Expanding on this a bit further, the prob with multiple dogs is the cost of
getting them boarded if you have to go away somewhere. Then deciding which
dog to take with you, which needs the experience more etc. Alice and Hope
as you know are very close in age, and I trained two thinking I would have a
2 in one chance of at least one of the dogs working out. I decided to keep
Alice as the slightly better one and rehome Hope. But that didn't work out
either, partly because of my bad temper, and partly because of the
incompetence of the organisation she went to.
Medical Detection Dogs got me to sign a document saying they were taking
care of hope for a month while they assessed her, and at the end of the
month I'd get a phone call from a whtheld number which would be from her
boarder family. When I got home and saw the emailed copy of what I had
signed (they refused to read it to me saying they were busy so just gave a
summary), I found that I had actually legally signed her over to them for
good. I would never have done this until I knew she was happy there.
Then I never got the phone call or heard from them again and they wouldn't
answer the phone, so after 8 weeks of hearing nothing I said that if they
didn't call me I would come down to Milton Keynes and withdraw her from the
programme. Which I duly did.
They tried to argue with me but I told them they had committed legal
misrepresentation over the paper work they had me sign, so they handed Hope
over. Though it's made life harder for me, I'm so glad they did. When Hope
came back she was 6 kg overweight, and the happy go lucky confident little
dog I had left there was following me round like a shadow and even refusing
to eat unless I stayed in the room with her.
So I built her confidence up and got her going again, and then gave her to
Support Dogs who are an assistance dog charity with a really good
reputation.
They loved Hope, and I was very honest with them and told them what happened
with Medical Detection Dogs. They were very honest and forthcoming with me
too and told me when I'd hear of Hope's progress and everything. It was all
written down in a lovely word document and stuff, all very clear. So I was
much happier.
They did say to me that they might use Hope for a diabetic woman who was
also in a Wheelchair and that she might have to go to Medical Detection Dogs
for part of her training. They asked did I mind. I said no, but reminded
them of what had happened there and said I would prefer it if Support Dogs
did as much of her training as possible.
Anyway she'd only been there a day when I got a surprise phone call from
them saying Hope was limping. When I brought her home it was clear to me
that she was sound. I later found out of course that Medical Detection Dogs
had put Support Dogs off taking Hope, and after that, I didn't have the
heart to send her anywhere else, so carried on with her guide training and
kept her alongside Alice.
Kizzy was an emotional buy rather than me physically needing another dog. I
got her really to help me get over the mental pressure of losing Aidie who
was my fun dog that I intended to do Flyball and Tracking and things with.
Aidie was 17 months old and looking really promising when the people who ran
my apartment block changed, and this woman came round and said all my dogs
would have to go. I appealed to keep Hope and Alice of course, but though
they eventually agreed to this, they said Aidie was a pet and therefore
could not be kept. I hadn't previously known we couldn't keep pets as it
wasn't in my tenancy agreement and no one had told me that the rules had
changed. Anyway I found a nice competition home for Aidie to go to in
Morpeth in the north east of England, and after he'd been there 19 days I by
chance met the senior manager above the one I'd been dealing with that run
my apartment. He was really nice and promised to see what he could do about
Aidie, particularly when I said he had been doing his kennel club
qualifications etc. Anyway a few days letter he wrote me saying Aidie could
stay, but the new owner didn't want to part with him.
From then even though I had Alice and Hope I started finding life really
difficult. I don't know if it's a woman thing, or because I don't have
kids, or because I'm soft or what. But I just missed Aidie so much and kept
thinking I could hear him around my flat and things. I'm a good strong
character normally and not prone to breakdowns or anything like that.
But after two years of waking up every single day feeling rubbish, I
eventually went and got his half sister. And though life's become harder in
terms of my dog situation, I've actually become a much happier person and am
more back now like I used to be. So in that sense it has helped.
So there's my dog history in a rather large nut shell apart from the
previous official dogs I've had of course, who were Abel and Olive, who both
worked for 8 years each, and Jack who I sent back to Guide Dogs after 4
years.
Best
Donna
