MIN

MEETING MIN.

Suddenly, I had reduced mobility, due to advanced age and arthritis, a devilish combo. The daily walks I’d done with our many dogs for over fifty years were defo now on hold. Not only less stamina and lots of pain to manage, but after years of sharing the daily walks with our multiple dogs we were down to one, a beautiful Yorkie Russell who had settled in really well after we’d adopted him three years earlier. But my husband had taken over his walks once our elder, beautiful old dog had died aged 13, and I had sustained a bad fall in the forest ( hip failure ) and could no longer take Houd out. So, after several months of being confined to barracks I was looking for a little dog who might be happy walking a little with a little arthritic old lady.

And one day there she was on my FaceBook page, via Les Amis des Animaux.

Coincidentally from the same branch where Houdini had come from. And because I had already done all the original paperwork for him it was an easy transfer. Contact was made and she was reserved for me. Over the moon. Great stuff.

Friend Tracey, who was already working for LADA offered to drive me to Bordeaux to collect the elderly little scrap. I couldn’t wait to meet her. As soon as the LADA volunteer lady opened her boot at the exchange point and I looked into the cage, my first words were Hello, and aren’t you tiny?!’ I’d had 4 miniature dachshunds over the years and loved little dogs but this one, newly christened Sprinkles, formerly known as Chanelle, which was a confusion the first time we met the vet, was really tiny. We transferred her to Tracey’s car. She was so good and slept all the way home, only looking up now and then when I turned round to ask Are you are OK, Minnie? Her left eye was evidently non-seeing as an obvious cataract obliterated the whole. I realised as time progressed that this was no problem to Min.

And that’s where the fun adventure began, a journey of discovery all round.

She was immediately affectionate, lively, friendly, approachable and seemed unfazed by her new surroundings though it must have been really difficult for her having to make so many adjustments. Houdi ignored her from the start, but Marmite the black cat took umbrage at first sight (it  might have been the very loud, excited, ooooh, yaay, game on! yaps from Minnie ) and we haven’t seen the cat voluntarily in the living room since. Her new domaine is the utility room where everything has been done to make her feel comfortable. Feeding table and basket up a height, well out of reach of any sudden barking confrontations. Animal potty? Quoi? Moi?

Min obviously regards her new surroundings as her fiefdom and everyone is therefore subservient to her. And everyone is. OH and I were smitten from the get-go, and realising that inwardly she must have been traumatised after losing her home circumstances after nearly 11yrs and ending up with new and strange people, animals – and language! we made allowances. Oh all right then, we spoiled her rotten.

She learned fast; what time was dinnertime; where the treats were kept; where her two! new baskets were, one for the sitting room and one in the bedroom, and that though there were several regular visiting human strangers to her new home, they were all ready and willing to cuddle and pet the new addition.

What took longer to learn was crucial and took some time. It could be said even now to be a work in progress, but it was and still is, well worth it. For example, in those early days, peeing and pooing outside was considered entirely optional. Thank goodness for tiled floors in the main. Therefore much disinfectant and lots of kitchen roll were put to use on a daily basis. I wish I had bought shares in Sanytol. Yes, she did her ‘besoins’ outside too, if accompanied and encouraged, but her ability for letting go kilos and litres of waste remained very impressive. Especially given her really tiny frame. Wowsa, Min!

Using a collar and lead took a bit longer….she obviously had not had much experience of either, if at all. But her new ma had great ideas of walking together, so we went for it. Every day, collar on, we trolled around both terrasses back and front, and explored the garden in between. When the lead was added, it became another level of challenge but Min’n’me were up to it. Though obviously a totally new experience she treated it as fun with a let’s go for it attitude, so it was a pleasant learning curve for both of us. The dynamic duo walked for ages through and around trees and bushes, along gravelled paths, getting used to the new sensations. When we were ready, a couple of weeks into the challenge, it was getting-in-the-car-ready-for-travel time. Not only the collar and lead, but a restraint ( safety first ) with a basket on the front seat. No problem, Min went into it as with everything else new, enthusiastically and treating it as great fun. Heureusement.

Walking around the village was The Next Big Adventure but we both enjoyed every minute. Slow progress every time ( so many smells! So many lamposts! So many new nooks and crannies to explore!) and her new ma’s cronky hip did not for speedwalking make but we could happily while away the time.

Going out out to new places was another new challenge.  Little Min had only been with us for a couple of days when we went out with friends to a large new restaurant to celebrate my birthday ( and  Min was one of the best 80th. birthday presents ever ) so we had a first try of the collar and lead and staying under the table as all our dogs had done through the years. To say she was a good girl would be an understatement, but I think biddability was due in no small part to a state of horror ie. What fresh new hell is this? But as ever she was trusting and went with the flow. We’ve been to several more since: she and Houdi are always included.

I think she is beautiful: with her shiny black coat, Mohican tuft on top her head, the untidy chin and much untidy hair growth around her chin, the two canine teeth at the front, one quite crooked and sticking out ( How on earth …..?) and her curly tail, much like a piglet’s, she sports a very individual look.

I am sure that she is the originator of the phrase dogbreath, ye gods. Saying hello to Min takes courage and a remembrance of averting the gaze. Not many teeth in the mouth left, only a few brown stumps ( lots of chocolate over the years?) and although I tell Marmite  not to be afaid as this yelping dog has a bark lots worse than her bite – she actually has no bite, there are no teeth to speak of – but the cat remains unconvinced.

Special ‘firsts ‘ so far: the first time Min ran up to me when I came home after shopping; the first time I put her on the bed beside me after a 3a.m. trip outside for a wee ( her, not me ) and she snuggled up close and didn’t move till morning; the first time she licked my hand ; the first time I groomed her and she loved it; the first time I reached down to lift her up and she half jumped up, anticipating; the first time I stroked her as she was fast asleep in her basket and she opened her eyes for a second before closing them and going back to sleep ( something that Houdi took about two years to do, why was he so afraid for so long? No, don’t go there….); the first time she responded to her name by doing that excited little body wriggle that said she was happy, and the first time she answered the call home in the garden, and ran to me, only days after taking up residence here.

In the last few weeks the cataract in her right eye seems to have closed over and she is now, I think, practically blind. But she’s the bravest little thing, adapting to this as she adapted to having her first life truncated and having to adapt to a new home, new people, a new département, a new life. With courage. She uses her memory of the different step patterns around the house and she’s not  put off when she misses the doorway and hits the door. Or misjudging a kerbstone and tumbling, rather than stepping, off. She is showing us how to cope with challenges every day.

Min’n’me have only been together since last October, barely eight months, but I can’t imagine life without her. Now my hip has been mended – another life challenge – we are walking further every day and she is ‘helping ‘ me while I resume my gardening jobs. Never far away from my feet or the washing machine or the wheelbarrow, my little companion.

Thanks my little Min, you are an example to us all. Bring it all on: new days and new adventures, these two old gels together are both ready, willing and able!

To be continued……..

What you can do to help

If you are of a ‘certain age’,  or, indeed someone who is young, where you feel that taking on a puppy/kitten, or a young dog/cat, is not really going to work for you, and you have space in your heart or, more importantly, on your sofa, to offer one, or more,  oldies the chance a good life in their remaining years, then please get in touch https://lesamisdesanimaux.com/animals/ .  Remember, there is no adoption fee for a lifetime foster, and all vets fees, other than annual vaccinations, and parasitical medication, are covered by Les Amis des Animaux.

If you are interested in supporting our work follow the link below to our Foster and Adoptions page  https://bit.ly/LesAmisFosterAdoptions .

If you are not able to take on one of the oldies,  you could always sponsor the Support Our Seniors initiative, and you can donate via the button at the top of the post.