A new addition has arrived in the family. A dog. A puppy dog. 16 weeks old, we've had him 2 weeks now. We got him from a fantastic organisation run by ex-pat volunteers in Cyprus. So he's a Cypriot dog. He's a cross...a mongrel...Heinz 57...call it what you like, I am never going to be the sort of person who insists on pure breed dogs. Rescue dogs have something about them, they seem to know they have been given a chance from where there was little or none when it came to a secure life. Here he is below....
His name is Bertie and we liked it so much we decide to leave it and not change it on arrival. We think it suits him.
So why a Cypriot dog and not one from a UK rescue? Well, we wanted a puppy because we have 2 rather haughty house cats. One , the girl, seems to start every day with a completely new memory and nothing of what has gone previously, the other is an alpha male Tom and he thinks (or knows) the house is his domain. So we thought a puppy would adapt better to the, and maybe any semblance of maternal instinct and pack leader instinct would help the cats adapt to him. This is a 'work in progress' but after just 2 weeks we think we have a North and South Korea impasse situation. They're not quite playing with each other yet, but there is a tolerance being reached with less bats, hisses and growls from the cats, and less sudden playful movements from Bertie. UK rescues rarely get pups it seems, and when they do the costs seemed quite high. Plus the criteria for acceptance looked overly stringent....we had an insecure back garden but the Cyprus Rescue accepted our word this was going to be fixed with an entire new fence. UK Centres implied it had to be done first before consideration. I understand the desire for perfect adoption homes, but it's counter-productive if you just put barriers in place and won't take people on their word. I do wonder how many potentially excellent dog owners have been put off by what might appear to be overly officious bureaucracy in trying to offer a dog a new home.
The upshot of this is we have become part time animal psychologists. We are now dog walkers. I am starting my training on Sunday..I will take Bertie of course. I'm now hawk-eye when it comes to spotting toilet time. But also am very adept at quick carpet cleaning and disinfecting. I walk him around the (now secure) garden because he's an inquisitive puppy and if there's a slight flaw then I'm sure he'll find it. My bank balance is poorer for treats, toys, chews and anything else the family think would be good for Bertie. I'm learning how to give him time alone each day and ignore the pitiful whining and crying. I'm learning how lovely it is for him to sleep in his crate in our bedroom at night. I'm learning that there is never a point in the day when I'm not thinking about him or wondering what he's up to.
I'm remembering just how exhausting a puppy is, but also just how loving they are and how rewarding it is to have them in the the house.
Welcome to England Bertie, the weather is shit, there are lots of dog snobs, lots of horrible people and lots of dig unfriendly pubs. But they are all outweighed by by the dog lovers, the nice people and the great pubs and places that welcome dogs. Maybe the only thing we can't improve on Cyprus is the weather.
Later Mugs, GJ
