Quinn Thompson
Sad News 28 April 2021
Quinn’s dad, David, said:
“It is with deep sadness that I must inform you that Quinn went over the Rainbow Bridge on Wednesday 28th April 2021.
He has been our best friend and companion for the past eleven and a half years and we are devastated by his passing.
We had a difficult time initially when we adopted him, but with patience and training we eventually bonded and he made a wonderful companion. We travelled the length and breadth of the country with the caravan, having great walks. He was a real character. We have had three Retrievers all different characters, but he was different and more quirky than most. He loved to play hide and seek in our shrubbery and out in the woods. You would lose him just to see him peeking at you from under a bush, or he would run full pelt across your path either in front or just behind you, just to disappear again. Once or twice he mistimed it and took me off my feet. He had a marvellous sense of smell, you couldn’t hide titbits.
He loved our grandchildren’s visits. We have tramped miles with him close by my side. Sadly, the years eventually took their toll and at a couple of weeks short of his 14th birthday he went to sleep for the last time.
We thank all at IRR for your faith in us and would like to think, after adopting him, we gave him an excellent life and good home for the rest of his days. Quinn rewarded us with his undying love and loyalty.
He was a celebrity everywhere he went and was constantly paid complements. He will not only be missed by us but by all our family and friends who have rallied round us at this time.
This is our last picture of our tired old gentleman, Quinn.
Goodbye my old friend we will really miss you.
“Quinn, sadly missed but fondly remembered”.
Many thanks for the great times”
History
LOVELY REPORT FIVE YEARS ON (24th Oct 2014)
David and Elaine adopted Quinn in November 2009. David says “It is almost 5 years since Quinn joined our family and it seems to have flown by. When he joined us he was a bit on the wild side so we joined the local dog club to have some training lessons. Quinn passed his Good Citizenship Certificate and also got Bronze and Silver Obedience Certificates. We never took the Gold because it seemed a bit more about doing tricks rather than obedience.
Quinn still has his original collar, bed and toy (although a bit patched and worn). He has 2 doggy friends, one belonging to our neighbours and the other my sister’s. He has a walk in the countryside every day. We also caravan together regularly and go for long walks. Quinn travels well so regularly goes for trips in the car and he caravans with us all around the country. On the odd occasion that we go abroad, Quinn is treated as a part of the family in a local farm kennels which is owned by an old school friend of mine”.
After a late September visit to their daughter’s in West Wales, David sent a couple of photos of Quinn, one a picture of him getting his breath back on Poppit Sands near Cardigan and the other looking out of the caravan ( taken 4.5 years after the first caravan picture).
QUINN’S HISTORY
In 2009 Quinn was a 2 year old castrated male rehomed due to a change in family circumstances.
REPORT FROM HIS FOSTER HOME
Quinn is a really beautiful looking dog, and around the house he is a real treasure. He loves everyone, and adores being touched and even groomed. Indeed, he would have you cuddling him all day if you have the time. Equally, if left alone he is still a very happy dog, but as soon as he has human company he is beside himself with joy!
Quinn walks well on lead, will sit at the roadside before crossing, and can be recalled when there is a treat available! However, he will need training as he does like to jump up when greeting people, and he needs to become more socialised with other dogs. Due to this I would recommend that he goes to a home where there are no other dogs, no young children, and a strong handler. He does seem very receptive and intelligent, so I’m sure he will respond well to further training.
In summary, he is the most loving and loveable doggy, beautiful to look at, but like all dogs (especially larger breeds) he does need a strong “top-dog” handler.
QUINN IN HIS FOREVER HOME
We had a very good 2 hour journey back to Dorset. Quinn, had a good look round the garden (and found the pond) and house, sniffing around and we had a little look round the lane outside the house (once I’d check the coast was clear).
Dawn and Quinn are getting on fine with lots of wagging tails and rubbing noses. They lay together on the sofa and swapped toys quite happily.
We had a fairly disturbed night but that was Dawn (who has got into the habit of woofing us every 2 hours and even though she had company). Quinn didn’t join in, thank goodness and after a final woof at 11.15, they both settled down until 3am. They went outside for a wee and then all was quiet for another couple of hours. Dawn woofed at 5am but we didn’t go down this time and then there was quiet until 8am. Dawn will hopefully get out of this habit but I’m very pleased to say that Quinn didn’t seem bothered by it at all.
We’ve been out to Dorchester, quick trip to supermarket and garden centre, leaving Quinn and Dawn together in the car within sight of us. Both were very good.
On the way back, we popped in to see our friend. Quinn met one of her lady Golden Retrievers and when a couple of the boys started barking, he didn’t react at all. He had a sniff round her garden and lay down a couple of times.
UPDATE AFTER 10 DAYS
Quinn is settling in really well and is a joy to live with. He has given Dawn a new lease of life. He is gradually meeting all the many local dogs and is becoming very chilled around them.
UPDATE 25.10.09
Kate says. “Quinn walks well on his lead and doesn’t pull. He responds to most commands and will walk past most people without jumping up on them. He still needs some training when he sees other dogs but we are able to walk past them now with only a small fuss.
He is getting on very well with his new ‘sister’ Dawn, who lets him play with her toys. They sleep together in the kitchen at night and will happily curl up together on the sofa in the evenings.
We’ve just booked up for our first holiday with Quinn and will be able to introduce him to some new friends and family.
He enjoys playing ball in the garden and came close to bagging a brace of pheasants this morning!
He’s very fond of watching television but at the moment he is asleep on top of one of the toys that he brought with him from his foster parents.”
UPDATE 28.11.09
Kate said “Quinn is a delightful boy, full of energy and a typical young dog. He’s still learning and is very intelligent. He will bring you much joy as he has us and we wish you all the very best. He likes barking at people going past the house (we live alongside a bridleway and he can be very protective) but if he goes out in the lane – he wants to greet them. He’s not too keen on small male dogs but with girls he’s fine and friendly. He loves being groomed. He likes to play with toys but he doesn’t chew anything that he isn’t given. He loves children and they can pet him and he just sits there. We are fairly rural and he has seen sheep, horses, cows and cats and doesn’t seem too concerned. He may chase pheasants – but a sharp, ‘leave it’ normally works for me.”
“We’ll bring his blanket and the bed he’s been using, so that something smells familiar. Whilst Quinn has stayed with us, he has not ever had an accident in the house and sleeps all night (we choose to keep the dogs in our kitchen at night behind a gate). We travel about a lot and take the dogs when we can – rightly or wrongly, they travel on the back seat (covered with something). Recently, he likes to get in the front seat if we leave to go shopping but can be coaxed back to the back seat. We’ve recently been away on holiday and it was a 3 1/2 hour trip and all was well.”
“He will sit on command. He also understands whistle commands – pip 3 times to get his attention and once to get him to sit. It does work. He will also lie down from a sit position if you put a treat under your hand flat on the floor. He like to chase tennis balls but doesn’t always bring them back. We’ve found that if he’s distracted he won’t come back when called. Check the garden for gaps because he will. He is used to both collar lead and harness and I would recommend that the harness is used as he is a strong boy and it gives extra control. With no distractions, he can be walked to heel on his lead (with the harness on but not actually holding on to it) and he is quite gentle. If he gets excited, he will pull, though. He does like to jump up on people. We’ve not taken him off the lead outside our garden.”
“He’s fine with the hoover, washing machine, open fire and lawn mower. In the mornings, he likes to rub his face on the carpet (with his bottom in the air – which normally gets a pat from me!), rolls over for a tummy tickle and he likes to lick faces. He is particularly fond of men! He can be extremely excited when we get visitors but he’s not unfriendly – far from it although sometimes he likes to lay by himself away from everyone. He will climb stairs if there is no barrier. He will take from the kitchen counter top and may beg at the table (He’s never had anything from us, so that must be from previous experience). He can ‘play bite’ when excited – he doesn’t hurt but we just stop fussing him and then he gets the message”
Although Kate, Andrew and Dawn all loved Quinn very much, he, unfortunately, proved to be too strong for Kate to manage him on the lead so he has now gone to live in Lancashire with David and Elaine whilst Kate adopted a very needy ex breeding bitch, not dissimilar to Dawn, instead.
Elaine reported “Just got in with Quinn. He has been exploring and doesn’t want to keep still at the moment. He is playing with one of Laddies old balls. He travelled back and walked no problem”
UPDATE 7.12.09
Elaine says “Just to let you know of our experiences with Quinn in his first week with us. He is a lovely boy and a lot of the time you wouldn’t know you had him in the house. He has a habit of just putting himself to bed. When he does decide he wants attention he can be overly demanding. We are being persistent with him and teaching him to first sit or lie down and not to jump or constantly paw you for attention. He is responding to this quite well.”
“He walks extremely well on the lead, but as Kate said he gets too excited sometimes by other people and other dogs. This is when he starts to pull so he is being told very firmly to walk on and if he achieves this he gets a treat.”
“When he is out in the garden he explores quite happily but if you call his name to come in he totally ignores you. It’s almost as though in some respects he has brought himself up. I do think that with a lot of patience and persistence he will make a great dog. We are enjoying having him around and will let you know of his progress.”
UPDATE 11/12/2009
David says “Quinn is settling in very well. He is getting used to us and us him. It doesn’t seem like 2 weeks, time has flown. He is meeting the locals (people and dogs) and has put quite a few miles under his harness each day. He is getting used to the lanes and footpaths in the countryside around us. We only cross one main road and Quinn behaves very well, sitting at heel until told he can cross then walking at heel until told he can relax.”
“He behaves very well around the house (only a couple of times has he climbed on the settee). He is learning very well. He is an intelligent dog and can and will do as you ask the majority of times. These times are getting more. He doesn’t mind being handled. We wash him in warm water when he comes in muddy then towel him down and he is happy with this.”
“I am hoping to enrol us both on the next training course after Christmas to complete both our training. He has stopped putting himself to bed now in the evenings, preferring to lie in the living room with us.”
QUINN IN THE SNOW
QUINN UNDER THE CHRISTMAS TREE
David says. “Quinn is really enjoying the snow, and doesn’t seem to mind that it’s cold at all. He rolls in it and pushes his nose through it, like it is flour. Yesterday he was playing hide and seek with Elaine. I saw him hiding around the conservatory when she was looking for him, and when he saw her approaching he hid behind the rockery. One rattle of the food bowl brought him charging back to her, all fun and games.”
UPDATE 13.4.10
David said. “Quinn has come on in leaps and bounds. He really enjoyed the snow.
We enrolled at the dog training, and Quinn passed his beginners certificate with flying colours. We have just had our first lesson on his Bronze certificate course and he has had a good start.
We went down Wales to visit our daughter last weekend for our granddaughters first birthday. Quinn stayed in the caravan with us and was on best behaviour all weekend.
He got a bit fretful a couple of times but we think he thought he was being passed on again. He was really excited when we got back home.”