Pumpkin pickin' with Olive

PUMPKIN PICKIN'

We didn't really celebrate Halloween when I was child, nor when my kids were kids; generally we spent the evening with curtains drawn, trying to avoid having our door and windows egged and floured by local 'yoovs' (!) ... however, times have changed and my grandchildren love to dress up as cheeky witches and wizards, carve pumpkins with Mummy and Daddy and enjoy gentle Halloween mischief with the wider family, so I was delighted when they invited me, my husband and my daughter, to a local farm to pick pumpkins last weekend... it was heaps of fun watching the children wandering around, choosing pumpkins on the basis of size, shape, colour and 'nobbly bits'!

Not only was Little Fant Farm very child friendly, it was dog friendly too, so we took our gang of family dogs, Polly, Betty, Nobby and Olive, for a little fresh air socialisation. My daughter's rescue Olive must have wondered what on earth was happening, but she took things pretty much in her stride as we collected pumpkins and met all the farm animals...

Beautiful Olive was a stray, rescued from the Ukraine almost a year ago, fostered for a brief while in the UK, then adopted by my daughter who spotted her plight on Facebook and opened her heart and home to her.

When my daughter first collected Olive, she was very shutdown, clearly terrified of every aspect of her new life. There is no doubt she had been mistreated in her past life and it was heartbreaking to see just how desperately scared she was. Her fears were wide ranging... men sent poor Olly into a tailspin as she tried desperately to avoid contact with them, traffic, doorways, light fittings, household noises ... you name it, she was terrified of it. She didn't even understand that she was allowed to eat from a bowl, her own bowl. Happily, she took comfort from the other dogs and was soon best buddies with my daughter's Chihuahua Nobby... an odd couple perhaps, but a lovely friendship. It has taken my daughter and I months of gentle, calm reassurrance to show Olive that she is safe now and for her to show us that she trusts us. She has since become a complete delight, a big, daft puppy girl, full of fun, very gentle, affectionate and eager to learn.

The photograph above is one that makes me smile from ear to ear. Last weekend, Fay was able to bring Olive to the farm with our other dogs and she walked calmly as part of our family, coping with people collecting pumpkins in wheelbarrows, other dogs on leads, children having fun and men in dark clothing. Occasionally Olive asked for a moment just to watch and absorb the scene while she processed things ... which is what was happening in the photograph above. Now and again she needed a little space created between her and a wheelbarrow pushing man, but she coped well and there were none of those panicky tailspins! Olive walked politely on her lead, among and around strangers in a new environment... a huge accomplishment for our lovely Olive and I could not have been more thrilled for her and my daughter!

Olive

 At the tail end of 2021, my daughter told me she had adopted a rescue dog, a beautiful white ball of fur from Ukraine...

Olive, October 2022

Olive as she became known, had lived a troubled short life, a life of fear spent clinging to the edge of survival as she roamed stray along roadsides. It was clear to us that at some point in her young life she had been beaten; she was terrified of men, dark clothing and anyone carrying what might have been interpreted as a stick. When I first met Olive at my daughter's house, she was so shut down I didn't initially approach her, instead sitting as far away as possible to give her the space she needed. The only person she would tentatively allow to approach was my daughter. I had never seen such a fearful dog before, in my world dogs enjoyed the company of humans and were excited to engage with them ... this shaggy white bundle in the corner was clearly terrified and simply did not trust humans to be kind to her.

New girl Olive, watching us warily from the safety of my daughter's chair.

That was almost a year ago, prior to the terrible war now happening in Ukraine. Slowly but surely and with quiet kindness and lots of patience, Olive began to understand that the new world she found herself in, was a safe place. It took a long time and lots of calm, gentle, almost imperceivable encouragement by my daughter and I, to discover the inner Olive and gain her trust. My daughter had an innate understanding that Olive may never become the relaxed happy type of puppy she had always known in my two but was prepared to accept Olive, on whatever terms Olive needed. Olive had found her perfect owner.

Walks with friends, Summer 2022

Olive has taught us so much about how to see the world through her eyes. I don't think she ever lived inside a house before she came to the UK, so everything was frightening to her. We noticed she would keep looking at ceiling lights and it dawned on us, perhaps she didn't trust that it wouldn't fall on her ... and every time we opened a door to allow her through, she edged away backwards as if fearful that it might trap her somehow, so we learned to walk through doors ahead of her, showing her it was okay and we trusted that the door wouldn't hurt us. She learned by watching us. When her bowl of food was put on the floor, hungry as she must have been, she stayed clear, waiting until every other animal in the house had eaten from it first. It took a long time for her to understand that she too was allowed to eat from her own bowl. 

Training days

Getting Olive to accept a collar, lead and harness was the key to her freedom. It also took time and patience as it was important not to impose these on her until she was able to accept them without fear. I remember one day, my daughter invited me and my dogs to join her Olive and their little Chihuahua Nobby at a local 'freedom field', a secure open space for dogs. My daughter was eager to show Olive that life could be fun, so we met at the field, padlocked the gate behind us and let all four dogs meet off lead together for the first time. Olive loved the other dogs and they raced off across the grass together full of excitement. Olive absolutely flew over the ground and took off like a rocket launched into space, making my two look like middle aged plodders! It was a wonderful sight to see them all having so much fun together and to watch the real Olive come to life!

Walking with friends, October 2022

Almost before we knew it, our hour at the field was up and it was time to lead up the dogs and pop them back into our cars ... but Olive had other ideas! Naively, we assumed she would return to the cars with our other dogs and we would be able to re-clip her lead to her harness without too much trouble, but oh no, she wasn't having any of it. She wanted to run, run and run some more and she didn't give a hoot that we were fast exceeding our paid hour's slot! To cut a long story short, the very kind dog owner who booked the next slot, allowed us to stay in the field with her and her dogs, while we tried hopelessly to catch Olive. We tried every trick in the book, but she knew them all and more ... of course she did, she had been a stray on the run and could outwit any human playing by the simple rules of polite positive reinforcement! We stuck with it though and eventually, after forty five very long and humiliating minutes, Olive finally allowed my daughter to grab her new harness and scoop her into her arms. Another important lesson learned! The very next time, we used a long line and began formal recall training ... in earnest!

Hanging out with Polly and Betty

We began walking the dogs together every weekend and Olive gradually settled in to her new home with my daughter, Nobby and their three cats; she also began to relax when she came to my house. It was important that she had somewhere other than my daughter's house that she could stay when necessary as she couldn't be kennelled ... that would traumatize her. We worked hard to build her confidence both in her own environment with my daughter but also with me and my husband at our home. Gaining trust with my husband came much later, that was such a painfully slow process. To begin with, Olive would bark every time he entered the room, then she would cower away in the furthest corner ... but slowly, she came to understand that my dogs loved their 'dad' and were happy around him, so after many months, one day Olive timidly accepted a food treat from him and that was momentous! Since those early days, Olive has relaxed considerably in many ways and now barks from excitment rather than fear when Stuart comes home, she greets him with our own dogs and will even sit comfortably under his chair at the table and accept a gentle stroke on the chest. Months after her arrival and Olive will now recall to my husband if she's running freely on a walk (yes, that recall training really paid off!) I think she will always be a little hesitant with men and who can blame her, but at least Olive has now come to realise that not all men are bad men.

Playtime!

Olive has become an absolute joy since those first days. We feared she may never come out of her protective shell, but thankfully she has and we love her. She is now one of the family, a gentle, affectionate, bouncy daft puppy-dog, full of fun, a dog who, thanks to my daughter's kindness, adores her owner. She relishes walks with Nobby and my girls and is now living the happy life she should always have been entitled to... a million miles removed from the cruel life she was born into. Olive still has her worries of course, some of which are health related, a leftover those early days in Ukraine ... but she is loved and will always be well cared for. 

Olive and friends, with my daughter at a family party, April 2022

Olive could not have found a better home than the one she now has with my daughter.

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There are many rescues offering dogs from overseas. They operate under strict regulations imposed by the UK Government bodies APHA and Defra and are obliged to ensure all dogs have relevant legal documentation and health testing prior to entry into the UK. 

Please check very carefully if you are considering adopting from overseas. 

There are health tests which are currently not a legal requirement of these rescues but in my belief, should be undertaken prior to importing dogs into the UK anyway. 

Olive was tested privately by my daughter for such a disease (brucella canis) and thankfully found to be negative by the Government body APHA, however the rescue she came from did not undertake this test or inform my daughter about its importance prior to adoption. We were unaware of the disease and learned the hard way. The rescue took Olive's adoption fee and did not inform my daughter any further. This lack of pre-importation testing for Brucella Canis has cost my daughter hundreds of pounds and been a considerable worry whilst waiting for results... had it been positive the outcome would have been unthinkable. Thankfully, for Olive, all ended well as her test was proven negative by the Government body APHA. However, I have read of other new owners of rescue dogs from Eastern block countries who have been far less fortunate. 

It infuriates me beyond belief to learn that overseas rescues are not taking full responsibility for bringing dogs into the UK beyond the precise legal requirements of the Government and that the Government has not made this test a legal requirement of importation. This has the potential to bring heartbreak and expense to unsuspecting owners of rescue dogs, after they have adopted a needy animal from the kindness of their hearts. 

To avoid heartbreak, please research this information as fully as possible prior to adoption, ask direct questions, don't be fobbed off, check that documentation is legal. Most importantly of all, if you want to adopt a needy dog from abroad, know what the legalities are and go above and beyond to research what is important in terms of health testing ... then ensure you adopt from a responsible rescue. I really can't stress this enough.

The true cost of insurance

 

If it's not one thing, it always seems to be another when it comes to dogs! 

Last year was all about Betty's legs and cruciate surgery recovery and this morning we made a return visit to our vet for stitch removal, after surgery to remove three worrisome lumps a couple of weeks ago.

After general anaesthetic and surgery, Betty looked very sorry for herself when I first collected her from the vet twelve days ago but 24 hours later she was much brighter and keen to shake off her woes. We were advised to have her lumps surgically removed as even benign lumps can grow much larger and cause problems. So, the lumps were duly aspirated, sent for testing and a surgery date booked. Although one lump was deemed to be a 'fatty lump', so nothing to worry about, the other two results were inconclusive, so as you can imagine, it has been a bit of a worry waiting for results.... but thankfully, today our vet greeted us with a big smile and the two words we most wanted to hear, 

'GOOD NEWS!'

It was such a huge relief! 

Betty stood perfectly still while the vet removed all stitches and while we were there, I asked him to give Bets her annual vaccination and check her ear as that has been a bit mucky of late; unfortunately she does have a little ear infection so didn't get off totally scot free this morning and also has to return for further blood tests to check thyroid levels in a couple of week's time ... but that aside, she is fit, well and we no longer need to worry whether those nasty lumps were malignant. So, all's well that ends well!

When you adopt a puppy it can be almost impossible to see health hurdles further down the track and I am sure most new owners don't fully comprehend the full financial impact of potential canine health issues. In Betty's case, as a puppy she came with a good five generation pedigree, relevant puppy health certification for hips etc and as far as I could tell, most likely a healthy future ahead of her. There were no health warning flags on her horizon. I am so glad I took out a decent lifetime insurance policy for both my dogs and have kept it going since they were puppies. Betty is now almost seven and a half years old and Polly nine and a half, so I am certain they will need further regular vet attention as old age creeps up, to ensure they have the best care and most comfortable old age possible. 

If anyone reading is curious, Betty's two cruciate ligament surgeries last year and subsequent recovery care and x-rays etc, have probably cost not far short of £10,000 in total and the latest lump removal surgery has been another £800 or so ... blood tests for thyroid function will be around £200 and if she needs medication subsequently, there will be further regular blood tests, as well as the cost of the meds, to be added. 

So, as you can see, mature dogs can prove very costly to take care of properly and if you own more than one, plus other pets (we also have Polly and our two cats) then a solid insurance policy is absolutely essential. Every year when the cost of our insurance policy rises, I grit my teeth and flinch but stick with it because I know that without that insurance, my dogs can't receive the care they may need. In these days of economic hardship for everyone, insurance policies for dogs are possibly something owners of healthy dogs may consider cancelling, but I would say please do everything you can to keep your dogs properly insured ... you really never know when you might need to make a claim and how much of a difference it will make to their outcome.

Betty was a superfit, active, energetic six year old when her life took an unfortunate turn and she needed two major surgeries. We couldn't have predicted what happened to her and without that surgery our beautiful, loving girl wouldn't have walked again, would have been in constant pain and may very likely have had to be euthanised. Today, she is fit, active, energetic and loving life once again, thanks to excellent veterinary care...

... and her insurance policy.