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My first experience of visiting the dogs was to meet Billy & Bobby - 2 lovely Golden Retrievers.   Having been used to being pulled along by huskies, I was rather blasé about being able to hold these lovely boys on the way to the pen.  Wrong!  They were twice as heavy & three times more determined to get where they wanted to go!  I was very lucky not to end up flat on my…..back and this was not to be the last time.

Three special dogs ‘accompanied’ me through my stint as Dog Groomer as long-term inmates.  First came Lester - a probable Rottie x Collie.  He was perhaps the fittest, most athletic dog I’ve ever met - a real grown-up, handsome macho male.  In the pen, he would obsessively either dig and spin or demand you play ‘fetch’ constantly – I called him Mr. Perpetual Motion!  He was also well-trained and smart – once, when I was throwing a kong for him, he wedged his bottom jaw inside it.  After a couple of tries to dislodge it, he came over to me and shoved his head into my hand as if to say ”you have opposable thumbs - pull!”  It was such a relief when he finally found a home (in more ways than one, given the groin strain I’d got from walking him!).

The second ‘special’ was Buddy, a young Staffie x Whippet.  He was the first dog I’d have been tempted to take home (if only my dog would consider sharing!).  He was an absolute pleasure to walk as he never pulled even though he’d had no training.  I did some clicker training with him to work on his ‘sits’ and ‘comes’ and, again, he was amazing, responding immediately….although I admit I never tested it when he was distracted by his favourite birds!  It took a surprisingly long time to find the right people for him but, happily, they came along and I could finally uncross my fingers.

Lastly, a special girl who’s still there as I write.  Megan is a typical Border Collie - a feminine football fanatic.  She’s not too keen on strangers but our relationship slowly grew from tolerating a groom to a full-blown play session with her favourite football which she ‘herds’ back to your feet.  She’s a real lady, too - she won’t pick up a toy that’s muddy!

There were plenty of memorable times and dogs.  I once found myself shut in the kennel block when the doorknob came off in my hand.  There was nothing for it but to crawl through the hatch in Leo’s run just after the floor had been washed (yuk) and with him bouncing around thinking this was a great game!  And there was Suzi, the second dog I could have taken home, with her very worried face, who could claw through your trousers and skin at first but was the loveliest girl who would laugh with you.  And sitting in the pen with Suki, a Jack Russell lapdog, lying on her back along the tops of my legs.  I seemed to nearly always be lucky with the weather so there were also some lovely walks in the orchard meeting deer and foxes too.

JILL BONE

Sometimes it seems that decisions in life are actually taken for us.  Something is guiding us down the route we are supposed to take; I once pulled a newspaper out of the recycling bin and found my dream job in the discarded paper.  Outside forces were definitely at work the day I met Keira. 

Driving home after a gruelling race in Lewes, I had a definite urge not to fight my way through Ditchling village.  I decided to sneak off through the back lanes and didn’t really mind being stuck behind a car and horse box being driven at an unusually slow speed.  It was whilst crawling through the lanes that I noticed a dog sat adjacent to a gated entrance to what looked like a derelict property. It registered in my head that something wasn’t quite right about the situation and, on getting home, I thought more and more about the small dog that kept flashing into my mind.  Hours passed and it eventually got near to the time that I had to leave the house to go to work.  Something made me leave early for work that night and drive in totally the wrong direction to investigate the niggling feeling that had been gnawing at me all afternoon.  I retraced my route from the morning and wasn’t totally surprised to find the dog still in the same position, visibly shaking and I could now see that it was tied to the gate.  I ventured across the road to where the dog was lying.  Low growls were emitted as I got closer and no soft sweet-talking was going to calm the animal down.  Remembering I had some dog biscuits in the car from a previous task, I re-approached the dog with a food offering.  I pushed some biscuits in the direction of the scared dog.  These disappeared immediately, as did the next few handfuls.  I was then able to get the dog to sniff my fingers and eventually stroke the dog although it was obviously petrified.  I don’t know how long it had been tethered to the gate but I had first seen it three hours previously and we were in the middle of nowhere with no-one else about.  A sign on the gate had a phone number and I attempted, in desperation, to ring it to see if they had left a dog out on guard.  The property, however, looked derelict and there was no answer on the phone.  Time was getting on, I had to be reporting to the fire station for work and there were storms approaching.  I decided that I couldn’t leave the dog tied to a gate to face the elements so I untied the lead and led the dog to my car.  So far, I couldn’t even tell what sex the dog was as its tail was curled so far underneath it.  It was an extremely good looking dog but I was bound to think that way as it appeared to be a mix of my two favourite breeds - GSD parentage possibly mixed with Collie.  It was also fairly young with short, stumpy legs, massive paws and a set of ears that definitely needed some growing into. 

I arrived at work with my new friend in tow who was immediately nicknamed by the other firefighters as Chas, as in Chas and Dave.  It also became apparent that Chas was not an appropriate nickname as the dog turned out to be a girl.  The following morning, we headed home.  I was not sure what I was going to do with her, especially as I was working again that night, and I didn’t think my patient boss would be too happy to accommodate a dog at the station for two nights running.   It seemed that I had been presented with my perfect dog, a beautiful GSD/Collie.  However, what I didn’t realise was that, unfortunately, I am far from the perfect owner.  I guess, deep down, I’ve always known that my lifestyle doesn’t suit dog ownership which is why I got involved with Happy Breed but I think I was just blinded by love.  Rather than put her into kennels, I decided I would keep her at home until such time that she could be re-homed.  I spoke to the police and the dog warden, sorting out her paperwork, also checking all the lost dog websites to see if she had been reported lost or stolen.  The next task was to come up with a name.  Chats with the Kennel Widow and searches on the internet eventually came up with Keira, Gaelic for raven haired.  It definitely suited her and so she became Keira.   She arrived at my house and immediately set about exploring her new domain.  She attempted to venture upstairs but a swift and confident ‘NO’ stopped her in her tracks.  The same ‘NO’ worked when she dipped her head into the cat food bowl and also kept her off the sofa.  She definitely understood that word. 

After much persuasion and some dirty tactics of sending photographs via email, the Kennel Widow agreed that she would look after Keira for the night while I worked and so began the marathon of miles that I would clock up running around after Keira.  Next morning, I picked Keira up in Hove and, after a lovely long walk along the seafront, we returned home for the rest of the day.  I then had to make further arrangements for that evening as I had to be in Portsmouth so Keira was once again packed off to the Kennel Widow's house with her travelling pack of blankets and new favourite toys. 

The first night at my home after I had gone to bed, I heard Keira creeping up the stairs; next, I saw her head peering through the dark at me, standing at the bedroom door.  ‘NO’ I commanded and she disappeared back down to her sleeping position on the middle landing.  She was very obedient and eager to please.  It was a pleasure in the morning to be greeted by a wagging tail and a very happy face. 

The next week, my life was turned upside down making arrangements for Keira for all the times when I couldn’t be with her.  She stayed at various houses and spent one night in kennels.  Despite the enjoyment I was having of owning my very own special dog, I knew that I couldn’t keep her.  My lifestyle was just not compatible with owning a dog.  After much thought and listening to the voice of reason, I contacted Happy Breed and asked them to help me find a suitable home for Keira. 

It's amazing how having a dog suddenly breaks down barriers; people will stop and chat in the street, no longer was I some youth (although I guess I haven’t been seen as a youth for a number of years) but another fellow dog owner.  In ten days, I spoke to more strangers than I’d conversed with in years. 

Finally, the day arrived when I felt confident enough to let Keira off the lead; we went out to the country to a park where she could chase her ball with all the freedom that a dog should experience.  We met a lady with her own GSD in the car park and we walked around the park together, the dogs happily playing and chasing their respective balls while she gave me tips on looking after GSDs. 

Carole contacted me to say that she had found some potential owners.  I contacted them and told them about Keira.  They already owned a dog and were looking for another dog as a companion.  We agreed to meet in a neutral park to see how the dogs interacted before Keira ventured onto her potential new sister’s territory.  From the initial meeting, I could see that Keira had already wormed her way into their hearts and they confirmed that they would love to take her.  The two sisters seemed happy with each other and another date was set up; this time, we would venture into her potential new home and make sure the dogs were ok together.  Next day when we arrived, Keira seemed happy to see her new pal again and they immediately started tearing round the garden chasing each other, continuously goading each other and only stopping occasionally to take on water before the next chase started.  I agreed to leave them to it for the afternoon, arranging to pick Keira up later so she could enjoy a day with her new family and make sure everyone got on alright together.  On my return, Keira barely acknowledged me.  She was too busy chasing her sister around the garden and, apparently, they had been going all day.  I half expected to be handing her over there and then but eventually Keira left with me and we returned home.  Once back home, Keira was absolutely worn out.  She collapsed on the sofa next to me, barely able to keep her eyes open.  She had had such a fun and energetic day and was now cuddled up.  Amazingly, after two weeks of avoiding the house because of the presence of a dog, my angry cat finally came and sat opposite her mortal enemy.  I don’t know if she realised it was Keira’s last night and had come in to say ‘goodbye’ or just wanted to get one final word in.  I was so pleased to have found such a great home for Keira. I knew she would be happy there and also, deep down, I knew that, under my current circumstances, I could not own my own dog although it was such a shame because I had found my perfect dog. 

I’ve just gone downstairs and suddenly the loneliness has hit me.  No wagging tail connected to an excited girl wanting some attention and the house seems deadly quiet, a sad lonely quietness and I realise just how much I’m going to miss having Keira around.  I know she’s happy in a great new home, probably chasing her sister about.  I wonder if she will miss me, her perfect pal.

Dave Cumins