This morning, “we” (that’s Conrad mainly, but with the help of GSRE, its vollies, Rose & myself) climbed a massive hurdle. On the morning of Conrads 1st walk here in Lincoln, we met / encountered two lovely, placid Collies while Conrad was on a lead & they were off lead. It’s fair to say that all hell broke loose as Conrad decided to let them know, in no uncertain terms, that he was going to look after me, they wouldn’t get anywhere near me, he could bark very loudly & he “appeared” to not like them. Well, their owner & I exchanged looks & went our separate ways. A couple of days later we managed to talk, loudly, over a low fence & briefly about Conrad & his known history. The parting comment from her was ” stick with him, you will both get there in the end if you want to” – well we knew from the day we saw him we wanted to, but it was hard, painful on the shoulder muscles, frustrating, created a temporary divide between myself & Rose with anxiety over his behaviour on lead & at times when he appeared to have lost all hearing we really wondered what we had taken on. While at home, he was as good as a dog as you could hope for, but outdoors, on lead with other dogs, cars, strangers, bikes & planes around, he was a totally different dog. This morning, after a brief “hello” with the two Collies owner & a previous conversation without the dogs around, we decided the time was right to let them meet all off lead as a true indicator of how far he had come in the 6 months since August. They each sniffed their respective ends, had a wander around, looked to us for confirmation all was ok & then settled down next to each other as we talked. (.. continued below)
How far we have come.
My message is simply this. If you want a dog in your life, in my opinion, the greatest reward comes from owning a rescue. Knowing you have taken a dog from a life less rewarding than the one you can potentially offer & making it part of your family is reward itself. Add in the furry welcome home, the companionship, the “loving” looks at dinner time, the additional social interaction you get from walking & exercising them, the funny moments while playing with toys, the intriguing smells, the muddy floors, the dust bunnies .. you really can’t better a rescue.
If you want to rehome a dog, a German Shepherd is, in my opinion, all the dog you need – and a bit more besides. There will always be unexpected surprises, of course, but if you make the effort & ask for help when you need it, listen to it, deliver it when necessary, keep in mind the animals possible past life & think of what he or she may have endured it can work out for both of you – it really can. Conrad is such a star, but he is not alone – he is just one of thousands across the country, of every different breed you can imagine that need a new home.
Do you think you have space for one in your life ?
Lincoln Rescue Kennels website
thatpetphotographer.com 