Update on Harry

ArchandEbs · #1 15-11-09, 12:00 PM

For those of you who are new to the forum in June I rescued a 13 year old GSD from the pound in New South Wales. I'm in Brisbane so he had to be flown up (about an hour and a half's flight). It was not an ideal situation but something about his photo on the website tugged at my heartstrings.

When he arrived I was so shocked at his condition I thought OMG what have I done.

My vet has been wonderful and did some free consultations - in fact I very rarely get charged consultation fees these days.

Anyway - Harry weighed just 23 kg, his coat was awful and he didn't even look like a gsd.

Well now he weighs around 34 kg. My vet thinks Harry may have been a security dog and has had a very hard life.

Things have changed for Harry - as well as filling out and starting to look like a proper gsd - he is gradually learning to trust us and now when I get home he's always waiting for me wagging his tail. He never wagged his tail when we first got him.

He walks close to us when he's in the off lead park instead of wondering off and I was so concerned at leaving him in the kennels to my absolute delight the was taken such good care of he didn't lose any weight and didn't seem stressed and he was so pleased to see us.

Whilst he had a bad day on Saturday with his CDRM - his legs were a bit swayey - he's not been too bad of late.

Some people thought I was mad taking on a 13 year old but it's been the most rewarding thing I've done in a very long time.

He's still not good with other dogs (especially small ones) so we don't put him in a position where he'll come into contact with them - but he's great with my two and absolutely adores one of my cats. They even sleep together.

To gain the trust of an animal that has been through such tough times is such a priviledge - it's hard to put into words.

I will take some pictures of Harry so that those of you who've followed his progress can see the big changes in him.

I would definitely rescue again and a senior dog suits our lifestyle better. I don't think I could cope with the puppy stage again!

There are lots of advantages to having a senior and so often they get overlooked - but when you get that first wag of a tail - it melts your heart.