with me less than a week later! We have called her Poppy, she is a German Short Haired Pointer and has a pretty large hole in her heart. Within three days she had bonded with me and is, by a long way, the most intelligent dog I have ever known. She has had three homes before and was returned every time - she is beautiful, loyal, willing to work for a look and just awesome. I got her in July and decided a few weeks ago that she was so awesome I would like to rescue another one. So began the search for a dog that would fit in with her and work and I had decided on another Pointer, if possible. Again, to cut a long story short, I was directed to the Dog's Trust in Canterbury. They had an 18 month old German Wire Haired Pointer dog that was proving difficult to home. He had been found as a stray in Dublin, Ireland, at 6 months old. He was re-homed only to be returned when he was "too jumpy, barked at visitors and went, as if to bite, the ten year old girl in the family when she bent over him to tie her shoelace when he was asleep at her feet." He was in the home for less than two weeks and then spent a year in kennels. We took Poppy up to see him (a five hour round trip) three weeks ago today after numerous phone calls between the Dog's Trust in Canterbury, the Dog's Trust here and our vet to try and make it possible for us to take him straight away if Poppy reacted well to him. We brought him home. He has been very hard work, is a total baby with no training at all, wanted to eat the cat and the rabbit and was a complete nutcase. I called him Huffle because of the funny noises he makes and three weeks on we have two gorgeous dog that walk to heel beautifully, are at work with us every day and just relax on their bed in front of a classroom of strangers, sleep in the same room as the cat (cat's choice!) and are free running with other dogs at least three times a day. I am so proud of them and my family showing me how much the welfare of the dogs comes first. My son was home for Christmas from university and brought his two 15 week old kittens with him. I won't say it was without stress but we got there eventually and had a very peaceful and animal friendly Christmas (no tree!). I am so looking forward to teaching Huffle that life is good and people can be trusted - he is realising this and is very responsive compared to the dog that spent his first few days pretending we didn't exist. So - yeah, am looking forward to 2012 and I hope you are too. Count your blessings, however small, be proud of the good things you have because you deserve them and tell those that you love how you feel. Not a bad way to start a New Year! Have a good one xxx
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