Harry's First Day Out

Our first day out was to Weymouth and oh my was it a day out ...

Harry was pulling to everything and everyone!! Now he had put his weight on and was obviously feeling a lot better nothing was going to stop him!!
As we walked past people he was shuving his head up at everyone for attention (we had some lovely looks!) he would suddenly see something or smell something and he would bolt, dragging you too! I was holding on to sides so he wouldn't pull me over!

We went on the beach and let him off to let off some steam, he was doing really well following us around the beach, coming back when called until ... he saw a labrador and bolted!! He went straight to this dog and bit his ear!! The poor dog let out a cry and I went running after Harry to get him back on the lead! He had gone past other dogs but this one he obviously didn't like! Fortunately the other dog was ok and we went over the other side of the beach.

That was enough for one day I think ....

Chop Chop

Finally Harry is at the right weight to have his dingle dangles off :o) it seems to have taken so long!
We booked him in to the vets for him to have it done, I asked Chris to drop him off in the morning (I didn't want to be the bad person!) I watched my phone all day at work waiting for the vets to ring me to tell me everything had gone fine!!

Finally the telephone call I wanted! Harry was ok, everything had gone well and he was just coming round! Thank god! I know I shouldn't really have worried but you never know do you!

I left work early and went to pick him up, he was really happy to see me! The vet told me that he would probably be really quiet and distant that night and would be off his food but he should be ok in a couple of days. I wasn't aloud to walk him for 4 days and that I was to check the stitches daily.

We got home and he was running about the house!! He was crying at me for food so I gave him a few biscuits and he wanted more!! Off his food and quiet!! Ha no way!!
Over the next couple of days he started doing my head in he was really playing up to go out for a walk!
In the end I gave up and we went out for a slow walk around the block, that seemed to work for now!!

He had his stitches out and we decided to book a caravan holiday with Harry so he could come away with us and enjoy the beach!!
People had stopped looking at me funny when I was walking him (obviously thinking I had done that to him, a man actually asked me what was wrong with him and what I had done. I obviously had to explain!)
His weight was slowly getting up to what it was meant to be and his coat was getting better!

Learning About Food!

We started feeding Harry on Winalot wet food, he wouldn't eat out of the bowl we had bought him so we started feeding him off a plate as he would eat of that!
Every bit of food he ate came straight back out of him in a very smelly, runny form. He couldn't keep anything in his stomach!!

I was worried but knew his stomach probably couldn't cope with the richness of the food he was eating ... so I started feeding him little portions 4 times a day to try and see if that helped.

I took him to our local vets just to get him checked over to make sure he is as good as he could be at the time! The vet loved him! He said that he had such a lovely personality :o) I asked about getting him castrated and he said that he was too thin at the minute, that if we did it now he may not come through the operation! I didn't want that so he was weighed and I was told to bring him back in 2 weeks time to get him weighed again. He was only 21kg.

Over the 2 weeks I was not being successful with his feeding! Everything I fed him gave him the runs really bad! I started feeding him boiled chicken and brown rice. The 2 weeks were up and I went back to the vets to get him weighed. The trainee nurse was there on her own, he went on the scales and he hadn't put any weight on! He actually lost a little :o( the nurse turned around and asked me 'Have you been feeding him since your last visit?' I had to bite my tongue!! What a question!! I told her I had been feeding him but he had had the runs very badly so he wouldn't be putting on weight yet!!
I said to her I would come back when I think he has put weight on and I have got his stomach sorted and left!

Over the next few weeks I was feeding him carefully along with little bits of egg and I finally saw a whole poo!! I was so happy to see it I ran in the house and dragged Chris outside to show him. Well you could imagine his face when I was pointing to this poo with a big grin on my face, I said 'Look it's a whole poo!!!' He didn't seem excited (can't think why) and went inside the house.

He had finally started putting on a little bit of weight!

24th August 2010 - Meeting Harry

We drove up to Glebe Farm Kennels to go and meet Harry. When we arrived Sheena went over to the stable type kennels to go and get him, he had to be kept seperate from the other dogs because he had kennel cough.

Sheena bought him out to us and he looked terrible! He was so under weight you could see all his ribs and his hips were sticking out quite badly! His fur was in terrible condition, it was a combination of brown dead fur along with smelly black fur that needed TLC!
He looked at us with his big brown eyes and green snot dripping from his nose, he looked so sorry for himself.

Sheena popped a slip lead on him and said that we could walk him around the field at the side so off we went. Harry knew exactly where he was going unlike us!
As we were walking round with him I asked Chris what he thought, he said he was nice but it was up to me.
I looked down at Harry, he licked my hand ... how could I not take this little boy home?

We went back to the kennels and told Sheena we wanted to take him on a home trial but we needed to come back to get him as we didn't have any stuff for him yet (bed, bowls, toys, food etc) we would come back for him tomorrow.

We went straight to the pet shop and I picked up the biggest, softest bed I could find as well as toys, bowls, leads, food and treats. I came out the pet shop £150 lighter :o) but he deserved everything.

We got back home and I couldn't settle!! I wanted him home with us, I couldn't wait until tomorrow!! I rang Sheena and asked if we could pick him up today ... she said yes :o) we put him new bed in the back of the van and off we went.

We got to the kennels, signed the adoption form and put Harry in the back of the van (with a little hand as he couldn't quite get up). We were about 5 minutes down the road when Harry decided to have the biggest wee all over his new bed!! I couldn't believe it!! At least he knew it was his now!!

We came home and let him have a sniff around for a bit then we decided to give him a bath because he stunk!! He was so good while we were bathing him, he just sat there, I think he was enjoying all the attention that we were giving to him. The amount of fur that came out of him was unbelievable, he obviously really needed that!!

We dried him off and he curled up on the mat and fell asleep, poor boy he had had a busy day!!