… of a lack of time for other things. (Like writing ‘proper’ posts.)
On Friday we became the foster parents of a tiny 4-year-old black toy poodle male (who’d previously been a stud dog). At least, we think he’s about four; could be a bit less or a bit more. Kanji (his new name) is one of several ‘toy’-breed dogs & bitches removed from a puppy-mill operation: kept in small pens and constantly bred to provide puppies for the pet trade. Some went to the pound, but several came out to the kennels where Ben goes for doggy daycare, in the hope that some of their ‘regulars’ could provide foster or permanent homes. Hence, because I am a sucker for sad little poodle faces, Kanji (who’ll be going to his forever home in a few weeks).
He’s wearing a coat (taped-up to make it fit – he’s that tiny) because when he arrived at the kennels, his coat – like that of the other little dogs who arrived with him – was way too long & hideously matted, so he needed a very short clip to get rid of all that and feels the cold. He’s off to the vet tomorrow, for desexing & a dental check: his teeth look in fairly good condition, but several of the others had terrible teeth & needed some removed.
Kanji is desperately eager to please, has never been in a house before (& despite that we’ve had only one accident to date, but we watch him carefully!) – and eats faster than a labrador that’s missed breakfast. He’s learned his name, & to come when called (although I definitely wouldn’t trust him at the park just yet), & walks well on the lead considering he’s not had a lot of experience at it. A bright little dog, & very easy to train. (Ben seems to be enjoying having a pack & being the leader of it. I guess it makes a change from being at the bottom of the pecking order, beneath all 3 cats! Kanji follows him like a shadow.)
But my goodness, after learning Kanji’s back-story I will always look sideways at puppies in pet shops. (Not the puppies’ fault, but nonetheless…)
herr doktor bimler says:
So now you have three cats and two dogs… But apparently people who have more than three cats are weird… Hmmm.
Alison Campbell says:
Yes, but that’s more than 3 cats. Everyone knows dogs don’t count in that stat!
Trevor says:
Hope they TWEPped the operators of this “puppy-mill” thing, whatever you said. Would be a good use of a Hellfire missile.
Alison Campbell says:
They are hoping that the mill operators can be persuaded to give up the rest for rehoming, so the missile idea is probably overkill at this point.