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Caramel’s
story The
first weekend We
saw Caramel on a rescue website after when we were looking for a new pal for
George our black and tan cavalier rescued 6 years ago. She
looked so scared and sad with her kennel friend Truffle. The information said
she and Truffle were ex puppy farm bitches from a farm in Wales. They had been
discarded as they could no longer be used to breed. The rescue thought they
might be 4/5 years old. After
lots of calls and references taken the 10 days of anxiety were over and we could
travel the 400+ miles to go and collect her. The
first time we saw her she was in a kennel with Truffle, another little cavalier
girl Penny who had been shaved, a couple of Westies and a Scottie. She was
shaking up in the corner with her head bent low. She wouldn’t even look up to
see what was happening. Our
hearts went out to her. Truffle
and Penny were trying to make a fuss and be noticed, but all we could see was
Caramel all huddled up looking so scared. There
was little point in trying to get her used to us; she was too traumatized to do
any sort of relationship building. We decided we just wanted her with us, at
home, where we could love and help her. George
traveled all the way home by her side. She was tucked right up in the back of
the car, being as small as she could be. She never made a sound. When
we got her home we decided to leave her in peace to come to terms with her new
surroundings. George showed her to their bed. We kept out of the way just
checking on her every now and again. After a couple of hours we picked her up
and brought her into the lounge with us. She lay on my tummy and fell asleep. At
mealtime, she went back in the bed; we put food in a bowl, no sign of Caramel. The
next day she showed some interest in eating but it became clear the bowl was an
obstacle. She fed from the floor; we guessed that’s what she had been used to. On
her second day with us we decided to take her for a walk. We knew she wasn’t
used to this, so we decided to take her somewhere she didn’t need a lead. She
was again tucked right up to the back of the car and when we got to the park and
carried her out onto the grass she just cowered and looked. For
ages she watched George sniff and run, and THEN…………up she got and off
she went. She followed George round the hedges and THEN…….started to chase
with him and run. Tissues were out all round we were thrilled. She
had a lovely half hour and came back with George to the car and lay down to be
lifted in. she was so tired when she got home, she slept soundly for ages. She
had enjoyed it so much we went back again before tea, and she chased and chased
with George. The
first three weeks She
did really well over the coming weeks, progressing from the floor to a bowl for
her food, getting used to a harness for the morning walks. We never had a puddle
or mess in the house. She
slowly found her way round the house, and up the stairs! She began to sit with
us through choice, and not just because we had brought her to us. Her
first holiday After
three weeks we took her on holiday to a cottage in Scotland. We feared she may
regress but to our surprise and delight she loved everything about being away.
The only thing that did go backwards was her eating. She
had her first dip in the sea; saw her first may fly, tried out glass patio
doors! The
worst time When
we got home we thought things were going really well, then…….OH MY GOD. She
started passing blood. Not small amounts but puddles. We stayed up with her all
night, keeping her hydrated until we could get her to the vets. He took one look
and admitted her. We were devastated, what could be wrong, how would she cope
being in a cage, what if we lost her, how would she ever trust us again. She
came home the following day with medication and a diagnosis of gastroenteritis.
No sooner had the medication stopped at the end of a week than we were back to
square one. Back to the vets more medication, this time they were querying
colitis. Another week went by, one good day, one bad. She was loosing weight
steadily. We were worried sick. A third lot of medication, this time we were
convinced the vets were baffled and that got us scared. We
started researching for some clue through the help of dog forums and vet
websites and decided to try and elimination diet, feeling that, as we knew so
little about her diet before coming to us this, must be the key. AMAZING,
after 4 days on the diet it became clear. Caramel is allergic to gluten. We
gradually introduced a gluten free diet and ……..have never looked back. Back
to Wales We confidently went on our next holiday with Caramel well, and George looking good on the same diet. We went to a farm in Wales……..NOT GOOD. Whether it was the smell of the farm or what, we do not know. She would hardly leave the cottage on her own, regressed to being scared and frightened by her own shadow and certainly wouldn’t walk on the farm even though there were acres of fields for her to run in. She did enjoy her walks on a sandy beach, through the forests and everywhere else.
And
now… After
nearly 4 months she barked for the first time. We laughed out loud. She
has taken over all of George’s beds in the house. Her
favourite things is walks and tummy tickles, and chews at bedtime. We
consider ourselves so lucky to have found her, and we are so proud of what she
has achieved in such a short period of time. HOWEVER we would give up every wonderful day with her to know that no other dog will ever have to go through what she has in the puppy farm. IT HAS TO BE STOPPED.
There
is still along way to go. She is still scared of unfamiliar noises, is thrown
out if anything in her life is changed, and is still tense and fearful at times.
She struggles with walking in streets with people, and is totally mistrusting of
anyone but us. BUT
Caramel is a beautiful brave girl who gives her trust and love so
unconditionally, despite being abused for greed and profit. We hope that we can ensure she lives a long and very happy life with us.
An update after 10 months
She is more
sociable now, and enjoys visiting friends houses and gardens knowing she comes
home with us. And she knows she's
a beautiful girl because she holds her head up …and because we tell her so. Thank
you to Kathy |
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