Pip was found as a stray in Warrington, Cheshire. His owners were traced but they didn’t want to pick him up from the council kennels so he was handed over for rehoming to Catherine who operates District Dog Rescue. Pip was in a terrible state, he had lumps and bumps all over his body, was painfully thin and had bleeding callouses on both of his hind legs. He was placed in a foster home as he became very depressed in kennels and needed somewhere to recuperate. This is how he looked on his arrival:
It soon became apparent that Pip had not had the most comfortable life. The callouses on his legs were thought to be caused by some kind of shackle, his teeth were all broken which also led us to believe he had been trying to gnaw through some kind of metal restraint. The callouses were infected and needed a very long course of antibiotics to put right.
Plenty of TLC from Pip’s fosterers also helped to rebuild his confidence, and start him on the road to recovery, mentally as well as physically. His depression began to lift, and the sadness in Pip’s eyes began to be replaced with an interest in life:
Pip was in foster care for just four weeks when a poster displayed by an Oldies Club member led a lovely lady called Angie to call and offer him a home.
Angie didn’t mind about the unsightly lumps and bumps on Pip’s aging body, she just wanted to offer a home to a dog that needed her, Pip fitted the bill perfectly. Days later home checks were carried out and adoption forms signed and Pip went ‘home’.
Yesterday I visited Pip and mum Angie who have now been together for five weeks. Never have I seen a dog and owner more devoted to each other. Angie has had periods of great sadness in her life and she senses the very same sadness in Pip. She feels that Pip was sent to her and fate could not have led her to a more perfect dog. Angie and Pip continue to be supporters of the oldie club, they put up posters for us and promote older dogs to anyone that stops to talk to them in the street. Here’s hoping that these two have many happy years ahead of them.