Paws

Sad News 29 July 2022

Paws’ mum said, “Paws had pancreatitis back in February and was very ill, but managed to pull back from that. 

Unfortunately, though he kept getting bouts of the same symptoms and this time, where he had been ill again for a week and not eating and drinking, as well as sleeping nearly all day and not wanting to do anything, we decided that the kindest thing for him was to put him to sleep, a decision with which our vet agreed as he said we had done everything possible to get him fully fit again but it was not to be. 

As you know this decision is one of the hardest a pet owner has to make, but we just couldn’t bear to see him looking so sad and not enjoying life anymore because of the pain and discomfort he was in. 

We will always remember him and hope he is now in a happy place, free from pain and suffering.

History

Age: approx. 2

Sex: male, neutered

Paws was surrendered to IRR due to a relationship breakup and emigration. This poor boy was previously abused (not by the people who sadly had to surrender him) so he craves attention and needs lots of affection.

Personality:
Paws is a very loving, energetic retriever. He gets on really well with other dogs and is very playful. He is house-trained and understands basic commands. He’s not fantastic on his leads as he gets so excited about going for a walk, but a “happy at heel” harness should make him easy to control.

Paw’s Dream Home:
Paws would love an active home where there is a lot happening and where he gets plenty of attention, affection, exercise, affection, love and affection – you get the hint! He MUST have lots of cuddles. He is an amazing companion, friendly and playful. However, he doesn’t know his own strength so we don’t recommend a home with small children.

Behaviour with other animals:
He is not good with chickens or cats but is very playful with other dogs.

Fostered in: Cannock, Staffs

December 2013

Paws has gone to his Forever Home

UPDATE FROM PAWS’ FOREVER HOME MARCH 2014

Wendy tells us that she and Roger took Paws home on the 15th December after falling in love with him at first sight.

Having left his fosterers, Yvette and Tim, he was very quiet on the drive home so much so they didn’t really know he was in the car until they neared Southampton and had come off the motorway. Paws made himself at home straight away as soon as they got in the door and lost no time in exploring all the rooms and then the garden. After that, having had some dinner and a drink, he decided he would try out his new bed and have a snooze.

Wendy said “He has settled down into our family and everybody has fallen in love with him (even my brother-in-law who is really scared of dogs). Paws is always on his best behaviour when we have visitors and he really wants people to love him but, of course, who couldn’t love such a handsome boy!

We had trouble with his sleeping habits at first as we thought we would let him sleep in our bedroom until he got used to our home but that only continued for a few weeks (at the end of which we had not had much sleep) as he kept waking up in the middle of the night wanting to play – not something you really want to do at 3 o’clock in the morning!!!!! In the end we put his bed downstairs in the kitchen at night and shut the door on him, leaving the radio on very low so that he would not be disturbed by any noises which would have made him bark. This has worked wonders and we all now get a good night’s sleep.

Due to the very bad rainy weather over the past three months we decided to introduce him to all the areas around our home whilst on the lead and have now, at last, managed to get him to stop pulling on the lead by introducing him to a Halti lead which controls his head movements so that he cannot pull so much. We tried all sorts of harnesses, even the stand at heel harness, but none of them worked as he is so strong and wanted to explore everywhere at double fast pace. He was wanting to get everywhere, especially if he saw any other dogs, as quickly as possible!”

There were a few problems in the first weeks with his barking and dislike of cats which they were expecting but he has now realised there is no need to bark at everything and everybody and that cats don’t all have to be chased although he does still like to have the last word though if another dog barks at him.

They have now introduced him to the open spaces of their local country park and he goes mad when first let off the lead and flies around like a Greyhound but, thankfully, Paws will return when called (although not straight away sometimes if there are other dogs around he would rather go and say hello to). He is getting really good with other dogs now and realises that not all of them want to play with him so he will leave them if called.

Wendy says “He loves being able to sit out in the garden now and loves watching Roger out there working. Altogether, he seems a much more contented dog and we have, what I call, quite a few smiley faces from him now. He was, understandably, quite anxious the first few times he went in the car as if he was wondering where he was going to end up this time but he has now come to realise that, when we take him out in the car, we are not shifting him off somewhere and he will be coming home again.

He has changed a bit since we’ve had him and seems to have grown up a little but not too much as he still loves playing with his toys and rolling upside down juggling them between his front paws.

We are so glad that we approached IRR and were allowed to adopt Paws as he has brought such fun, laughter and love into our home.”

UPDATE ONE YEAR ON (Dec2014)

Roger and Wendy sent us a few pictures of Paws as it is a year ago (on the 15th December 2014) that they adopted him.

They tell us “He has grown up a lot in this time and is now also getting quieter and realising he doesn’t have to rush everywhere to get to where he wants to go. We’ve had a lovely Summer which has enabled him and us to be outdoors a lot of the time, which he absolutely loves – I think especially he would sit out all day and every day watching Roger working in the garden if he could!

We had a problem with him being very noisy at first when visitors came but he’s a lot better now with people coming to the door and doesn’t have a prolonged barking session each time the postman or paper boy calls – we’ve managed to get him to bring the paper or any letters in from the door and he thinks this is a great game – but it has done the trick of stopping him barking.

He is 100% better with other dogs now when he meets them on the lead but will bark back if they dare to bark at him – he likes to have the last word! He walks very well on the lead now, although he still doesn’t like cats and will try to dart after one of them if he sees one. He loves going to the local shops with Roger and will sit in the aisle of the small local D.I.Y. shop and wait for all the customers to say hello to him and won’t move until they do! They are used to him now.

We can’t believe how fast the year has gone – it seems as though we have had Paws for ever and to think last year we were wondering how and if he would settle in in time for his first Xmas with us – we needn’t have worried as he took to everything like a duck to water and now greatly enjoys any family visitors we get and always tries to get a cuddle from everyone – and keeps sidling up to people until they do say hello properly by tickling him under his chin, which he loves.

We like to think he has now realised that this is his home forever as we know we would never willingly part with him, he is very much a part of our family. He is such a lovable dog and even people he meets in the street or in the park are drawn to him and nine times out of ten want to say hello, so he is then in his element.