George Coldicott

A VERY SAD ANNIVERSARY (16.9.2018)

Lorna told us “We have had a day very much of two halves today. We started off in a happy, congratulatory mood as today is George’s first ‘gotcha’ day with us. It is unbelievable that later this morning I would have to have my gorgeous George put to sleep.

We set off on our walk as normal this morning and all was well until George completely collapsed and I had to half carry him home by wrapping my coat around his middle. I phoned the emergency vet and then had to get him into the car to go to Pershore as our branch doesn’t have any staff at the weekend.

After manipulation, the vet said that George had very bad cruciate issues, so much so that she didn’t feel that surgery was the way to go. It all came completely out of the blue.

Poor George, he had just one year with me and, now, I am left shocked and heart broken. I’m absolutely in bits as I seriously didn’t see this coming.

The vet said George had to be around 12 years old (way more than IRR had been led to believe) and one of his back legs already had a lot of thickening around the joint which would indicate he had the condition for some time.

In a typical Golden Retriever way, he had been good at hiding how much of a problem it was and in spite of the Yumove and turmeric paste, he was, obviously, still suffering with both his back legs.  Even with surgery, the outcome looked very bleak for George and rather than put him through all that would be necessary with such a poor end prognosis, I felt it was right to let him go in a dignified fashion before he suffered any more.

He was a bouncy, fun loving boy, full of life and joy and I didn’t want him to experience illness, disease, pain and suffering, so, now, he is free from all that.

George passed peacefully away in my arms whilst I was telling him what a wonderful boy he was and how much I loved him. I can’t help but sob, though, as yet another dog leaves me.

I am devastated and will miss him so much. He was very special, a real cuddle monster. He was gentle with all those that wanted to make a fuss of him and especially with small children who he adored.

I loved my time with George but another Goldie shaped piece of my heart has gone.

I know that Ben, Zena and Merlin will be waiting for him at Rainbow Bridge and that they will look after him for me xxxx”

GEORGE NOW HAD HIS PERFECT RETIREMENT HOME WITH LORNA AND DAISY (SEPT 2017)

TODAY’S THE DAY (Saturday 16th September)

As reported by Daisy, the resident lady of the manor:-

I have now had a few hours with George and we are getting on OK, although when he first arrived and wanted lots of fuss, I did too, which is very unusual for me, but mum said it was understandable as I needed reassurance.

Uncle David said he did enjoy his tea and cake. The chap who came with him had tea but passed on the cake – I think George had his eye on his slice but mum whisked it away pretty quickly.She said cake isn’t good for dogs and especially chocolate cake 🙁

Mum put George’s new name tag on his collar and then we went out for a walk together and then had tea in different rooms. I have to say that George’s smelt nice – raw tripe in that one I think by the whiff, but I prefer mine.

We have been in the garden and George has met the cats. They were their usual pushy selves and just went up to him and started brushing around his face – he didn’t bat an eyelid.

We are going out for our pre-bedtime wander shortly and will go to bed quite early as it has been an anxious day for George and me and an exciting one for mum.

George seems to prefer sleeping in the utlilty room, which is the conservatory. Perhaps he likes that he can see the escape route (i.e. the garden). Plus I have rather monopolised the sitting room, so he probably feels he needs to stay out of the way of the resident dog
(she who must be obeyed) ie MOI.  

George seems to think that mum is alright anyway as he wags his stump fast and furiously when she goes near him and he has been for lots of stroking and even licked her hands earlier – I thought she must not have washed them after feeding him, but she said of course she did as he eats raw meat.

Mum has sent Anna a couple of reassuring emails since George arrived so we all hope that she won’t worry about him too much.

   Sunday 17th September – OUR FIRST WHOLE DAY

We had a very good sleep and George was so deeply asleep that he didn’t stir until mum started to get breakfast ready. No surprise there then!

Mum says that she bought some herbal stuff in the supermarket which she is giving to me and George but that it isn’t the really good stuff like Aunty Lynne supplies so we are looking forward to receiving Aunty Lynne’s.

Mum accidentally shook the bottle of the stuff she bought and the cap wasn’t on properly, so she has already lost a couple of days worth – what are they like these humans?; so clumsy!

No matter how much chocolate, biscuits and cakes she has had to forego with her diabetes, my Mum still can’t lose weight. Perhaps long walks with George and me will help a little? Poor Merlin couldn’t go far towards the end, bless his soul. We do so miss him and Zena of course as she was such a honey bunny mum says.

Mum sent another email to Anna this morning to reassure her that George had a good night. I have already caught mum calling him Georgie and Georgie Porgie. I don’t know what’s wrong with these humans; they give you a name and then call you everything else but. I get called Dais without the y and Daisy May all the time, as well as poppet and you scruffy mutt, which she assures me is a term of endearment! You have to wonder at the logic.

George is now sleeping soundly on MY bed (as he did all night, but it’s OK because I don’t use it – I like the carpet) Mum says she must get him a new one as mine is too small and he spent most of the night with his front legs dangling over the top – not very comfortable looking, but he didn’t seem to mind. I guess he quite likes the idea of a soft bed like that one then.

 I’ll get mum searching one out. It will give her something to do other than fawning over George and making him wag his ‘samba bum’ as Anna calls it. I must say the lack of a tail is a blessing in disguise as far as I am concerned. I don’t get that big fan in my face when he is happy. Merlin’s tail (magnificent as it was) was forever in front of my eyes so I couldn’t see a thing.

P.S. I really need to tell mum that all this typing is going to give me repetitive paw strain injury. She needs to stop giving me so much to tell you!!!!!!

Monday 18th September – DOGZILLA

Lorna continued the report “I’m sorry to say that Daisy is in the dog house today, so I haven’t allowed her onto the puter to have her say, because I think I ought to tell you this before she puts her slant on things.

As she told you already, she has a bed that she never uses and George slept in, albeit with his paws dangling over the sides, on the first night. Last night, after the last wee in the garden, Daisy rushed in like her paws were on fire, plonked herself in the bed with her back to us and curled up as if she were going to sleep there.

Poor George paced up and down, so I put a pile of fleecy blankets down for him which he lay on eventually. I had the lights right down low on the dimmer so that I could see and so could they, in the night.

After about half an hour, Daisy looks up, looks at George and sees him asleep, so gets up out of the bed and slinks off behind the sofa to her usual sleeping position where she stayed all night and the bed remained vacant until George woke at about 5.40am this morning. He saw it empty and looked about for Daisy, but couldn’t see her, so gently stepped in, whereupon Daisy started dancing about barking to go outside.

I let them both out, but she did a quick U turn and headed straight back in, leaving George wandering around in the garden whilst she laid claim to all that is hers!!

I didn’t have her down as a clever, crafty dog until now! I have to admit, it did make me smile a bit. I must say that we could probably write a book about these little episodes.

Anyway, they have had breakfast and been for a nice walk and are now settling down for a bit of a sleep, although George isn’t sure where, as he likes the utility room where he can see down the garden, but I have put the washing machine on this morning, so it is too noisy and a bit frightening for him.

I’m glad I spoke to Aunty Lynne last night as she is going to post some of her nice relaxing herbal drops in the post to me and perhaps that will ease a bit of tension. It’s a good job we can call on her expertise if you ask me.

If Daisy is a nicer girl today, I’ll let her contact you again later in the week”.

Tuesday 19th September –  A MUCH NICER DAISY

We received Aunty Lynne’s drops today and wanted to pass on thanks and love for her kindness.

We have had visitors today and George has met Aunty Kelly who looks after us when mum goes to work, so things are falling into place. 

Mum is getting rather concerned about poor George’s back legs; especially the right one. We don’t have to go very far before he really looks like that leg is letting him down and sometimes mum stops to give it some gentle massage before we carry on. She has put him on Yumove, but is worried that it may not be enough and that George may need something stronger.

Mum said that she will take George down to the vets later in the week to register him and get him weighed so that she feeds him the right amount and he loses the excess.

I have been a much better girl today and shared my visitors with George. Sadly, his new bed didn’t arrive as promised, so it looks like he may take to the sofa again tonight like he did last night – mum wasn’t too pleased because she has never had a dog that slept on the sofa’s before. He did look much more comfortable though and since I reclaimed my bed, I don’t think he dares to use it!!!

Love and hugs to all from a rather nicer Daisy than yesterday.

Saturday  30th September – TWO WEEKS ON

No sign yet of the little human baby. He is due next week though, so add on a bit for tardiness and you can bet it will be about 7-10 days before he decides to make an appearance. Mum says she has already worn a groove in the floor pacing up and down. 

We have realised how much George must be missing his children. He tries to pull towards any we see in the street or those he hears on the playing fields. Mum hasn’t let him get too close yet, as he is a bit on the big side for the little ones around here.

One older girl on her paper round stopped to fuss him and he loved that. I muscled in too of course – it’s only fair that I get stroked too!

I have been very well behaved with George this week by the way – that is until this morning. He was getting excited because it was nearly time for our lunchtime walk. Mum said he was trying to play with me, but I wasn’t putting up with that big paw coming toward me, so I snapped at him and mum told me I was a rude and not a very nice girl and must learn to be more gentle when George wants to play. She said he used to play with Milo all the time, so he’s probably missing a bit of rough and tumble. Well, I am a girl with a more gentle approach or not at all, so he will have to learn a bit of respect for his elders.

Mum says that I am 95% there, whatever that means. She says it takes time to adjust to the big upheavals in life but they happen and we have to deal with them.

So, I’m slightly in the dog house again today but I get forgiven ever so quickly. A quick biscuit all round a bit later (when I have had time to ponder what I did apparently) and we are back to normal now.

Lots of love to you all from Daisy (and, I suppose, George) xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

A NEED TO FIND A PERFECT RETIREMENT HOME

Unfortunately, George’s fortunes changed again in 2017, when in his best interests a very distraught Anna and family decided it would be best for him to find a quieter more suitable home than theirs.

In 2015, we believed George to be about 2.5 years old. IRR can, of course, only go by the information we are given and we always rehome in good faith but sometimes people are less than honest and we now believe this to have been the case with George who we think may well be a lot older than we thought.

Anna, his current adopter, explained “We are very upset but we, clearly, are not the best home for our lovely boy. 

When we took George on, we were told he was a healthy dog with just a weight problem. On meeting his foster parents, they commented about his weak hind legs but assured me they would get better as he lost weight. I was also encouraged to take him jogging with me. I changed George’s diet and he did lose some weight.

George was thought to be around 2.5 years of age when we adopted him which would now make him 4.5yrs which is exactly the same age as our other dog, Mylo, but the difference in the two dogs is enormous.

Mylo is a very active, strong male, who has been jogging with me for three years now, is always full of energy and is quite bouncy. George, on the other hand, is a very low energy dog so we can only do gentle walks. I am not even able to walk them together as George quickly gets too tired. He is also wary of traffic and sometimes gets spooked”.

Eager to find him the very best home, Anna wrote a full assessment of George to assist with his rehoming.

PERSONALITY

When we met George he was afraid of my husband (and all men) and it took a while for him to feel safe. We have shown him what cuddles are and he has learnt to enjoy grooming. He is now much better in himself, enjoys company and is much calmer.

He has a serious fear of storms, fireworks, alarms, sudden loud noises and sudden movements. On two separate occasions during a storm, he has climbed upstairs and jumped on top of my 7 year old son. He then started “digging” in his bed and bruised him.

I try to get George to sleep in my bed if there is a storm or fireworks but he is too nervous, does not sleep, tries to dig and is extremely unsettled. We have an Adaptil plugged in and I use a stress jacket I made out one of my shawls but these things unfortunately don’t help enough.

George is also afraid of the garden hose, balloons and football. I think it’s fair to assume he must have had a terrible life before we took him on.

I really thought that when he felt safe and loved his stress issues would go away but, unfortunately, this has not happened.

HEALTH

His tail had to be amputated shortly after he was adopted. His blood test results show he has not now got a problem with thyroid and my vet has stopped his meds so he hasbeen declared as healthy. However, he does struggle with stairs.

My main concern with George is his inability to keep up with Mylo. Quite often George is stiff and/or lame after a nap and rough playing with a much bouncier dog does not help. The trouble is George loves playing but, in my opinion, he needs an older or smaller playmate.

Another problem for us is our family outings as we always take the dogs with us but poor George can’t keep up so we have had to resort to leaving him at home which we feel is not fair to him.

All my family are very active so we love to go to the forest and explore and walk the trails all day on a Sunday but we cannot take George as he is isn’t up to it. We feel so sorry for him.

SOCIAL LEARNING

TRAVEL:  He needs help getting in and out of the car and does not like going to the vets.

HOUSETRAINING: George is fully housetrained

GROOMING:  He loves being brushed and cuddled, he loves giving kisses and he offers his paw a lot which he does very gently. 

LEADWALKING and RECALL:  George walks well and is quite good on a lead although he can be a little strong at the start of a walk. However, he soon finds his pace and is normally quite happy to sniff about. 

Unfortunately, George’s recall is not good and he should not be let off lead anywhere that isn’t 100% secure. Although he is usually quite good, he did get spooked once at the beach and I ended up chasing him for half an hour. I was lucky enough to have somebody jump out of their car and help me catch him as he would not have stopped otherwise and could easily have been hit by traffic.

RESOURCE GUARDING:   He is not food possessive  but he loves food and he is not afraid to steal it. He should not be given food from hand as he is inclined to grab and has caused us some bruises in the past. 
      
ADULTS:  He takes time to trust new men but, once he gets to know them, it is not a problem. He is much better than before and it does not take him as long to trust new people now as it did. Initially, he did snap at a few men without giving a warning but he has never ever bitten anyone.

He sometimes makes weird noises and people can misread it as growling but it isn’t. When he gets excited he makes the growly noise and barks and he has scared a few people especially as he can give an odd stare sometimes too but it’s just a question of needing to learn to read him as he definitely means no harm. We think it is probably simply because he was not socialised well as a pup and never learnt how to interact with people properly when he was young.

CHILDREN: He loves children and is very gentle but he does get stressed by the noise and chaos that young kids produce.

DOGS:  He is very good with other dogs

CATS:  He is fine with our cat, Tayto but I don’t know how he would be with other cats.

GEORGE’S DREAM HOME

We believe George would make a lovely dog for a mature couple or single person but not with somebody who is very active. He loves to play with other dogs but he really needs a calm, older dog that is not very strong as his playmate.

George is a gorgeous, gentle giant who would desperately love a home where he is the centre of attention and, in return, given the chance, we are sure, he will give his forever family many years of unconditional love.

GEORGE’S ORIGINAL HISTORY

In 2015, George was a 2.5 year old male, purebred Golden Retriever. He was a really big boy and was carrying extra weight which he needed to lose. He has already received the veterinary checks needed to obtain his EU Pet Passport and was then assessed fully and groomed before being sent to his forever home in the United Kingdom.

George had been with his previous owners for about a year but, not having enough time for him, they decided that it was best to give him the chance of a forever home where he would be treasured and loved and the centre of attention. His owners relinquished him to the fantastic West Cork Animal Rescue who work in conjunction with Irish Retriever Rescue.

ASSESSMENT

He is an absolute beauty, a gentle giant and is extremely trusting. He has truly the most endearing personality. This boy is, as Kathryn puts it,‘a real humdinger’. George is a happy boy who dances as he walks with his tail swinging from side to side.

SOCIAL LEARNING

Travel: He travelled well in the car.

Leadwalking and recall: He walks very well on the lead though like many Goldens his recall needs work.

Feeding: Naturally, as with all rescues, it is advisable to feed them separately. He isn’t food or toy possessive but it is always wise to guard on the side of caution until he finds his paws.

Children: George seems good with children, but as his past is not complete it might be best to rehome with older children.

Dogs: He is wonderful with other dogs so George would be best suited with another canine companion.

Cats: He hasn’t been cat tested.

GEORGE’S DREAM HOME

He only needed the chance to show how special he is. Kathryn said ‘the minute I saw him, I was captivated by that gorgeous Golden smile. He knew he had made an impression’.

George is a wonderful, gorgeous, giant of a boy – truly stunning. Whoever is blessed by adopting this superb gentle giant will be truly lucky to have him as part as their family as he will give them many years of unconditional love.

GEORGE WENT TO WHAT SEEMED HIS PERFECT FOREVER HOME (25.6.2015)

Anna, his forever mum tells us “We brought George home yesterday. He seemed anxious in the car and grumbled at strangers when we stopped half way home but there have been so many changes in his life recently, that we thought it is only natural for him to be stressed.

We assumed George would need a little while to settle but, to our surprise, he only needed about half an hour! He made friends with our Retriever Mylo and, very quickly, made peace with our cat (George has never lived with cats before).

He went on a tour around the house and then settled in the garden for a nap. The same evening he was playing with Mylo in the garden, giving our kids kisses and frequently coming to us for cuddles. His tail does not stop wagging.

George enjoyed his dinner which he ate quickly … he gets very excited about food. In late evening, he decided to join us on the sofa for some tv watching and fell asleep. He slept well and this morning came in to our bedroom to say “hi”.

We went for a walk to the beach, he walked well on lead but was quite strong. To my surprise he said hello to a few people that we met on our way and let them pet him.

We are planning a trip to the vet next week as George has a lot of weight to lose. We will work out a plan for him and stick to it as, at the moment, his extra pounds are slowing him down considerably”.

FURTHER UPDATE JULY 2015

Unfortunately, a lump was found on George’s tail so samples were taken and sent off to the Lab. It was found to be an epithelial tumour which the vets wanted to remove asap so George was booked in for the following Monday morning.

Anna was warned there was a very high possibility that the vet would need to remove George’s tail together with the tumour and, sadly, that was the case. The tissue was then sent off to the lab again to determine if the cancer was malignant. Anna made sure that George was as comfortable as possible and she gave him the best of care after his surgery.

Everyone was praying that there would be no spread anywhere else. A few days letter George had a follow up appointment and the wound was found to be healing very well.

They got some more antibiotics but the biopsy results weren’t back so it meant a few more days of anxious waiting. It was a horrible two weeks of waiting and not knowing.

We were also suspicious of George’s enormous bulk so, having waited a couple of weeks to allow for his immune system to settle down after having had the Rabies vaccination, we decided to have his thyroid tested. When the results came back, it was discovered that George did have an overactive thyroid which would account for his weight issues so the next step would be putting him on medication to get it right.

After another week, we were all delighted and relieved to learn the tumour George had was a benign sweat gland carcinoma and he should not have any more trouble from it. The vet also checked the wound and they got the all-clear. That meant Anna was allowed to give George a nice bubble bath then, hopefully, Anna could try to get the rest of the matts out of his coat to make George feel more comfortable.

After going through a bit of a difficult stage, George and Tayto, the cat, are doing better. Anna says ” George really listens to me so that’s to my advantage (and Tayto’s). I think it’s more of a prey drive thing than aggression and training should solve it. When George sees the cat,he will usually look up at me and turn his head away from Tayto then walk away. We hope things will improve even more when George starts his meds”.

GEORGE A YEAR ON

I remember the excitement when we decided to adopt a dog, that warm feeling in my heart…

We filled in the IRR adoption form, and the process began. Not very long after having a home check, we received an email that a dog has been matched to our family. We got some details of him, and a picture. He looked sweet, perhaps a little confused. The extra information stated he was quite overweight and might have a thyroid problem. We were straight away assured that IRR would pay for any tests and medication for George, as this was a pre existing condition. We were a little bit worried about adopting a dog with health issues, but we went ahead with the process anyway.

We met George at a motorway service station (half ways between us and the fosterers), I was surprised at how very nervous he was. The fosterers got him out of their car, and he literally sank in to the car park surface and wouldn’t move. He was frightened. We decided the best thing to do was to get him in to our car. George liked that idea and happily jumped in to the boot to avoid the stress of a busy service station. The drive back was long, we attempted toilet stops on the way, but George wouldn’t come out of the car. When we finally arrived home, it took both me and my husband to get George out. Things went better from this point. We walked through the house into the back garden, and George said hello to everybody. Mylo, our other dog was very excited. They made friends very quickly, and soon became inseparable. A perfect match.

We decided to give George a few weeks of adjusting period before his first vet visit. He required some blood tests, and a weight loss plan. It could wait. He really needed to settle first. A few days later we had to scrap that plan, because we found what we thought an injury on Georges tail while we were brushing him. This called for immediate medical attention. After shaving Georges tail our vet had much worse news than we expected: cancer. I phoned the IRR, they were so supportive, first thing they did was set up an account with our vet, so we didn’t need to worry about any costs. Our only job was to love George. A week after our new companion was recovering from surgery. Unfortunately his tail had to be amputated, but George didn’t seem to be affected by the loss.

A year on, George is a happy dog. Far from the frightened overweight dog we first met. After countless visits to the vet, we only needed to pay for routine checks and jabs. The IRR have looked after the bills related to pre existing conditions. This is really reassuring to know that if the cancer does come back, we have the support of this brilliantly dedicated organisation.

I feel lucky we chose to adopt from IRR!