More pets that have enriched my life

Rover was ten months old when his previous owner (a man who worked with my boyfriend), left him outside our back door tied by a thick, heavy chain to a metal pole set in a concrete-filled tyre. He'd heard I was ga-ga about alsations and thought this was an ideal way to get rid of a dog he no longer wanted. The fact we were not living in the house because it was in the process of still being BUILT and were both currently living in digs that the dog would not be welcomed at was a problem he couldn't care less about.

There was a very handy shed on the property though, and this was a country area so we made the best of an awkward situation, made much simpler by the fact that the builder in charge was my boyfriend's brother in law and a bit of a sop when it comes to big dogs. Rover was free to wander on the property every day while the builders were present and we were there every night for a couple of hours to walk him and feed him before he snuggled into bed in the big shed. His paw prints are forever preserved in the floor of one of the downstair rooms where he snuck in for one last nose around unknownst to the workmen, before the floor set. Before the stairs was put in, he ran up the ladder they were using to the second floor and it took them an hour to get him back down. Bless him.

He had a tendency to put on weight, and was broadshouldered, so looked kind of scary to passersby or people who called. Of course this was helped by the fact that , when meeting someone for the first time Rover insisted on standing on his hind legs, resting his paws on the person's shoulders and giving them a good sniff-down. After that he'd wander off, they were quite at liberty to enter his territory from now on; he just wanted to check them out first. An absolute softy with small children and puppies, he was also fascinated by my guineapig and always very gentle with smaller creatures.. When I had my son, Rover was intrigued by this tiny creature, and loved to just sit and watch him. He had the patience of a saint as the cute baby turned into a boisterous, annoying toddler intent on taking over the house.

When we'd had Rover a couple of years, long before baby came on the scene, we were taking our usual walk along the country lane beyond our house-it was dark, and although we had reflective stripes on our jackets, we had forgotten to take a flashlight so couldn't see the make or colour of the car that stopped fifty yards in front of us and tossed a little dog out of the door before driving in the other direction. Of course we picked him up and took him home where he proceeded to snarl at Rover, although he was very friendly towards us. I took him to the vet the next day for a check up and jabs and the vet named him Lucky. After a few days of being growled and snarled at, Rover decided it was time to show who was boss and flipped Lucky on to his back and held him down. When he finally let him get up the two were the best of friends and there was no more fighting.

Lucky was a rabbit chaser and it took a while to break him of that habit. Other than that he was very docile and on a hot summers day he would doze in the sun, following it around each side of the house throughout the day. When Rover got the 'snip' he cried like a baby and pulled the stitches out, made a real hew and cry about it (who could really blame him) but when Lucky's turn came he took it in his stride, and actually loved  trips to the vet because of the fuss he got there.

I was merchandising a new shop in Ennis, County Clare in early January 2000 when I came across a little japanese spitz puppy running around the public car park. People said he'd been hanging around for a week or more. He was covered in dirt and his hair was matted together. I rang the local police to report it and leave my details. They showed no interest and couldn't particularly understand why I would bother with a dirty old stray. I also contacted the local radio and then took Sparky, as I named him, home with me. He was never claimed I'm thankful to say because Rover fell in love with him straight away. Lucky didn't go in for much playing so finally here was another dog to run like crazy around the field and roll around in the grass with. Sparky used to walk upright on his back legs as a puppy (he was six months old when I found him) balancing against the furniture or the wall, just like a young child, it was so funny. He would hold on to rover's tail and the two of them would spin around together. He's ten years old now and he's still a little livewire and a huge bundle of fun to have around the place.

About three years later his nose was pushed out of joint a little by the arrival of another puppy. I was at work and a huge delivery had arrived - the back store was full of boxes. As I was emptying them and sorting through stuff I kept hearing a scratching sound. Following the sound, I discovered a little black and white puppy cowering under a shelf. Most of the hair was missing from his legs and face and he had a lot of sores on his body. After finding him something to eat and getting him fresh water he spent the rest of the day lying behind the counter until closing time. Then it was off to the vet again. He explained that the puppy, around twelve weeks old, had a skin condition normally treated with a simple course of tablets suitable for most breeds of dogs. But as he was a border collie this treatment could actually kill him and the treatment would instead have to be a series of not very pleasant baths in some awful smelling stuff which was a bit of a hassle, obviously why he was gotten rid of. He actually suggested it would be simpler to put the poor thing down to save myself the bother, pointing out the condition could spread to the dogs I already had at home. I told him firmly there was no such thing as too much hassle, and sure, hadn't he already told me the others could be treated with a simple course of tablets if it did happen to spread?

So the little dog came home and I named him Sammy. He was good as gold during those awful baths and it never did spread to any of the others. The only stumbling point was that Sparky was jealous, and would refuse to even look in Sammy's direction. But the other two welcomed him and he settled in just fine. He's my shadow and follows me everywhere.

Of course age catches up with us all, and Lucky and Rover, around the same age, had been going grey around  their muzzles for a long time and were getting deaf. We expected Rover to go first, being the bigger dog and carrying more weight than he should (he once unwrapped and ate 500grams of chocolate that I had foolishly not hidden well enough, in 20 seconds flat). In fact he showed no signs of slowing down at all, and it was Lucky who started to fade first. He went blind, and lost a lot of weight, and when his back legs began to give him trouble we decided to have him put to sleep. It was a hard decision that we put off for longer than we should.  Saying goodbye is so painful. Ten months later it was Rover's turn. It started with his back legs getting weak and then his eyesight went. This time we made the decision with no qualms. He was going to suffer as little as possible. He was put to sleep in January of this year. Both dogs were treated like royalty on their last days on earth. Both are buried in our pet cemetary.

Sparky took Rover's death very badly. He lost his appetite and would mope around. Eventually he cheered up and he and Sammy still have a frosty relationship, but are more willing to put up with each other now they're the only two left. And I fervently hope they each have many years left to spend with us. I'm not ready to say goodbye again for a long, long time.