New Chapters - Seth The Boxer

[KathyM]

Hi you lot.

Got to get something quite emotional out. Bear with me, cos it might be depressing at first.

3 years ago we lost Ruby, our rescue Boxer. She had come to us from Ireland 11 months previously after being dumped in the pound to be destroyed, along with her four puppies. She was the result of serious BYB-ing, if not puppy farming.

This is the first picture we ever saw of her, it was taken in the pound in Ireland:

You can see the state of her boobs, poor lass. Well, she came to us quite skinny and manky, and completely stole our hearts. We kept a close eye on those boobs because they were nigh on dragging on the floor from season after season of breeding.

3 weeks after we got her she developped 3 tiny lumps in her boobs. They appeared literally overnight. We took her straight to the vets, only to find it was already rife in her lungs too. We were told to expect her to last 3-4 months maximum.

Well, she soldiered on for 11 months, never miserable, always happy to be with you and enjoying every last minute she could squeeze out of her life.

Whe the cancer spread to her brain and she began to not remember us, it was time to let her go. She was 7 years old. We said never again, we're still healing now to be honest.

Well, the other day we met a Ruby-alike in the park and I said to our Baz, "It's a good job she's a girl or I'd have nicked off with her! Don't let me near male boxers, I can't be trusted!" (Dharma prefers boys, and I was kidding at this point). I came online and saw that another older Boxer had been added to the pound list, a list of dogs needing urgent rescue places before their time is up.

Well....to cut a long story short, we went to visit him with Dharma on Wednesday and he's coming here tomorrow morning (as a foster, as a foster, must keep chanting that).

So, please welcome Seth to the clan, whether it's temporarily or...*ahem* somewhat more permanently.....

 

[Miss Wiggle]

awwwwwwwwww he's lovely Kathy, as was Ruby.

At least she's in a better place now and not in pain anymore

bet you can't wait to get him, he's a beautiful doggy.

now repeat after me

*just a foster, just a foster, we're not keeping him, we're not keeping him**

ahem

 

[stang1]

That's so sad Kathy, Ruby was a beautiful girl.
Congratulations though on your new addition, he's adorable.

 

[KathyM]

Thank you both so much

I will update this thread as and when he arrives, and will make sure I get lots of pics.

Dharma was like a groupy when she met him - absolutely smitten. She's well known for acting a pillock with new dogs (overfriendly, over-excited and lacking in manners). Whatever happens with Seth in the long run, I will still think this has already been an amazing experience, purely because she was so good! She read his signals really well, something she's normally not right good at.

He is a typical unneutered male, constantly on the sniff and widdling up things, but hopefully a bit of clicker work will sort that out. He's getting neutered ASAP, but I doubt that alone will have an effect at his age.

Anyhoo, better get off and get things ready, so much to prepare, so little time

 

[donna123]

good on you ,
we have just addopted our 3yr old ex breeding boxer girl Enya, we already have a boxer boy whos 6 months,
after seeing how many of these dogs needing new home i will always addopt from now on, good luck with your foster
all the best Donna x

 

[red-devil0602]

oh Kathy Ruby was such a lovely girl i've never seen her before i dont think.

Seth will be a good boy he promised me he would be the perfect gent

 

[Miss Wiggle]

can i ask you two what is involved in doing transport for you?

i've no room for a dog of my own (no garden) but i do love them and I'd like to be able to help, i've experience with handling dogs to an extent, we've had pets dogs at my parents house and i have several friends and family with dogs who i regularly see.

I've no experience with shy/nervous/distressed/unwell dogs which may hinder things but i thought it's best i'm at least honest and upfront rather than get myself into a situation i can't handle which could obviously be bad for the animals.

i've not got any dog crates, leads, equipment etc but i do have a car and a full clean drivind licence and would like to be able to help!

 

[KathyM]

oh Kathy Ruby was such a lovely girl i've never seen her before i dont think.

Seth will be a good boy he promised me he would be the perfect gent

LOL I bet that's what he tells them all! I honestly can't wait, I'm just about fully prepared now, just need to dig out the clickers and go buy some food. I've already picked up a collar, bowls, etc. I've got tonnes of spares but for some reason I ust had to buy new for this one *lmao*.

Alice - Allie's the one to talk to about transport (red devil) and helping RDR, this is new to me too, although I have fostered before, just not for RDR. I don't drive so I'm rubbish at adviing on the tranposrt side of things.

Edited to add: Would you LOOK at my typing?! That's over-excitement for you!

 

[QuotheRaven]

A sad story KathyM reminds me of the passing of my families dog, had begun losing her bladder a bit we got a little annoyed and concerned so got some tests 1 week later got a phone call saying her kidney and or liver were failing and she would die in 2-3 months in pain or we could put her down that day so in about 1 hour we decided to do the best for her and she was put down later that day and one week later my mother past a pet shop and a chiwahua gave her a look and she melted and bought her...
It's hard to do whats best for the dog which is more like family than a pet but the decision made to put Ruby down was the right one and is in a better place

sorry for that long winded story just thought it was similiar but may I say Seth is ADORABLE!!!! and Ruby was gourgeous to I have a real soft spot for Boxers

 

[KathyM]

Thanks very much! I'm very sorry for your loss by the way, sounds like she was very special

Well, I think we're just about ready for his arrival now. My stomach's a bag of butterflies, full of nerves!!

 

[Tangerinefizz]

Ooooh!! Look at the sweet old face on that old chap! He's a sweetie!

Happy Fostering Kathy!! I commend you for letting him into your life for a little while!

 

[Rhiannon]

Very sad story, but at least now you are giving another boxer a chance.

All of the pics are great!

 

[KathyM]

Thanks everyone! Well here's the update

Things are going really well here. Bit of a scrap over food, initiated by Dharma surprisingly, but not anything major, all noise and no damage (and completely my fault - I thought he had finished and let her in). All forgotten within seconds and here's the result!

He's already got her into bed!

Collapsing after their walk...

LOL - love the way he lies!

Sleepy head...

I love this one - I had a lie down on the sofa, and he clambered up on top of me and flopped and we fell asleep together. I got this photo before we collapsed.

Dharma posing

 

[morgan]

Beautiful dogs. Ruby was lucky to live with you, her early life doesn't bear thinking about . I like the way Seth lies! I am glad he and Dharma are getting on. Also glad you got your cat back. You must be feeling happy just now.

 

[codell]

what can i say, a true samariton (spelling) this thread really touched me, thank you for being the person you are, i hate seeing mistreated animals, but its good to know there are still people out there to give these pets a second chance