Ok, I've gone Champ-Dogs crazy. This is my final post today.

Has anyone read the April issue of "Dogs Today"? On the very last page there is a feature called "Ask Katie", where advice is given to readers who write in with their various problems.

The reader's problem I'm concerned about is called "Empty without Emma". Basically, an elderly woman who has a slightly disabled husband has just lost her dog, and it has hit both her and her hubby really badly. She clearly wants to get another dog, and has considered a rescue dog, but just needs to hear someone tell her it's ok and give her a bit of support. Anyway, "Ask Katie's" advice is (and I quote): "Do you really think it is fair to take on another rescue dog at your age and with your husband being disabled?"

They're only in their 70s for God's sake!!

I can't believe "Ask Katie" can get away with that!!!!! That poor old woman. She could give the right type of rescue dog a great home and it'd probably cheer her and her husband up enormously.

Jo

I believe that there wasn't a very good write up on Spanish Water Dogs last year. If the mag. had got it's facts right it wd. have realised that the 2 dogs were imported and were getting on, and I know that they wdn't. of lived in a house where they were imported from and that might have been the reason why the people were having problems. Though nobody seemed to get in touch with people who had the breed!!

I still haven't seen the article but I know that some people were put off the breed, because they didn't know the whole story.

They did a lovely spread of our breed using my now Champion bitch as centre spread. Unfortunat4ely they printed the transprencies as if the dogs ere sable/gold GSDs!!! My lovely bitch was pictured a rich Gold GSD colour!!! The person who wrote the breed details quited the deerhound standard for colours, as had turned the wrong page in their standards book. Our breed is Grey of various shades with dark muzzle and ears, but the Deerhound standard alows for Brindle,Fawn etx, hence the mess up!

Two months later they did print a small pic colour corrected (too corrected really) pointing out the mistake, but who would have sen this!

I did Brainless :D - I saw both the lovely article (didn't realise it was you) AND the correction later!! :)

Lindsay

Wow we famous. What did you think when you saw the original, did you know it was wrong, or were you unaware what the breed looked like and thought they actually are GSD coloured???? :D

The little lad with his arm round one is my son, and my bitch Kizi. The father and son Elkhounds are a Champion male with his now adult son. The head study is of Kizi's brother.

I had the advantage of knowing an Elkhound, and thought "that looks wrong", but put it down to bad colour separation at the printers'!

I admit I didn't read the 'breed specifics' in the box, though.
:)

I must shuffle through my copies and have another look :)

I didn't cotton on really to the colour thing, I have seen Elkhounds but just supposed this was a sort of "colour variation"!!! I was too busy looking at how lovely the dogs were to think about the colour - and I really mean that, I looked at those pages for ages! ;)

Congratulations (belated!) on being in the magazine with them and your little boy :)

Lindsay

Where I work there are some estate cottages, and one of the "old" estate workes Tom lives there, 7 years ago he got hiself a Golden Lab, Tom is going to be 100 this year.
Then again when my fathers Black Lab died when he was 76, his solution was to get re married (my mother died 10 years earlier).
I think Katie can roll up her article and look for a place where the "Sun Don't Shine"

Al

I don't think you can ever tell a person to get or not to get a dog, it's just too personal and no too people would look at it the same. When my father was dying I think my dogs kept me sane (Or possibly as sane as it's possible for me to be ;) )

John

Most folk on here already know my opinion of DT and the quality of their articles/opinions of the editorial staff :( I too have had a run in with Ms Boyle over her opinions....its quite ridiculous that some potty old biddy who knows absolutely nothing about dogs can have a column in a magazine thats supposed to be informative! I still have a copy of the letter she wrote me personally, when I complained about her attitude towards my breed, many years ago!

I would not home a dog to a couple who is in their 70s unless under extraordinary circumstances.

Taylor

In the May "Your dog" magazine a lady of 80 with a husband of 79 wrote about the sadness of losing their dog and how she would love another puppy but he says they are too old. The reply to this is "why not?" They are advised to consider a rescue but to take on a puppy if they want to. Two magazines and two completely opposing views......
Cathy.

Taylor,they could take an old dog surely? what about a little breed? and if there are family who can take on the dog in the event of illness, or death, what is the problem? I can assure you good health is not guaranteed in youth.

I have homed two of my IGs with a lady of 74 and on with a lady in her 80s. Both are in good health but before they took the dogs on it was on the understanding that should anything happen to them ie sickness or god forbid death the dogs would come back to me whatever their age and whatever my own circumstances are. That goes for any puppy I sell but for obvious reasons was more poignant in these two cases.

Do you have that in a contract when selling the pups
Just wondering about if anything happened and their family wanted to "home" the dogs ?
Lel

>>Taylor,they could take an old dog surely? what about a little breed? and if there are family who can take on the dog in the event of illness, or death, what is the problem? I can assure you good health is not guaranteed in youth. <<

I would not do it, ASAT.

Taylor

ASAT ??

As Simple As That :).

Taylor

ahh right - thanks :)

Just out of curiosity....... Just how old is Ms Boyle???? I know she has more than one dog.

As in "Ask Katie"? If so, at least 130, I'd say.

In outlook!

I just think that dogs can have such a positive impact on people's lives - as long as someone can provide the necessities it's utterly crazy to prohibit someone from dog ownership on the basis of age - youth is hardly a guarantee of immortality. Not only that but we're all going to be 70 some day and we could easily have another 30 years left in us - that's a bloody long time!

The ironic thing is that "Ask Katie" is hardly a spring chicken herself!

Thank God it's Friday

Jo

A friend of mine sold a schip to a couple where the gentleman has a slow rate progressive terminal illness but his wife was fit and healthy in their 50's. The bitch was to be a companion for the wheelchair bound husband nothing wrong there you say - 3 wks later the bitch was returned by their daughter. Seems mother had died suddenly and father being wheelchair bound was unable to look after himself or the dog. This was not a scenario even thought about by anyone involved, the dog was to be HER companion once her husband had died as she wanted something to share her grief with.

Just show's you non of us know's what's around the corner, one of my schips is with an elderly couple on the understanding that he comes back to me if they either can't cope or one of them dies. The old chap was very ill and almost died a few mths back and I soon realised there would be a blood bath if I even attempted to take that dog back - they took him to the hospital to see his dad daily and swear that is the only reason he's still alive. Now home again with 24 hr care the old chap spends his days chatting away to his 8 yr old schipperke ' coz he's the only one who understands me' is what I got lol.

We have in the past paired up 13 - 14 yr old schips with 80 yr old plus owners and been amazed at the new lease of life both have shown, age should be no barrier to dog ownership if things work they work well for both sides and that's what it's about isn't it happy dogs in happy homes?

This is one of the scenraios when I feel breeders should not be critiscised for parting eith one of their oldies. The breeders I know have usually only done so to a h9ome like this with years of owning the breed, not to get rid of their dog, but as a way of helping the older owner still have one of the breed they love.

One of the Doyennes of our breed wholived to an advanced age had several older dogs to keep her company from younger fellow breeders, the last two being champion mother and daughters, and the surviving dog then went home gain once the lady died.

Your as young as you feel and if the lady of 70 wants to re home a dog then whats the problem? I hope when I am 70 I will be wanting to have a dog! :rolleyes: What is it about age that makes us judge? She may want an older dog who needs a home and what a great home to go to both at the same age same pace lovely. I don't think D T D should have made that reply to her. Julieann xxxx

I never buy Dogs Today coz I feel it is far too judgemental on most things. They have their view, it's the only view, and anyone who differs is a waste of space - or so it seems. I prefer ,for a mag, Our Dogs - feel it's much more friendly. Those poor people -I'm sure they'd make great owners for another canine pal. Hope they ignore the "advice" and get a lovely chap to love.

Pam n the boys

Pam yes I to hope they ignore that stupid advise. Its so wrong to see or hide behind age! :( Julieann xxx

I think if old people can 'save' an unwanted dog from a rescue shelter it must be a better life. It depends on the agility of the 70 yr old my gran is in her eighties and she is all over the place but then a 70 yr old could have a walking stick etc..all that is what should be taken into consideration in my opinion..I hope when I am 70 if I want a dog no one will tell me otherwise :) Old people have more time than us younger ones no kids , they are retired etc...well that's just what I think...

Hi Jo

I agree with you totally. This poor couple could be perfect for one of the older rescue dogs, who also needs a friend in their twilight years. I don't think it would be right for them to get a pup though! We see lots of old dogs in rescue that would be perfect, and a lot of rescue centres will pay the vets bills for life for some of the older dogs, so they would have no worries there. In fact I adopted an oldie from the rescue centre I help out 18months ago. He was between 12-14 yrs old then (vet thinks). Totally deaf, and with poor sight - BUT he is a treasure, and my in-laws in their 70's absolutely adore him. He is absolutely no trouble and enjoys his life and walks (in a conservative kind of way). What a sham DT couldn't have said something like this in reply. Perhaps you could e-mail them with a response and hope this couple read it.

Kat

I think it is terrible that the 'Empty without Emma' lady should have been told it was unfair for her to have a dog. For the right dog, their situation would be perfect. There are many dogs out there who are couch potatoes just wanting to be loved and to live a quiet life. These people would probably spoil it rotten and it would add so much to their lives.Age is a stupid excuse. None of us know what is around the corner. Young people will die tomorrow!

Besides, things aren't always what they seem. I bet that being told of my next door neighbours - wealthy young couple, parents living with them so someone always at home, large garden in the country, experience with dogs, you might well think it was a great home. What you wouldn't know was that the dog isn't allowed into the house and spends most of its life on a chain. Every now and again when the barking gets on their nerves, they let it off the chain and it clears off until it is hungry, a day or two later. It has never been for a real walk, goes in the car only to the vets and its coat is proffessionally clipped off it when the mats look too disgusting. I know where I would sooner be if I was a dog!
Carrie

Totally shocking!

It just goes to show that you have to judge every case on it's merits. I intend to write to Dogs Today this weekend to complain - I'm not really a letter-writing sort of person, but I just think it's so bad that some poor elderly couple may have been deprived of all the fun and joy that comes with owning a dog. I'd love to know for sure how old "Ask Katie" actually was, and whether she had any dogs herself.

I think I agree with you they may misguidedly stopped a " unwanted dog" from getting a home.

I have a 5 month old Stafford pup and thankfully my Mom and Dad live next door, and I couldn't of had the pup but for them. The pup goes next door when I go to work and my Dad who's 77 this year and has been retired for only 6 years (he kept going to work) tells every retired person he meets they should get a pup they keep you young.

The pup spends hours in the shed, in the garage and pottering around the gardens. Or they both fall asleep sitting in his (corrrection their) shed listening to CD's and drinking cups of tea. The pup comes when Mom calls out "Tea" now and barks if she doesn't get one. What can you do. Apart from join them in the shed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No seriously they take her a walk over to the post office to get the pension then daily to the supermarket and Dad stands outside Sainsbury's with her while mom shops, he enjoys talking to people who stop to admire the pup. Then they walk her over to the school to pick up my nieces.

Pup loves it. Mom and Dad love it, they have all the benefits but none of the worries like excercising when she's older, they also get the added bonus that she lets them know when someone is around. I love it because I have a happy not bored pup, and a Dad who's out from under mom's feet therefore she doesn't worry about popping out and leaving Dad.

So I would say get a dog if you want one and can cope.

That's a really nice story Kazzstaff. Just goes to show that if you hadn't done any lateral thinking, both you and your parents would be dog-less. I'm sure I read somewhere that they reckon people who keep a dog who are of retirement age tend to live longer.

Jo

watch out Jo19!!! I wrote once some years ago to complain about something KB had said & you wouldn't believe that such a sweet looking little old lady could write such a snotty letter!!!!

Hehe, I'll look forward to that. The agony aunt from hell!