A Dog's Life

By Catherine Telford

A series of short stories about dogs my family and I have fostered. Coming from a variety of different backgrounds. All hapily ever afters.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Sep 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9780244514754

Book preview

A Dog's Life

A Dog's Life

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Benjiro.

Our first family pet. Rescued from an horrendous situation.

Gone now, but never forgotten.

You left paw prints on our hearts.

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No part of this book may be reproduced or shared in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including but not limited to digital copying, file sharing, audio recording, email and printing without permission in writing from the author.

I would like to take this chance to say thank you to Miss K Willoughby who very graciously agreed to be a beta reader for me. She has found the stories held within to be very emotive.

These are the stories of some of the foster dogs my family and I have cared for over the last few years.  All names and locations have been changed to protect identities of humans and dogs alike. Some of the stories are truly heartbreaking but they all have an happily ever after.  Some of these animals were in such bad shape that we did not know if they would make it.

If you are thinking of getting yourself a dog please think carefully.  Research the breed.  Research what you have to give to each dog.  Not just time and money but love, affection, discipline.  If you do not discipline a dog correctly you will have problems, this is not the dog's fault, it is the owners.  As the saying goes there are no bad dogs, just bad owners

Adopt don't shop.

Benjiro

Several years ago my family and I were looking to get a pet. We had much discussion about what kind of pet would suit us best.  What breeds, what they would need in terms of care, space, toys, attention etc.  I was torn between wanting a cat or a dog or both.  My husband was emphatic that he wanted a dog.  The children were both keen on a dog but our daughter also wanted a cat.

We looked at reputable breeders for different breeds of animals as well as looking at online sites to see what was available and whether any particular breed stood out for us.  We came across an advert for a small dog which sounded wonderful. As I have a disability that at the time required me to walk with 2 crutches we decided a smaller dog would suit us best.

We contacted the people from the advert and arranged to go and view the dog.  They couldn't tell us much about him on the phone. When we arrived to view him it was with the understanding that we were only going to look.  We were not going to take him home with us as we had no dog bed, food, bowls etc.

As we entered the house the owners were sat in the living room and there was no sign of a dog.  There were no toys out, no dog bed to indicate that he was part of the family.  When he was brought out he looked fine until we looked closer and felt him. His fur looked fluffy on top but it was matted. His eyes had broken blood vessels.  He was malnourished.  When Paul tried to put his finger between his collar and his neck he couldn't do so as his fur was matted onto his collar. He was shaking. As Paul ran his hands along his flanks he could feel the broken ribs and the way that he was shaking.

We looked at each other and knew that we could not leave him with these people.  We were told that he was 4 months old, up to date with all his injections etc and that he was a pedigree but they couldn't find his paperwork. There were 2 or 3 different stories about how they came to be in possession of Benjiro none of which seemed to make sense. The most plausible one was that the man had been given him in lieu of payment for some work.

We said that we would take him and were given the food bowls and one blanket that he had.  He had no toys.  The lead and harness we were given had both been chewed and looked as if they were for a different much larger dog.

We took Benjiro home, he cried for the whole journey in that back of the car. He soiled himself through fear. He came into our home and was fed, watered and taken for a walk.  He pulled constantly. He was scared of everything he saw or heard outside.

The first night we made a bed for him with some old blankets. The children brought down some of their old stuffed toys for him. When they go to bed he was still wary, he cowered any time any of us move quickly. Paul and I asked Gail and Neil to be careful with him. He hid under the coffee table.

We went to bed and closed all of the bedroom doors.  He cried during the night so I got up and slept on the couch for a little while. He settled down when he knew he was not