My possible new addition! *story and pics*

This is Jake (with my sisters friend in the background):

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ake/Jake24.jpg

Jake is a dog I've been walking for a woman who lives near me. I first saw him when his owner was marching him down the road by his collar :( We got talking, and apparently shes thinking of giving him away because 'he's old' and 'he runs away a lot' :mad: She says she cant cope with him. I told her that older dogs were harder to rehome, and she said if she couldnt find a home for him he would 'have to be put to sleep'. :mad: Lets see:

He's 9. Has NO training at all. She keeps him chained up in her yard all day because he 'gets under her feet'. He's not neutered :mad: and has fleas. Hes never been vacinated. Hes super active and bouncy because she never walks him.

On the other hand, he is a really friendly, sweet boy. Hes good with other dogs and cats (a miracle as she said herself hes had no socialisation) good with kids, his tail is always wagging, and hes a generally sweet lovely boy!

I've been walking him for her the last few days, and hes a wonderful dog. I'm going to bath him with flea shampoo and worm him. She said I could although she 'doesnt think it really matters'. Ugh. I can think of a few words to describe this woman but I dont think they're suitable for a family site. :mad:

It's a long shot, but I'm hoping I can talk my mum into letting us have him. We have the room, and the other dogs are friendly. I have a part time job and I can pay to look after him (i already do with my other dogs), its just wether she'll want another dog and wether she's prepared to look after him when I'm at work. I'm so hoping she'll say yes.

Anyway, Here's some pictures of this sweet boy.

Jake!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ake/Jake19.jpg

I know it’s blurry but it made me laugh – he is such a goofball!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ake/Jake12.jpg

With my sisters friend
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ake/Jake16.jpg

Tired after chasing his tail
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ake/Jake23.jpg

Watching another dog (I wouldn’t let him play with any until I’ve got rid of the fleas)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ake/Jake41.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ake/Jake43.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ake/Jake65.jpg

Close up!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ake/Jake31.jpg

One very tired spaniel
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ake/Jake22.jpg

On the way home
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ake/Jake67.jpg

Please pray for Jake and that my Mom will let me have him. I really think its possible, he’s untrained but good natured, we have the room to keep him and to quarantine him until he’s wormed and vaccinated etc, I can afford to look after him, I really hope she’ll say yes. Fingers crossed that I can give this sweet guy a home!

Ps. Also, does anyone have experience of adopting an older dog? How hard will it be to train him (at the moment he doesn’t even respond to his name)? Would neutering him at age 9 cause any health problems? How would I go about introducing him to normal household life (he’s currently chained outside in the day and let in at night, but is housebroken)?

Thanks guys!

He looks like a really sweet dog. That stupid woman! Grrrr. People like that really tick me off. I hope you'll be able to keep him. I don't know about neutering at such an old age. We'll keep fingers and paws crossed that you can give him the good home he deserves.

Thanks! I can't tell you how much I love this dog already, he's such a great boy!

Yeah, she is stupid. It's a shame because she's basically a nice person, just dumb. I asked her when she wormed him last, and she said 'i didnt know you had to worm dogs. why do I need to do that then?' :confused: Idiot.

I'm going to get him to the vets as soon as I can. god knows what condition he's in if hes never been vaccinated and doesnt get wormed. Ugh. She does love him though, I can tell, even if she is an idiot. I'm just trying to sort it out in steps, the worst thing I can do is insult her and have her not want me to walk him anymore.

Gah. I hate situations like this.

Hopefully you will be able to finally give this dog a good home! I cant stand people like that, why would she even think about getting a dog if she didnt do her research. Does she not know what a vet is either:rolleyes: geez, the least she could do was take care of it(shots ect.) let us know what happens, i dont think it will be to hard to train him. My neighbour recently bought a 10 year old Lab, he was trained in no time.

Jake is so handsome and what a shame to have an owner like that! Fingers and paws crossed here for ya!

Thanks guys :D

Awww, poor Jake. :( He is so lucky to have someone like you. I hope you can take this all the way. :)

I hope you get to keep Jake. An older dog can be a real great buddy. I'm sure he would be happier with someone who cares about him and where there are friends to play with.

Neutering at 9 years isn't any worse than at 9 months, as long as his health is good. And training can be just as effective as with a puppy. Sometimes it takes a little longer for the dog to catch on, but it's still do-able.

Good luck with your Mom.

Mary

Amy, Jake is so handsome, and I know he would thrive under your care and guidance. We adopted an older dog last year, Zipper, and we had to work on manners a bit, but he caught on very quickly. I think they want that human interaction and are so willing to please.

Keep us posted and let us know what your mom says and how Jake is doing.

Logan

I hope you get to keep him!!

He is very handsome! I hope your mom will let you have him. :) I think he'd be a great dog too! Before he's neutered at his age, the only thing is your vet would most likely want to do alittle blood work first. Good luck!

Jake might be coming to stay for the weekend! Maybe.

Ok, so ... I walked him again today. He was a little angel as usual :) Had him on the extendable lead, he was running around like crazy, but I noticed when I called him he totally ignored me. I tried calling, whistling, clapping etc. and he didnt even seem to hear me. After I reeled him back in (lol), I tried clapping again. He didnt seem to hear that either, even though it was only inches from his head. He did hear when I called his name though, but I had to almost yell it, and he just turned his head and looked at me.

I think he might be deaf, or losing his hearing. Either that or he's been ignored so much that he totally switches off to people calling him. I mentioned this to his owner. She said 'Yeah, he is a bit deaf'. Well no, actually her exact words were 'Yeah, he is a bit deaf. He's a bit stupid too.' :mad:

Grrr. I can't tell you how much I hate this woman. She had her kid with her and it was eating a huge candy bar (the kid is probably around 5) and she's really spolied. She kept whining 'I want an ice cream mummy, I want this, I want that' and she was pulling my hair :mad: And Jakes owner was just laughing saying 'of course baby, whatever you want you can have darling' I was very tempted to say 'Maybe if you gave your kid a little less attention and your dog a bit more, you'd have a happier family' but refrained from doing so.

Anyway, where was I? Yeah, the point is that he might be deaf, or losing his hearing. So my new question is how do you socialise and train a 9 year old, unneutered, possibly deaf dog. :confused:

*sigh* I hope he's not deaf, poor baby :(

The good news however, is that she's going away next weekend, and wants to know if I can have Jake for the weekend, because he doesnt like being in the kennels (I'm surprised she even knows that about him, it honestly wouldn't surprise me if she just left him chained up with food and water when she went away, but I guess even she isnt that stupid)

So im thinking this could be my chance to persuade my Mom to let me have him! I haven't asked her if he can stay the weekend yet but im almost sure she'll say yes. I've wormed and flea shampooed him, so he can meet my other dogs. They are all friendly so they'll hopefully get on fine. Once she see's what a sweet boy he is, im hoping shell say yes to having him.

I think it might work, I really do. Its not the having another dog that bothers her, its wether he'll get on with the others, settle in etc. This is my chance to prove that he can.

:D I know its not until next weekend but I'm really excited. Please pray that it works out!

Amy :p

Ps. Sorry for the super long post! :o

Oh Amy I'll hope and pray for you and Jake! He is so lucky to have found a friend like you!

Prayers that you get to take Jake home! He definately deserves a much better home than the one he is getting with this mean old woman. :mad:

Thanks.

I'm so excited now, but really nervous too. I'm going to bring him over tomorrow to meet my 3. He's good with other dogs, and I know Toby and Ollie will be fine with him, its just Squid. Hes been fine with every dog we've met except one, which he hated for no apparent reason and went for it. I'm probably being paranoid, I just hope they get on! :rolleyes:

Jake looks like Bob!!!