So we were just on our way home from a night out with friends and a message popped up from Lianne, the first words from my husband, Dave, were ‘oh oh’. Attached to the message was a picture and photo of Orion, and the message ‘not sure of your current situation I thought of you’. We had recently lost one of our dogs so the house did seem a bit empty, and I had been scrolling through the Les Amis site – as you do. So a quick discussion in the car and i was back to Lianne with a
message to say Dave was happy for me to do what i wanted (I did say to him ‘are you sure as you know what I’m going to do?’) and could she organise a covoiturage.
Arrangements were made to meet in Agen as Lianne had Fifi to meet her new mum and dad too. From the initial contact with Ori on the 5th November, we met him on the 9th Nov 2021 in Agen. From the moment Lianne handing him over to me I was his new mum, and, apart from his morning walks, he follows me everywhere. His first walks in the morning are always with his dad, and, initially, he insisted on waiting for me and, if I was up, he wouldn’t leave, so Dave had to put his lead on – lesson learned, I never got up until they’d left for the walk.
From the moment we arrived home he was accepted by Gazzie, our other other rescue dog. The cats too sensed his gentle nature and walked themselves round his legs.
A lot of you reading this know that I never go to the bathroom alone!. He also barked for a while when we first left him alone. Now he hears
Mummy won’t be long, he has a treat and promptly goes back to lay down.
As with all older dogs you can expect vet visits. The first with Ori was for a cyst on his eyelid which was operated on successfully, this year he’s had a few teeth out (no more anaesthetics for him!) and abscesses that followed but fingers crossed we seem to be at the end of these. However, the worry about vet bills is taken care of by Les Amis, other than the annual vaccinations, and tick and flea treatment.
When Ori came to live with us he walked 3 and 5k some days but old age has caught up to him as it does to all of us. We don’t take the longer walks now, as he’s a little wibbly wobbly especially if he’s just woken up! We did one walk and lost sight of him only to see him following a man further along another track. We called and frantically waved like i was landing a plane (badly), Ori sniffed the man realised he wasn’t with his mum and promptly turned towards home,
thankfully in our direction.
He seems to have become a little nocturnal, we leave the door open for him to go out when he pleases, only to be woken by barking at nothing, or a cold wet nose on any part of our bodies that he can reach, lovely!
Of Orion’s previous life we know only that his owner died, and the family for one reason or the other couldn’t take him, so the only other option for him was going to a refuge, something that is never good for an old dog, or cat. I do wonder if he said goodbye to the previous owner as he never likes to lose sight of me.
On a more cheery note if there is anyone out there reading this and has thought about life time fostering please do it’s very rewarding watching them grow in their new homes. Ori is our second lifetime foster and we love him to bits, bad breath and all, not to forget they are covered by Les amis for their vet bills.
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.
