Adoption Of An Orphaned Dog.

 A perfect relationship ensued.

A bit over a year ago the owner of a cuddly cute dog died suddenly and just like that, this pup was orphaned. Well, pup not so much but rather a distinguished older dog with many a grey whisker.

There were two options for this dog. Pound ( and perhaps a fate of being put down ) or adoption. Thankfully the lady who lives a couple of houses up the road stepped up and took him in. She lives alone and isn't in the first blush of youth either.

By chance I happened to visit her back when she first took in this dog and it wasn't a perfect start. The dog was frightfully sad, missing his owner. How does one explain to a dog that his life as he knew it was gone? The lady too, still felt a bit helpless around a new dog, a new companion and a new house mate.

Before corona took hold I went to see her twice more  and noticed that they were becoming more of a family. The dog still stopped when they passed his previous house and the sadness wasn't yet gone from his eyes. Gosh, he used to joyfully lean into me in order to get a jolly good back rub. Cute.

Corona and the various lockdowns have made me loose sight of these two, until today that is. Bob and I were working in the vineyard when I heard  a greeting aimed at us. It was extremely foggy and miserable this afternoon so that I had to walk closer to where I had heard this greeting. Great, it was the lady and her dog.

There they were, going for a long walk looking as happy as can be. We chatted for a while and she proudly told me that her dog doesn't stop at his previous owner's house anymore. Isn't that fabulous?

She mentioned to me that it was a year ago that she adopted this dog and that it was the best thing she had done. No more loneliness, plenty of walking and seeing a sad dog gradually get better and happy.

How many unwanted, orphaned or older dogs like this are whiling their days away in a small space at an S.P.C.A. not understanding why life has changed so horribly and also wondering if anyone will ever take them home?

When the time comes for us to get a dog, it will only be one from a pound. One can't save all the unwanted animals, but one can save one life at a time...

Biggi