Diary of a Rescue Dog (Guest Post)

Nice to meet you!

Hi everyone! No, this isn't Des, but her daughter, Linda. My mom has been incredibly worried that she has been neglecting all of her wonderful readers and pleaded with me to do a guest post for her today. This begs the question - is it really a "guest" post when one's family member is the blogger, or is this rather a case of nepotism at play? I'll leave you to ponder that one a little later. I am sure that you're wondering where Des actually is, and why she has seemingly abandoned you. I'm here to reassure you that she has, in fact, been helping me with my new addition, Noodle. Ever my "angel to the rescue", my mom packed her suitcase and has come to stay with me for a few days, in order to help me to get Noodle settled.  



Is this going to take long? I might need to nap in that case...

 My mom, as I am sure you'll all know by now, has the biggest heart of any person on the planet. Although I work from home, my job is computer-based and I signed a new client this week - which means that I need to be spending long periods in front of the laptop. My mom has been nothing short of amazing - she spends every single second with Noodle, giving her tons of attention and training her. In only two short days, my mom has taught her to sit, to take treats gently, to do her business outside (and mostly on the grass) and to play fetch. She has bathed her, brushed her, cuddled her and played with her endlessly. In fact, as I type this, they are having a glorious game of tug on the floor alongside me. So, as a small favour to my mom (I have no idea how I could ever repay her for what she is doing so beautifully for me), I agreed to do this post and to introduce you all to Noodle. I write a weekly article for a website called FurKidz, which advertises all of the rescue animals in South African animal shelters. This is the article that I wrote for them today, which will become a weekly entry. I do hope that you enjoy it.



Right, I guess it will take a while. Don't mind me while I snooze then...


Diary of a Rescue Dog – Week 1

My puppy is now asleep, and I finally have a moment to sit down and pen the first entry of our diary. You see, Noodle is a rescue puppy, and has an amazing story to tell. Despite her difficult start in life, her brown eyes sparkle with the promise of her life to come. As she lies here next to me, warm and totally content, I cannot help but smile. I may have saved her life, but little does she know that she has made mine infinitely better for being in it.

Noodle, also known as Noo, was rescued on 12 July 2011, at the estimated age of 5 months, from the Du Noon township in Cape Town’s Northern Suburbs. Small, incredibly thin and extremely scared, Noo was spotted by a member of the African Tails rescue organisation and immediately scooped up. Lola, Noo’s rescue angel, said that she took one look at Noo’s eyes and knew that she was destined for great things in life. In the blink of an eye, Noo was removed from her township life and placed into a safe and loving foster home. A few hours later, whilst browsing on Facebook, Noo’s little picture caught my eye – and I knew that she was going to be my dog.

As I type, it has now been 72 hours since Noo moved in with me. Despite having spent two weeks in loving care, she was still very skinny and literally attacked her dish every mealtime, eating so fast that her little belly would swell up enormously. She also had very itchy skin, which she would endlessly bite and scratch at. Although semi-housetrained, she forgot all about that when she arrived. For 72 hours, my mother and I have spent every second giving this little girl the attention she deserves to make a new start in life. She gets fed four small meals a day, at the same times, and each meal is supplemented with a mixture of home-cooked chicken, fresh veggies and brown rice (which we call “Noo’s Nosh”). Using her food obsession to our advantage, we have already trained her to sit, to take food gently, and to do her business outside on the lawn – each time rewarding the good behaviour with “high value” treats such as ostrich liver biltong. We give her an “eggnog” mixture every afternoon, with milk, a whole egg and Efazol, a fabulous oil for skin and coat maintenance, which has already made a marked difference to her scratching and biting. Her coat, although wiry in nature, is also appearing much shinier.

When it comes to playtime, Noo is a little livewire. She absolutely loves playing with her ball, and we have already taught her to “fetch”, “bring” and “give” – it is truly amazing to watch. We keep playtimes short, and rather calm, as she is currently on antibiotics to clear up a bacterial infection. Due to her infection, she gets quite sniffy and snores loudly at night. Once the antibiotics come to an end (she has had 5 out of 10 daily doses), we’ll hopefully get the green light to inoculate her. After that, the world is our oyster…or, should we say, dog biscuit!

I cannot believe the changes we have seen in such a short period of time. It truly goes to show that, with the right amount of attention, love and care, any dog can prosper beautifully. This diary, which I will write on a weekly basis, will offer our hands-on hints, tips and advice for raising a rescue puppy. I also hope that it will provide some entertainment, as well as encourage anyone considering adopting to adopt a rescue puppy. Noo has truly changed my life. I hope you enjoy her story!