Dear Glenys and Kathryn,
We adopted Oscar August 2007 and collected him from you. I spoke to one of
you shortly after we took him and you said to keep in touch but one thing
got in the way of another and I didn't.......
However today I looked at the website again to see if you still had his old
photo up and discovered that you have updated it all and it is looking very
smart and he is no longer there! So here is the promised update and an up to
date photo:
Oscar was lovable but wild when we collected him from you. He raced round
the yard with Rosie our other rehomed lab, and he had obviously come from a
home where he hadn't had much in the way of attention, training or company.
We were starting on the journey of his lifetime - a puppy mentality in 32kgs
of full grown dog!
As soon as we had him home he was over the (high) wall between us and next
door checking out the terriers (girls) next door. When I told my husband
that he was over the wall - he didn't believe me - but Oscar used his dew
claws like Spiderman and off he went, he could even do twirls on the pointy
top. We were worried that having a walled garden might not be enough.....
We had him neutered immediately and then took him on holiday to bed him in
with the family (older teenagers) camping on the Scottish island of Islay.
We discovered that Oscar had no recall skills and loved football to the
extent that he joined in the local team's game and stole their ball. He was
red carded and I was shouted at by the referee - but as he had slipped his
collar and lead I couldn't get hold of him. The team of large men were not
going to get involved and in the end it was a youngster of about 13 who
grabbed him and returned him after we had run all over the pitch - much to
the amusement of the spectators! I was so embarassed. Other holday
highlights included watching him run in the waves on a deserted beach with
Rosie (he loved that), watching him jump down rocks into gorse bushes (he
didn't like that so much) and he made his first acquaintance with our first
aid kit for the scrapes. A few days later we had him running on one of the
beautiful white Atlantic beaches and I looked down to find the sea around
him had turned red - his eyes were only on the ball. We got him out of the
water, he was bleeding heavily from his paw. I applied pressure and Grahame,
my husband, carried him about a mile back to the car. There the trusty first
aid kit was back in action with bandaging to apply pressure to the wound. We
raced across the island trying to get a mobile signal and fortunately the
vets surgery (only one on the island) was fairly close and the vet was in.
Oscar was seen immediately and stitched - the wound was caused by either
glass or a razor shell that cut right up the inside of his paw going in very
deep. He spent the rest of the holiday in bandages, on a lead, and we had
the interesting and painful experience of sleeping in a small tent with 2
labradors, one with its head in a lampshade.
The holiday was good for us all and Oscar seemed to be becoming happier
about life. Rosie was less keen with the new arrival though, and as Glenys
had predicted there would be blood as the pack order settled down. Rosie,
who was 4 years his senior quickly showed him who was in charge. Rosie loves
being good which at least set Oscar an example and she was always showing
him what to do. For example when the dogs were bathed, I would do her first
and then when she was finished it was Oscar's turn, but he wouldn't get in
the bath and he was too heavy for me to lift in, so she would helpfully jump
in again (water everywhere!)...eventually he got the hang of it.
Oscar has enriched our lives. Two years on he definately belongs to our
family pack and is loved by all and he loves us to bits. He is so laid back
- the original Mr Cool - so different to Rosie who likes everything just so
and tries so hard to please. Oscar can jump seven feet in the air, especialy
if treats are involved, but he doesn't leave our boundaries any more. He can
now 'come, 'sit' and 'lie down' and loves fetch games and is excellent on
'drop'. He understands 'no'. He loves walks and his eyes shine when he is
bounding over fellsides and swimming in peaty pools. He is calming down and
there is an inner stillness sometimes which wasn't there before. We still
have room for improvement but we're working on that. Rosie has been a
registered Pets as Therapy dog for several years and she and I and visit
schools, hospitals and old people's homes together and I hope that in the
next year or two that Oscar too may be able to pass the PAT test, and bring
sunshine into even more lives.
As you can see he is doing well.
Keep up with all the good work at the rescue.
Best wishes,
Karen
!
