Valentino Noble
A DREADFUL SENSE OF LOSS (23.7.2018)
On Monday, 23rd July, Lorraine passed on the extremely sad news that Valentino had passed that morning after a massive heart attack.
A couple of days later, his distraught Mum, Julie, wrote saying ”It is with a very heavy heart that I write to tell our lovely IRR family that we lost our Darling Valentino on Monday from a massive heart attack.
We only had him for just over a year but, in that time, he never put a paw wrong. He was a generous hearted old gentleman with health problems and we adopted him with our eyes wide open, in full knowledge that our time would be less than most.
Sadly, that doesn’t mean that the hurt is any less for our family than if we’d had him from a pup. We are all heartsick. I’d like to thank all his IRR fans and supporters and especially Lorraine as well as Alan and Celia and their boys for showing him the way forward when they fostered him.
We are, also, very grateful to the kind lady, who first found him wandering the streets of Dublin, for alerting IRR to his plight so they could pluck him from the pound.
Many of you have been in our shoes and know the dreadful sense of loss we are feeling but I am choosing to believe that the level of heartache is directly proportionate to the amount of love, joy and companionship he gave us.
It’s the price we pay as their guardians and, as dreadful as I feel, I would do it again and again and again because, for me, being dogless is an even sorrier state to be in. So, as Barnaby would say, Valentino’s passing has left us with ‘room for one more’ in due course!
Rest in Peace our Darling Boy”.
HISTORY
Valentino is a wonderful, almost white, neutered male Golden Retriever who was about 11 years old when he came into IRR care. He was vet checked, was micro-chipped and had his inoculations to enter the UK.
He was a stray found and taken to the Pound. We think he must have been loved once, having already been neutered, and wondered if, maybe, he had possibly had an elderly owner who had died and the family didn’t want him.
When Kathryn first saw him, she said “the state and smell of him would have knocked you sideways. His coat was like cement and needed three grooming sessions but, ever the gentleman, he took it all in his stride. Kathryn called him Valentino as he was rescued in February.
He was also named after the silent movie star, Rudolf Valentino, the great lover, who, when he died at an early age, had women fainting in the streets in their hundreds, bereft at the passing of an icon. There are many reasons why Valentino fits him perfectly. He travelled to the UK and went into foster with Celia and Alan and their dogs.
PERSONALITY
Kathryn said “Valentino is the most loving, gentle Golden, a wonderful all rounder, who has clearly fallen on hard times.
His fosterers say “Valentino is a lovely boy, very, very friendly and very loving. He settled in right from the moment he got out of the car on Saturday and he was not fazed at all when he met the “boys”. If potential adopters can see past his health problems, they will have a wonderful addition to their family”.
HEALTH
He has a cloudiness to his eyes but he appears to see well and he has cardiomyopathy, a failing heart, for which he is on heart medication that is helping him. Alan says “Probably because of his heart problem, Valentino does pant when we are out but this could also be down to being out of condition and the warm weather we have been having.
His ears were quite dirty but are improving as we have been cleaning them with ear wipes every day and his nose is a bit crusty so we are applying nose balm every day to try and correct this too but with less success”.
SOCIAL LEARNING
TRAVEL: He travelled very well when he arrived but has not been in the car since.
HOUSETRAINING: He isn’t house trained and is actually worried about being left outside to go to the toilet as he seems to be afraid of what dreadful things await him. For that reason, he tends to put ‘on the brakes’.
He needs a home with another equally gentle Golden male or female, who is confident enough to help him understand nothing bad will happen if he goes outside. He won’t be abandoned or abused or thrown out like old rubbish ever again.
Alan tells us “Valentino hasn’t been house trained and we have had a few accidents since he has been here but, on the positive side, he has started going to the door when he wants to go out. He still has the occasional lapse, even when he has only just come back in after toileting. Another bonus is we have now had our first dry night”.
BASIC TRAINING: It seems he has never had any training but he is now sitting before being allowed to eat and will sometimes sit and wait before being given permission to continue.
RESOURCE GUARDING: He shows no signs of resource guarding and is very happy to have us standing alongside him whist feeding. He is also very happy to share toys with the boys.
SEPARATION ANXIETY: He shows no signs whatsoever of separation anxiety.
ADULTS: He has been very friendly with all the adults he has met both out walking and with those who have come to the house.
CHILDREN: He has been very friendly with the children he has met. My trusted dog checkers, the girls from next door, have given Valentino the thumbs up and he has also successfully met our youngest granddaughter.
DOGS: He has met several new dogs other than his fosterer’s boys without any problems.
CATS: He has had no encounters with cats.
LEADWALKING & RECALL: Alan has been walking him with a harness. He was a little apprehensive to wear it to begin with but is now first in the queue when everyone is going out. His walking needs just a little work as, although he is a plodder, at times, he does have a tendency to pull out to the side of you. Recall is if he can be bothered so that needs quite a lot of work in the future.
TWO WEEK FOSTER ASSESSMENT (5.6.2017)
Valentino is a fabulous boy and that really sums him up. He has been no problem at all. He is very friendly with any adults, children and new dogs he meets. He is getting slightly better with his basic training but only on a when HE wants to basis, bless him.
He is very happy to either mix with our dogs or just have his own company. As he is a big boy, it may be better not to rehome him with very young children, just in case he knocks them over. I think he could live by himself or with other dogs and would suit a home where he would not be over exercised but could enjoy life at his own pace.
He is totally laid back with a fantastic temperament and the only times he gets excited are when it is meal times and when it is walkies. Valentino really loves his walks and, with the weather being so bad the last couple of days, he has been wearing a coat which doesn’t faze him at all and he is happy to have it put on and taken off. His walking has slightly improved and he is not panting as much which I put that down to him becoming slightly fitter.
He is doing extremely well with his house training, he has been clean every night since his last assessment and has only had one mishap during the day, so we are getting there.
When he first came he would go out to toilet but only go as far as the grass, do what he had to do and run back into the house. Now, he will go to the back of the garden before he runs back into the house and, yesterday, we had a little breakthrough and he actually laid in the garden for about 5 minutes.
Overall, he is the loveliest of boys and deserves to spend the rest of his years being the centre of someone’s universe.
VALENTINO’S DREAM HOME
Like the great movie star, this boy will have your heart wrapped in a red ribbon the minute you clap eyes on him. He deserves a fabulous home for the rest of his days, a home where he will be loved, spoiled and cared for, so that his faith in humanity can be restored. He needs someone patient who is there most of the time and we believe the key to him learning this is with the company of another doggy friend. He is no longer young so a home without children is probably best. A quiet gentle home would be perfect.
Nothing seems to deter Valentino from his love of life. Everyone who meets him, like the icon of old, is swept away by his gentleness and his sweet character. His reason for living seems to be simply to fill your heart and home with love and all he asks is, for the rest of his life, to have someone who will take away the pain and sadness in his heart and will replace it with loving tenderness.
There is a saying ‘a Pound dog is a million dollar dog in disguise’. Often people see a Pound dog and say ‘poor thing, I hope he gets a great home but, then, they move on. That’s where Irish Retriever Rescue comes in. We don’t comment, we simply act and we know it takes a very special person with a big heart to see the potential in a Pound dog. Could that be you?
THE VERY BEST NEWS (JUNE 2017)
Valentino went to live in his Forever Home.