This lovely story from Izzy’s foster family:-
“Browsing the internet, as you do, on a rainy late March day, we came across the picture of IZZY together with an SOS message. I decided to read more as we had been considering getting another dog following the sad death of the 3rd of our Goldie’s in less than 3 years. The house was starting to feel empty and our 5 acres of ground were crying out for another dog to explore and enjoy. However, due to our age a puppy wasn’t an option and our last Goldie had been an older rescue girl. So IZZY was possibly a good fit for us.
IZZY’s story is much the same as many of the dogs taken under the wing of les Amis, but, she was now in need of a new LTF (lifetime foster) due to her current foster parent being taken seriously ill. As they only lived an hour away from us we decided we would go to meet her. I asked all the usual questions of her foster Mum; was she clean in the house, did she get on ok with other dogs (we often look after other friends dogs during holidays etc) was she ok in cars and could she be left in the house for a short time. Having received positive responses to my questions and having completed appropriate checks with les Amis, we popped along for a visit and IZZY was handed over to our care. She was a dream on the drive home and soon made herself at home on the sofa with me for a couple of hours that evening. She ate well and went outside for a wee and off we went to bed having settled her downstairs. But then it began; barking all night unless we slept on the sofa with her, accidents in the house and worst of all, didn’t get on with other dogs at all and was in season. Fast forward 6 months and following visits to vets for spaying, talking to behavioural experts about her anxiety, (oh, didn’t I mention this?) She can’t bear to be left for even 5 minutes unless she is soundly asleep, and after plenty of training together with advice from Lynn and Lianne to try to help with her issues, she is now the most loving and precious of girls. She wouldn’t be a dog we would choose had we researched the breed more thoroughly as she pulls on lead and is very strong for an old girl with weak back legs and damaged spine. (that is her, not me) !! Her inability to get on with other dogs is an issue as most of our friends have dogs and bring them when visiting, or they used to do so, and her anxiety means we are unable to leave her to go anywhere without her. However, she has now been with us for 6 months and we have had a summer full of visiting family and friends, including some with children, and she has been adorable with them all. Our vets also love her as she is so gentle when she visits them. She is VERY loving with us and adores snuggling up in the morning with my hubby for her early morning sleep on the sofa with him. She eats whatever is put in front of her and has been to restaurants with us, where she is now reasonably well behaved. It has taken this long for her to begin to truly act like a dog, now playing with toys and trying to get us to chase her around the house. She enjoys her walks, especially if there is water and woods included and is equally happy to have long rope runs around our grounds. She will lie quietly by my side tethered to my wheelbarrow whilst I garden, and sits right by me when I cook, waiting for titbits. She loves a routine and that makes it easier to manage her expectations and ours. Overall, it has been 6 months of hard work, but, we absolutely love her and feel privileged that she is happy to want to live with us, she is now 12 yrs and 7 months but behaves as though she is a 4 year old. She has a monthly injection to help with her pain resulting from arthritis which les Amis pay for. We buy her natural calming tablets and pay for routine worming, tic treatments etc. Her eyesight and hearing are not great but ,she is in good health generally, so hopefully we will have more time to make memories with her and allow her to have the life she deserves. She has had to fit into 2 different families lifestyles within 9 months which would be difficult for any dog, let alone an elderly lady with anxiety. She gets groomed daily which she is beginning to love and during this time, I tell her how much she is loved and how she will never have to worry about her future, now she has us and les Amis des Animaux looking out for her. She of course understands every word I say and wags her little tail to let me know. Our gorgeous, darling IZZY, we love you to bits!!!!”
As with all dogs and cats, the older ones do come with some issues – not all, but most. Izzy’s fosterers have worked hard to reach the status quo, as it were, and, as they say, asking a sensitive breed dog to settle into two lifestyles within nine months is a big ask. But a wonderful outcome, and thanks so much to her fosterers for loving her.
