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First Impressions of Patsy.
I would like to tell how I felt when I first met Patsy
in the hope that it may help anyone who finds him or herself in the same
position.
Will she always shake like
that I thought as I looked at the small Cavalier King Charles that shook as I
reached out towards her. I desperately wanted to be her friend, show her that
somehow I would make up for what others had put her through but there was no
expression in her eyes they just continued to look into space. I repeated her
name Patsy I said in a soft voice trying not to frighten her. Hoping she would
come forward just a little I repeated her name Patsy I said but still no
response. I could hear my wife talking to the very caring foster mums, they were
in the same room but somehow they seemed in the distance and all that mattered
was to show this
poor little girl that I would not harm her, she had nothing to be afraid of, I
carefully picked her up and placed her on my lap, she froze not a move and still
those eyes stared into space.
I had always had a dog, I
don't remember a time without one, a companion someone to talk to, a dog that
wagged its tail in appreciation, a dog that made me laugh, one that was naughty
at times but this little dog was different it was alive but dead. Could I
cope with this, I started to doubt what I had already decided to do, I had read
the web site details that explained how puppy farm dogs are different, how they
needed a special home with people that understood but now I doubted myself. I
quietly said her name again as I took her off my lap and placed her gently on
the floor and watched as she crept away and to a safe corner and then as she sat
I saw for the first time just the hint of a wag from her tail and I knew then
that Patsy could be happy if given lots of love, time and understanding.
Patsy's progress - first four
weeks
The journey home was tense as we didn't know how Patsy would behave in the car,
we took the decision to put her in the front of the car with my wife in the
passenger seat. We had 75 miles to travel on the
motorway so we stopped on the services after 45 minutes. I carried her out of the
car, put a lead on her for safety and placed her on a grassy patch thinking she
may want to go toilet but she just cowered
down and remained still and very frightened. For the remainder of the journey
she was very quite. We arrived home and carried her through to the garden she
ran around our small lawn and went toilet that was a good sign we thought, we
were wrong.
Over the next four weeks Patsy started to settle in and got on well with our
other dog - Claude - she followed him and seemed to learn by the things that he
did, apart from the house training, we had puddles every day and during the
night but we continued to let her outside about every hour during the day and on
the occasions that she toileted we would give her lots of praise and a dog treat, slowly the puddles
became less and the treats became more frequent. Nighttime was a
problem and my wife decided she would get up and let Patsy out, Yes; I got away
with that one. All the time Pasty's confidence was growing and she started to
come near to us, then little by little she started to come to us, although a
quick movement from us would send her running away.
After four weeks Patsy is more confident with us, she relates very well with our
other dog (Claude a cocker) she wags her tail fifty percent of the day, she
walks on a lead, responds well to treats and is starting to appreciate the
strokes and attention she gets. We have decided to fit a cat flap for use during
the night, as daytime puddles are now non-existent.
Patsy still has lots to learn but we are very pleased with the way she has
improved little by little and she has won us over by her gentle nature.
I've made lots of bad decisions in
my life but the one I made five weeks ago to care for Patsy for the rest of her
life is one of the best I have ever made.
Thank you to Malcolm and
Irene.
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