Well we've got him  :-D

He was very good during the 2+1/2 hr journey back, we stopped half way for wee a water. No car sickness.

Arrived home I stayed in the car up with him whilst OH went to let the girls out, they always explode out of the door and race up the garden so we didn't want him crushed in the rush.

After they'd bounced around doing all the hello stuff we got him out of the car for the big introduction, the girls ran towards him all tails wagging, lots of nose and bum sniffing went on.
Then Tessa 10yr GR ambled off to piggy truffle around the lawn, Rosie BC the little trollop started all the playbow and chase me chase me I want a man stuff, you'd never think she'd been spayed.
Skye 3yr Sheltie just followed quietly behind him where ever he went and after the initial excitement of another dog the pups Bonnie and Isla raced off around the garden roncing and play fighting together like they always do.

He's been fed and watered and we've had a 15 mins amble round the field next to our garden that was enough for him he's now asleep in the kitchen by the oven which is on so he's sussed a warm spot.
He's a bit wobbly around the back end and is thin, they've been feeding him on only tinned over the past week as he has a sore mouth.
We've got a supply of drugs for him, he's on 1/2 a Frusemide a day, thats for his heart I think the girl said, and 2 Corvental a day for his chest plus Otomax twice a day for his ears.

He's had one poo already and it's not too pleasant quite loose and with a reddish jelly mucus like stuff in it.

We've booked him at our vets for Monday evening to register and a good check over.

All in all he's a lovely boy, very very calm and sweet but not too old to notice a tasty piece of skirt i.e. the pups who are 10 and 11 months.

When we were in the reception and they brought him through there was lots of other people there either to view dogs or collect and as he walked in he got lots of ahhh's and was quite happy to go up to everybody for a bit of fuss, I heard one woman in there say 'Oh I want that one', I thought no madam this boy is mine.  :) :) :) :) :)
He's a lovely Valentine pressie
XX

Aw, bless him - and you for your kindness :)  have you chosen a name yet?

What a lovely valentines day for you and him, sounds like he's slotted in right away. Seems like he was meant to be yours :-)

I had thought we might keep to Shandy but he doesn't seem to respond to it very well. The Dogs Trust did have his vaccination history card from his owner for the last 5 years and on that his name is Sandy. He used to live in Auchinleck,  Ayrshire so the little sausage has travelled a bit to get to a rescue in Shrewsbury.

I think we'll just be very quiet and gentle with him and see if in a few days time when he's found his feet if he picks up on the name Shandy, I wonder if he doesn't hear too well and his ears are definately gunky and niffy but we'll get all of that sorted.

He's not a greedy dog and only ate a very small tea, he is drinking a lot or mouthing at the water, he's a bit of a sloppy drinker.
One thing I have noticed about him very quickly is that he has definately had human food and tit-bits. When I was cooking our tea he was in the kitchen with me and watching my every move.
When we ate he sat by us with a very interested expression on his face :)
We had to take advantage of that when it was tablet time as he'd managed to eat around it when it was in his dinner bowl, but shoved in to the middle of a bit of sausage it went down in one gulp :-D Sometimes needs must.

We've just been out in the garden again with all of them he wee'd straight away and then turned round and went straight to the back door in and on to the rug by the wood burner :)
The girls are not at all bothered by him and there is lots of gentle tail wagging going on with all of them. We are very lucky mind with our girls as they are all very dog friendly.
My cat Pinky isn't bothered by him either she sniffed his face licked an odd bit of dinner off his chin rubbed round his legs and sat down by him to wash her backside. :)
All is lovely and peaceful as all 6 are taking a few ZZZZZ's
OH is watching Fools and Horses and I'm going to get out the hair colour and do something about the badger stripe that is appearing on the top of my head :)
Happy Days

Oh yes Karen he's definately my boy, I've never had a male dog before, I thought bitches were the sweeter natured ones but he is a little jewel :)

awwwww what a lovely valentines day story! he sounds like hes settled in beautifully.

> I had thought we might keep to Shandy but he doesn't seem to respond to it very well.

Rather a shame that Valentine is a bit of a mouthful for walk time yelling - it would be a lovely name for him to remind you of today :)  Although Badger would be a reminder too, wouldn't it!!!

Great to have your updates, thank you, I was thinking of you today.  Give him a hug from me too xxx

good on you . hope it all goes well!! FWIW i find boys more cuddlier lol

I suppose we could go for Romeo :-D but that does rather have Beckham hints :) Mind you he's quite tasty.
Well I've finished my hair and as I went downstairs I could hear OH's voice:-

'There's a fine fellow, you're a bit of an old fuss pot, that's my boy wag that tail good-boy give daddy a kiss' What a soppy goon he is !

OH is an over 6ft hairy monster of a bloke with a liking for Guns and Roses, Aerosmith and Harley Davidson's, hardly a give daddy a kiss type to look at :-p

I'm upstairs on the old PC and have just had a report from downstairs that Shandy has managed to climb on to the settee, of course we don't normally allow our dogs on the furniture yeh right ;)

I shall probably bore the pants off all of you girls as I wax and wane lyrical about the achievements of my boy.
Sorry in advance :) :) :)

One quick little question.
How soon would be safe to bath him?

He doesn't smell too good, they've trimmed around his bottom as his poo's are loose, but him bum is a bit gunky and his coat in general is lack luster and manky which I suppose as he's recovering from bronchitus is not surprising.
He's all sticky and gunky around his ears from the drops and his head smells of wee. Think he must have been too close to another chap as he spent a penny.
I'm making him sound gross but he's not really.

Any suggestions on a really good shampoo and whatever else would help to put some life into his coat, I know that once settled and well fed he'll improve but I will have to do something with his personal problems :(

wipe him over with a cloth and a little drop of surgical spirit  on it for now if you dont want to bath him just yet..

I definately wouldn't bath him for some time, got to give the poor old chap time to settle. I just wondered what I could do in the meantime to make him smell a bit fresher.

I'd still like some suggestions on a shampoo and treatments for a very poor conditioned coat, that will be used in the future. Obviously a good diet and settled home will do a lot for him, but are there any good tonics to lift a sad coat?

Pinky,
Fantastic news. Shandy sounds like he's settling in really well. Probably thinks he's landed in heaven, what with his own place by the heater,  a large harem to hand, and new owners who understand his special dietary requirements for hand fed sausage and other human food!

I just wondered, I couldn't help but feel for the poor old lady who was forced to give him up. It must have broken her heart. Does she get told much about his new home? Assuming she's still alive that is.

Anyway, great news. I look forward to reading all about him.

Bless you, it's so lovely to hear stories like this, I remeber with my last rescue, the first night she came I just couldn't stop looking at her, even when she was sleeping - thinking how lucky I was.  You sound smitten already :-)  Like you say, a good diet, and being in a home environment rather than in kennels and a bath in a week or two when he's settled will make a world of difference to his coat.  You could also try Oil of eve primrose capsules and or EPA fish oils which are both great for skin and coat, both my girls get them and they make a big difference to their coats as they both have allergies.  Fish oils are also great for joint care.  It will be lovely to hear up-dates about him :-)

Hi freelancerukuk

We're not too sure about where the old lady lives now, we have a vaccination card that shows where she used to live, OH went and did a check thing through goodness knows what web things he's better at that than me and found the same name in the same street several numbers down, could be a daughter or something.

He said, should we contact them to let them know about Shandy, I said he should be careful and we would be best to check with Dogs Trust first because I don't want to upset some poor old dear. She obviously cared about him because there is 5 years worth of vaccination history.

It's weird getting a rescue dog, because I look at my girls (and one is a rescue) that I've had from pups and they all know exactly who they are and where they belong, but when you take on an old rescue, one that may have been bounced around from pillar to post they are so accepting of a good nights board and lodge and they look at you as though to say 'well where will I be tomorrow?' I know I am at risk of humanizing (scuse the spelling) this dog, but there is something spooky about rescueing an oldie and something that makes you feel good.

I know I sound like a soppy old moo, but I've watched him this evening, he's flat out knackered now asleep in one of the beds, he's a mummy's girl as I only have to get up to go into the kitchen and he follows me, mind you that could be a sausage based interest :-D

I give Omega 3 fish oils to my girls and their coats are beautious so he'll get all the same treatment, I just want to make this old chaps days nice for him.

Silly mummy feelings coming on now!

Pinky,
Yes, it would have to go through the Dogs Trust and at their discretion etc.. I'd imagine they have a policy for this because the issue of informing ill or elderly ex owners must crop up all the time. I just wondered.

He sounds gorgeous. I do think dogs, as opposed to bitches, can be particularly lovey dovey. By the end of the week he'll have his paws well and truly under the table, as well as tightly wrapped around your heart strings!

> as well as tightly wrapped around your heart strings!

They are there already and he's such a manky looking example of a Sheltie, too tall and with a bad shaped back, compared to my girls with their stunning coats, neat little bodies, bright eyes and lithe bodies he's a monster but those sad old eyes do grab you, we're off up the garden now for the final tinkle, and I think the old boy will sleep peacefully tonight, no doubt dreaming of nubile young ladies, in your dreams mate:)
I'm also going off my bitch only thoughts, boys can be very sweet. :)

Hi Pinky

Great news to hear about Shandy, and good on you for giving him a lovely home :-) I'm sure he'll love his new life with you. We rehomed an older Samoyed last year and its the most rewarding thing we ever did, take loads of pictures of Shandy as he is now so you can look back at them when you've got him looking all stunning :-)

Just read your bit about the poo - how are his poos today? Megan had poo of exactly the same description when she came to live with us, very watery and mucussy. (What a nice topic for a Sunday morning eh?) I put it down to the initial stress and change of moving, she was back to normal within a couple of days.

Keep the updates coming, he sounds like such a sweet little man.

> I'm also going off my bitch only thoughts, boys can be very sweet

Atta girl! ;)
Oh Thank~you for taking the time to post all about Shandy's homecoming (I'm guessing it was no trouble.. your fair gushing there Hen ;) :-P)
    I have to say (was busy past 2 days and have not looked in on CD) after reading all the doom&gloom threads whilst catching up... This is the best thread running at the moment... I've enjoyed every line of it and its just the tonic!!!!!! :-D
    I have a great big heartwarmed smile on me mush, and its all down to you & Shandy (oh an a big soppy hairy biker! ;) :-D) Wish there were more like you Pinky x

Sounds like the little mans well and truly landed on his feet he sounds adorable.
Good luck with him.

Hi HG nice to see you back, only 2 days gone and I noticed the absence of the whizz bang crash wallop !"£$%^&*()_+ thats the best I can do at the moment :)

Well we had a very good night not a peep out of any of them. OH went downstairs this morn at as usual to make the tea (Queen Bee stays in bed waiting for hot cuppa :-D )
Whilst kettle is on he always takes everybody up the garden for toilet duty and then does poo patrol, and tasty he looks too in dressing gown and wellies :)

Then they all had breakfast, mine all love goats milk and cereal in the morning and Shandy was no exception, it did end up all over his chops though :) The tablets all went down easily in a bit of cheese. There's not a lot of good teeth in his head and he's not keen on the kibble so I've put a load of it in the blender and will mix it with the wet food and see how he gets on like that.

We've been out for our Sunday walk, all 6 dogs in the back of the wagon and drive to our local park. We didn't go as far as we usually do and it took a long time as he's no speed merchant, a couple of times he had a trot, and of course piddled against every blade of grass.

I think he may be deaf as he doesn't respond to you if you're behind him.

He hasn't poo'd yet today so I'm waiting for one to see how it looks after yesterday's reddish mucus stuff.

So up to now all is going very well and all of them seem to have excepted one another, my BC is particularly taken with him but then she's always had a liking for the more mature man and has little patience with a fruity young chap.
Just going to ring Dog's Trust now as they wanted a call to let them know how he's settling.

I would use unscented baby wipes.  I like the Lidls sensitive ones.  they are a nice thickness.

Hi Pinky

I'm sure DT will be delighted at how well this little gent has settled into his new forever home :)  You've a warm heart and a big sifty for OH (even if he tries to pretend otherwise LOL).

I'm really happy for all of you.  It's lovely to read some happy news for a change too!
Teri

Do keep us up to date with his progress. It's lovely to read how well he's settling in.

Is there a way that we could see photos of him ?! :-)

> Is there a way that we could see photos of him ?

yayy!!!

Pinky, you could set up a http://photobucket.com/]Photobucket account[/url] Most of us use it! its free and very easy to upload your pics onto and then put a link on your profile :)

I'll have a go at the photobucket thing, it may take me a while as I am a complete nurd with things technical like ;)

We had a very short lead walk this afternoon and then back home through the field, only about 20 mins altogether. He's found his bark too and has cottoned on to the excitement that takes place with all of the dogs at walk times, we get a slightly wheezy woof out of him.

Tea went down a treat although he's not a big eater, grinding up the kibble in the blender was a good idea as he's managed to eat it this evening mixed up with pilchards.

He's definately very people focused and is showing himself to be a real fuss pot, he  has got up on the settee a couple of times although you have to catch the bum end or he fall off and he's had a doze sat next to OH, mind you I can understand that it's footie on the telly YAWN!!

Ahhhhh...... congratulations on your new/old :-D baby, sounds to be settling in brilliantly. :-)

He's still a bit wheezy and a little cough now and then, he mouth breathes quite a lot I'll be glad to get to our vets tomorrow to get him fully checked over.

I gave him a brush today, nothing too heavy, just used an old pig bristle hair brush of mine from years back, he seemed to like it but wasn't too keen around the throat and mane area, little devil actually growled at me :(

I've been reading his 'doctor's notes' from the DT, they've been treating him for bronchitis and congestive heart failure, plus something called otitis externa not sure what that is except it's his ears and they do seem to irritate him, he's also had conjunctivitis and dry gums.

I had a look in his mouth this evening and he was very good about it, there's not a lot of teeth going on in there and I reckon there's not a chopper from the canines back which is probably why he doesn't handle the kibble too well, his gums are quite puffy and look inflamed he has puffy swellings under his eyes that would indicate a bit of infection going on.

The thing that concerns me at the moment is that we haven't had a poo all day. Sad when you spend your time watching a dogs bum :-D
Will update you on the vet visit and sorry if I'm going on a bit about him :)

> sorry if I'm going on a bit about him

Don't apologise - I think we all feel we have a bit of a responibility for him. After all, if we had all told not to be so stupid, and to ignore him, you might not have him now ;-)

You are wonderful.!!
The little man has really landed lucky, with you to pour on so much love and attention.
Good luck and really enjoy him and the knowledge you are wonderful.
Karen :)

What a nice home he has you are really good to take him on, well done you.

He sounds like a wonderful old boy, and so lucky to have found you.

Don't worry about 'going on about him' I for one would love to hear more :-)

Claire

Well we've been to the vets, temperature normal, heart rate normal and no sound of a murmur, that bit really pleased me so wean off the Frusemide and see how he goes without it, chest still noisy so continue corvental, ear channels open and looking cleaner so reduce the drops to once a day, several lumps which she will monitor but will not do any anaethetics (spelling ?) until the chest sounds better, gums a little swollen and quite a bit of tartar so invest in a tooth brush for now and she'll look at them when and if she does the lumps.

Oh and he's had a poo :) :) bit soft but not horrid, he's really keen on his little walks and has even started a little trot every now and then.
All in all pretty good and we go back in 2 weeks for another check on the chest :-D

Brilliant - so glad to hear the news! :-) And a better poo too - great!

Now all we need is pictures :-D ;-)

> And a better poo too - great!
> Now all we need is pictures :-D ;-)

Yes please - but not of the poo!!

Pinky I'm glad that Shandy Valentine (I've given him a new 'love' name as befits his CD celebrity status) had a good vet trip  :)

Oh goodness, that sounds a bit wrong doesn't it!! I dont want to see a picture of his poo - honest!! :-D

I promise I will do pictures, as I said I'm not very good at things technical, I've had a play at that bucket photo thing and registered, now I've got to figure out how to get the pics off my phone and on to the pc, (got to find the lead which OH had 'filed for safe keeping!!)
I shall be having a good go at it this weekend.

I do like Shandy Valentine it makes him sound sort of debonair/sophisticated :-D

Glad all went well at the vets, great news.  I also love Shandy Valetine :-D

Ah bless,what a lucky boy he is,he's really landed on his feet,hasn't he? ;-)

Its sad when we all have a grin and think "thats good" when we hear of a dog doing a pooh!! Honestly do dogs make your brain soft or were we all soft to start with? cant wait to see a picture. Shandy Valentine - a second try at life like Shirley Valentine lovely.

A bit more of an update, he's coming on in such leaps and bounds at the moment so the updates will probably be quite frequent, I would imagine that he'll hit a plateau and then the reports will slow down a bit.

Anyway today whilst sat at my desk multi tasking as women do  i.e. emailing a customer whilst talking to another on the phone, it's amazing how no job can stop a woman's mouth :-D, my mobile buzzed a message, it's from OH and it's say's ''over the fields and Shandy's done a perfect poo''.
Laugh down phone, startle customer and mess up email!! My OH has always given me running reports everyday on what the dogs do when he gets in from work, he's lucky to finish at 2ish, he's a bit dopey like that ;)

Apparently when he got in Shandy was very excited and couldn't wait to go for his walk, that's always first thing OH does when he gets in.

The wobbly back end has just about gone, when we got him if he were to cock his leg he'd lose balance and you'd have to catch him or he fell over. Now there is a bouncy trot as he goes up the garden and he now knows where the gap is in the hedge to get through to the fields, he can't jump the fence like the other's but stands there and barks for a lift over, this is a clever dog ;)

It was whilst on this walk that I got the poo text. :-D !

I've cleaned his ears this evening with the stuff we got from the vet yesterday and wiped him over with the baby wipes that one of you lovelies suggested. He wasn't too keen when I approached the clinkers around the bum end he growled a little bit, but with gentleness I'm sure I can convince him it's for the best ;) Come this weekend it BATH TIME, that will no doubt give another report ;)

As I've mentioned he really does know what a kitchen is for and is a treat freak, his appetite has grown ten fold, I would think if you let yourself be conned by those sad little eyes you'd end up with a barrel on your hands. :(

I have discovered I can con him with firm cooked carrots and swede and small pieces of cheese I'm using that instead of the biscuits and cake I suspect his dear old mum may have been giving him.
I have weaned out the types of tinned food he was eating at rescue and replaced with AG tinned, Pilchards and tonight steamed Coley, I haven't yet managed to get him to eat the AG kibble whole so that is still going in the blender.

And wait for it, up the garden about 15 mins ago he did a stunning poo  :-D , really nice shaped bolus and easy to pass, yippee more poo talk :-D sorry girls !!

I'm working on the picture stuff, but you are dealing with somebody that still works in celuloid although I have learnt that you can have them developed on to disc so the pictures are a WIP and will be with photo thinghy bucket jobby asap.
Now I'll shut up :)

I like Shandy Valentine whereas my OH who doesn't drink has said Shandy Bass as that's about as much booze as he can manage :-p

As long as he wasnt called Shandy Red Barrell or Shandy Party 7. Then we all show our age!

My OH croons "oh what a lovely boy!" or "Oh my word what a lovely boy!" when he gets them up in the morning followed by "big stretch!!!" me I get a grunt!!

When my OH goes downstairs in the morning I can hear ''hello daddies little chickens''  :-p

Then he'll shout up to me ''are you getting your lazy fat ass out of bed?''
So sweet ;)

How's Shandy today - any more stories for us?! :-)

Oh I'm so glad he seems to have settled in well and is recovering :)