5 April 2017: We are very sorry to have to update Suki’s page with the news that, days after we were celebrating her 18th birthday, she has very sadly passed away :-(. Our thoughts and gratitude are with Suki’s forever-foster family who took great care of her and loved her for all of us since Suki joined our sponsor scheme almost six years ago. Run free, Suki, you will be so missed x
Suki is a beautiful 18-year-old Golden Retriever girl who came into Oldies Club care aged 12. She had been living in a flat with her previous owner, who unfortunately had an accident and was no longer able to care for her. On the day of the Royal Wedding, when most people were watching events unfold on the TV, Suki was leaving her home and travelling to her Oldies Club foster home.
Sadly, after arriving in foster care and being checked over by a vet, Suki was found to have a list of ailments, including spinal problems and terrible arthritis in her hips, which will progressively affect her mobility. She also has early signs of CDRM and is likely to need ear and eye drops for the rest of her life.
Oldies Club therefore decided that Suki should become a sponsor dog. Her lovely foster family willingly agreed to continue to care for Suki, so she will remain in her foster home on a permanent basis, with the charity covering her vet bills.
Suki also revealed a rather unfortunate habit of eating stones and, despite her foster home’s best efforts, had to undergo emergency surgery to remove a number of stones. Tests also identified an antibiotic resistant infection, which has been brought under control with medication costing £8 per day. A fundraising page was set up especially for Suki – you can make a donation here.
Suki’s foster family say this lovely girl is beautiful, gentle and just perfect. She has a great sense of humour and always has a big grin on her face. We’re told that Teddy’s no trouble either, very quiet and well behaved!
Although Suki faced the upheaval of moving to a new home, she settled in straight away and is typical of a lady of her breed, laid back and placid. When she arrived at her foster home she was thrilled to find another goldie girl, Holly, already in residence. They greeted each other as if they were old friends and Suki settled down straightaway, selecting a teddy from the toy basket to cuddle up with her. She was happy to eat whatever her new friend was eating and after a small meal, she quickly discovered the garden. Having lived in a flat, free access to a garden was like heaven for Suki. She spent ages mooching around, often standing and staring as if she couldn’t believe it.
In the garden
Suki has been left, in the company of her foster sister, for a couple of hours with no problems, settling down in the hall to sleep until her people return. She does love the company of people though and when her family returns, she greets everyone with a teddy in her mouth which is a very endearing sight. She’s such a special dog!
Her foster Mum tells us that Suki loves the company of other dogs and adapts her behaviour to suit theirs. During her first week in her foster home she also had the company of a 6 month old pup who was full of energy and fun. She was happy to play with him and slowly trot around whenever he asked her too and when she’d had enough, she just took herself away to a quiet place to rest. Now he has gone off to his new home and life is quieter – just her and Holly. Holly doesn’t really play so Suki is happy to accompany her around the garden and generally chill out.
Holly & Suki (r)
Suki’s favourite game is fetching her ball and she will come and ask you to play maybe a couple of times a day. She’ll then spend fifteen minutes or so gently chasing her ball and encouraging a (very slow) game of chase. She has a great sense of humour and loves to tease her humans. Suki is a great communicator and will make various funny noises to let you know what she wants.
Chilling out
Again, a typical golden retriever, she is sweet and gentle with children. Her fosterers have an 8 month old grandson who visits often and Suki loves to see him. She takes him all her teddies and sits quietly beside him, wagging her tail and smiling while he learns not to pull her fur.
Suki loves to go for a walk especially where there is grass and plenty of lovely smells. We were told that she hadn’t been walked very much in the past so now she’s like a child in a sweetshop, not knowing where to sniff first. She’s good on the lead and greets other dogs with politeness.
Suki travels well in the car and was very well behaved during the two hour journey to her foster home. She sits up happily in the back of the car and watches everything with great interest. She does love to try to chase birds in the garden – her foster family says she lollops down the garden as they fly away.
According to Suki’s foster family, she appears to be bombproof. Although she has yet to experience fireworks or thunder, she seems to ignore sudden loud noises. If someone arrives at the front door, she will bark a couple of times, but once they are invited in and she knows they are friendly, she presents them with her teddy and a waggy tail :)
When Suki first arrived in Oldies Club care, she was rather overweight and had to be put on a diet, which will help her spine, hips etc. too.
Suki has settled into her new home very nicely as you can see …
Bedtime
Suki’s new family have summed her up in a few words: “She’s absolutely perfect and just wants to be loved.”
If you would like to help us care for Suki or another sponsor dog, please consider taking part in our sponsor scheme.