17/9/2022 Such sad news that Toby became very unwell and had to be put to sleep.
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Toby is a 16-year-old Jack Russell x Dachshund who is in an Oldies Club foster home in Fakenham, Norfolk, waiting for someone to offer him a permanent home. His foster carer tells us all about him…
Settled slowly: Toby was very restless for the first few hours. He seemed to be looking for someone, but I managed to get him to sit with me on the sofa and he started licking my foot! From then on he latched on to me and was OK as long as he could locate me. After a couple of days he seemed relaxed and content, although still wanting make sure I was around from time to time. He took a couple of weeks to get into a routine of sleeping through the night. He did not have any accidents, just would wander around a bit or ask to go out in the small hours. Sometimes he was hungry. Taking him for a walk around the garden at 9 – 10pm helped. Changes in his diet after his dental have unsettled his routine a bit. His owner mentioned he needed the occasional garden break after midnight; this has happened again recently, but seems to be settling down now.
Likes to have company: We haven’t experimented with leaving him completely alone. His owner said on a good day he was OK to be left for an hour or so, but would sometimes howl. I have been working on leaving him with my partner while I go out and he has improved massively with that. He is also getting better at coping on his own downstairs if we both go to the upstairs sitting room occasionally. He waits quietly in the hall. If it is worked on gradually over a period of time, he should be OK to be left for a couple of hours occasionally. He is not an anxious dog, just very used to company and really likes it, particularly with a main (female?) person. His poor eyesight probably makes him a bit less confident if left alone, so a permanent home with a familiar environment would help him.
Likes meeting dogs: Toby hasn’t met any dogs in the home, but he loves meeting dogs out on walks. He doesn’t show any fear or aggression and has a very waggy tail and approaches eagerly; bearing in mind he can’t see them all that well it’s amazing! He would probably enjoy living with an appropriate dog; one who understands he is an old boy and can’t rough and tumble etc.
Not lived with cats: We were told he used to bark at cats when his sight was better. He doesn’t take much notice of birds, squirrels etc.
Good with visiting children: A sensible six year old stayed with us for a couple of weekends and Toby was fine with him and would let him stroke him with no sign of aggression or irritation. We have no reason to think he would not be OK with children if properly supervised. Having said that, Toby would prefer an adult only home for some peace and quiet, and so that he can get enough attention, especially from the person he has bonded with.
Loves walks: Toby walks well on the lead, and gets excited for walks. He wears a harness, which is useful to give him a bit of support to help him keep his balance when negotiating steps and kerbs. We understand he used to go off lead before his sight started to fail, but now he needs to be on lead most of the time when away from the house and garden. He has been off lead on the beach but he can easily become confused – if called he tries to come but doesn’t seem to know which direction the call is coming from. He is cautious and sensible, but even away from roads there is a danger of him falling down ditches etc. and he is not strong enough to get himself out of trouble. He has two walks per day, about 1 kilometer each (20+ minutes). He starts off at a trot and then slows down, sometimes quite a bit, to enjoy the smells. On days out in the car he can walk quite a bit more, if he has rest breaks in between. He probably has a bit of arthritis. We have a dog buggy for hot days or if we need to get somewhere in a hurry, which he has got used to, and enjoys if he can stick his head out the front and enjoy the sunshine and smells. He has only once tried to jump out of it, so best to keep lead contact when he’s in the buggy just in case.
Very good in the car: Toby settles down on a big cushion in the back seat and looks eagerly through the gap to the front. He needs something placed in the gap in front of the back seats as even with his harness clipped in to the seatbelt he can edge forward and fall down the hole. He seems to enjoy the feeling of motion and going somewhere different. On longer journeys he will stretch out and go to sleep.
Toby’s favourite pastimes: Loves his food (not all food). Walks and smells; meeting other dogs. The beach, especially sniffing the sea air. Visiting the garden centre. Taking himself into the garden for a sniff around or for a little sunbathe. Sleeping close to his favourite person. Head scratches and belly rubs. Being stroked. Gentle grooming. He used to like a little game of tug of war but we haven’t tried recently because he’s just had a dental. Also, if you help him to see where you are throwing it, he likes a short game pouncing on a squeaky ball (red being the favourite colour) and then being chased to give it back. We are waiting to make sure his mouth has all healed before playing this again.
Toby’s dislikes: He will move quickly away from unexpected loud noises but is not particularly frightened, just getting himself to safety. He might bark a couple of times, not very loud, when a delivery driver has been, after they have gone! He once became quite agitated when a tradesperson came into the house to look at the radiators – it was a very noisy process all over the house, and this was not long after he came to us when things were all a bit uncertain and new. If we are having visitors I take him out front on the lead to greet them before they knock at the door. Probably not necessary now but saved a few barks when he was getting used to us. He is generally quite a confident dog and not easily upset.
Toby’s ideal home: An adult household where there is someone home most of the time, and where if necessary his new owners would be prepared to work gradually on leaving him alone for short periods. They would probably need to be prepared for Toby to bond more closely with one family member, but he’ll be happy to be with another person when his favourite isn’t around. It’s possible Toby would be OK being taken to work by someone who is an office worker. His home would need to have a safe, secure garden as he likes to go in and out, and does wee quite frequently, but is not incontinent. He enjoys the garden for the sunshine and fresh air and does not explore too far, so it doesn’t need to be a big space. He might enjoy living with a quiet dog.
Health notes: Toby is neutered, vaccinated, microchipped, wormed and flea treated. He has stage 2 kidney disease and is on a strict renal diet – at the moment he has Royal Canin Renal kibble for small dogs which he loves and manages very well, even though he has lost quite a few teeth. The vet said it would also be OK to give him other easily digestible protein – plain fish or chicken with perhaps a bit of pasta to reduce the protein ratio. He loves this as well. His blood pressure has been very high, which can be a consequence of kidney disease and if not corrected would be damaging to kidney function. He is therefore on 2 daily medications to keep his blood pressure stable which will be ongoing. He will need to have his kidneys and BP monitored regularly in future. His eyes are cloudy but he manages very well – he is sensibly cautious but not nervous, but he is in
danger of falling down drops in certain situations.
Not safe on stairs: Although he is cautious and quite sensible, Toby isn’t safe around proper stairs or drops of more than a few inches without supervision. In his previous home Toby slept in his owner’s bedroom, but in our house he isn’t safe on the stairs. He has attempted them and toppled down a couple. We manage this easily now because we have a stair gate at the bottom of the staircase. Our bedroom is downstairs, but Toby does not sleep in our room as he prefers his bed in the study just along the passage, with the door open. We feel he could cope sleeping downstairs with his owners sleeping upstairs once he became used to it, but otherwise they would need to consider the need to carry him up and down. He is carryable and quite happy to be carried up and down stairs. Another possibility is he might manage a flight of stairs safely by himself on lead, with a harness for support/to prevent falling. He gets around the ground floor of the house and the garden with no problems at all. Our garden is mostly flat, just shallow steps here and there which he has learnt to manage well.
More from Toby’s foster carer: Loveable and humorous Toby is a happy dog and he exudes a wonderful, gentle, curiosity and optimism as he goes through his days which is lovely to be around.
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If you would like to offer Toby a permanent home, please read our Adoption Procedures for information about the adoption process. You can then contact an Oldies Club Rehoming Co-ordinator as follows:
Email: rehome@oldies.org.uk
Telephone: 0844 586 8656
He can be rehomed anywhere on the UK mainland – the closer to his foster home the better – subject to a satisfactory home visit. Note that you will be required to travel to the foster home to collect him.
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If you would love to offer a home to an oldie but your circumstances aren’t suitable, perhaps you would be kind enough to sponsor one of the special oldies we are caring for that, due to health problems, are unlikely to be offered a permanent home.
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