playing with the toys from the toy box throwing them in the air for him to catch - he was having a wonderful time!
14th November 2009
After all the bed and breakfast guests had finished and we'd cleared everything away we let the dogs into the garden as normal. Jake, having gone to the top end of the garden then ran back the full length towards the house with the others. He ran down the steps, around what used to be our pond to come into the house and caught his back leg on one of the stones that form part of the low wall around the pond, which is now filled in and is a raised flower bed. I saw it was going to happen but couldn't do anything about it in time. With living in the Lake District some of the local stones can be quite sharp and and our garden is full of them - it was one of these that caught him and we saw the hair on the offending piece! Although he didn't seem to be running that fast he must have given it a bang and didn't he cry! He stood with his leg in the air some time while we took a look to see what he'd done and whether it mean't a trip to the vet or not. We comforted him and massaged his leg in an attempt to ease his discomfort before checking to see how he walked, then we got him and the others back into the house so we could have a better look and clean it.
I'm always frightenend of a dog hurting itself on that corner as some of them take the bend quite tight and, although we try and make sure it is as safe as possible the stones move when we have a lot of wet weather and some of the stones look a bit nasty. I have a large plant pot on the bottom step to make the dogs take a wider circle to avoid the stones but Jake took the bend tighter than the other dogs and hence him banging his leg. I wanted to kick myself and I was so angry with myself I could have cried and it 'put me out' for most of the morning. For three, maybe four years there has been a second plant pot standing on the gravel right in front of the offending area. I only moved it a month ago because I was fed up of it there and wanted a change. Now I know why it was there and I could have kicked myself for not realising it. Needless to say a plant pot has been put back there and Stuart is going to get the angle grinder on the first dry day we have and smooth the edge off so it doesn't happen again.
We bathed Jake's leg and he got loads of cuddles all day because I felt so guilty for moving the plant pot. We didn't take him to the vet because they wouldn't be able to do anything with where it was so it will have to heal naturally. By the end of the day the area was beginning to dry up and hopefully in another day of so it will be much better, but we will keep and eye on it to make sure all is well. Poor Jake, he is such a lovely lad and didn't deserve that one.
15th November 2009
Jake seems non the worse for the knock on his leg yesterday and thankfully he never licked it during the night so the area this morning has a nice scab on it.
Stuart had a bit of a giggle this morning when he saw Jake's head bobbing up and down in front of the conservatory window - he looked as if he was on a trampoline! Stuart wondered what on earth he was doing. Yesterday I hung some fat balls for the birds to a line outside the conservatory window so guests staying at our bed and breakfast can watch the birds while they are eating breakfast. Jake had spotted it and decided he wanted it but no matter how high he tried to jump he couldn't reach it. It took Stuart a moment or two to work out what was happening because he didn't know I'd hung the balls to the line.
28th November 2009
Today Jake and the others joined us while we went to deliver a computer to someone in the Keighley area who was arranging to meet us there as they were passing through. On the way back we called in to see my mum and all the dogs came in the house as they'd been in the car a while and it was a very cold day. It was a long day and we were quite late home, so once all the dogs were fed they settled down for what was left of the evening.
3rd December 2009
This morning we received a phone call from the Homing Co-ordinator saying our fostering services with Dumfriesshire and Cumbria Greyhound Rescue were no longer required and that Jake was to be returned. He would be collected on Saturday. We were quite taken aback by this news and very shocked because we have been fostering for them since July 2004, were very proud of fostering for them and we had fostered 82 of the 600 dogs they'd taken in, that's 14%. We are very proud of this and much saddened by what has happened. We asked that for Jake's sake could we continue to foster him until he found a new home as he was settled with us and moving him wasn't fair on him. The Dumfriesshire and Cumbria Homing Co-ordinator refused so Jake is going somewhere else until they find him his forever home. Poor Jake, what he shame he should be used as the 'pawn'!
5th December 2009
What a sad morning it is today to see Jake being taken away from us in such a manner!
7th December 2009
From the ashes the Pheonix arises! -so the saying goes, because although our fostering services are no longer required by Dumfriesshire and Cumbria Greyhound Rescue we contacted the Retired Greyhound Trust today in relation to a conversation we had with them about a month ago and they are happy that we become involved with the work they do. As a result, they are going to help us establish the 'South Lakes' branch of the Retired Greyhound Trust - their 72nd branch and our first two foster dogs are coming here on the 9th December from the West Cumbria branch kennels to start us going. We look forward to meeting
Misty and
Dakota.
It's been a hard year this year what with
Bobby's illness and subsequent death, directly followed by the events leading up to our fostering services not being required by Dumfriesshire and Cumbria Greyhound Rescue so we are looking forward to a new beginning with the Retired Greyhound Trust - 'Onwards and Upwards' so they say!
If anyone knows of Jake or knows where Jake is now please
let us know because we would love to know that he is okay.
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