Pippin – really happy

On a chilly January day we came across this lovely young boy sitting on a corner in our village, looking sad and lonely. He didn’t look undernourished and his skin was in a reasonable condition so we thought he was probably a local dog we hadn’t come across before and that he would take himself off home later in the day.

The next day, there he was again, and the day after that, and the day after that. Talking to some other locals we discovered that he was on that corner all day long, just disappearing at night. Several people were giving him food and water, but no-one could really get close to him.

After a few days he would wag his tail every time we came by, he started to follow us a little up the road and although a little wary of our two dogs, he was reasonably comfortable as long as they didn’t come too close.

By this time we were also taking him food and water morning and evening and gaining his trust. I would sit with Pippin (I had made the fatal mistake of naming him!) and he would let me stroke him, whilst my husband walked our two dogs. At this stage I knew we had to do something more for him as he was either lost or abandoned and would not survive on his own in the cold. The heart breaking thing for me was that every time a van came by he would jump up and get excited, as though he thought someone had come to collect him. This led me to believe he had been dumped.

Luckily, a few days later, we were able to find a place for him in a private shelter, getting him in the car though was another matter! He had come to trust me, but putting a collar and lead on him was obviously a very stressful thing for him. However we managed and he actually settled well in the back of the car (that’s the photo) with me soothing him.

He did start to panic when we took him out of the car at the shelter, and was very, very nervous. Leaving him there was so upsetting for us, but with two dogs already we just could not take him on ourselves. I was given regular updates on his progress and he settled really well and quickly. The lovely people at the shelter estimated he was about one year to 18 months old, got all his vaccinations sorted out and he was neutered. We obviously contributed to the cost of this treatment because without that the shelter could not have taken him on. I knew he was being advertised on the web site and I was anxious about him as I so hoped he would get a lovely new home. I was delighted when not many weeks later I heard that he was soon flying off to a foster home in Germany where he would then move on to a permanent home.

Pippin is now well settled in his lovely new home with his new doggy friends and I am so happy that we were able to help him. His is not necessarily a typical story. More often than not there is no room in any of the shelters and no foster homes. Luck was on his side I think, plus the wonderful help from the shelter and CyDRA.