Happy new year everyone! I hope 2015 has got off to a great start and the return to work wasn’t too painful?!
Christmas seems like such a long time ago now, in fact it’s all a bit of a sleepy, over indulgent blur but I certainly needed the rest! That’s not to say I was stuck to the couch ALL the time! I did get plenty of exercise walking the dogs, yes I said DOGS, as in more than one! Our boy Cooper got a little friend on Christmas Eve, let me introduce Rumba!
Dave and I have talked about getting a second dog for a while but we thought it might be too much to handle, especially with us both working full time and Dave in particular travelling quite a bit with his job. A friend of mine mentioned a local rescue centre that I didn’t even know existed! Carla Lane Animals in Need is just up the road from us and while I was looking at their website I noticed they allowed people to foster dogs. I thought this was a great idea, we could give one of the dogs a warm bed for a few weeks, help the rescue by freeing up a space for another dog in need and see if a second dog was feasible for us.
So, a few days before Christmas we took Cooper along to meet Rumba, the dog that had been recommended to us. They walked nicely together on their leads then in the playpen they ignored each other for a while before having a little play. Rumba was quite shy but friendly and we both thought she was lovely! We made the decision to foster her over Christmas as we both had some time off and on Christmas Eve she arrived. Cooper thought Christmas had come early and was a little bit frisky with her to begin with (both dogs have been neutered so no chance of any puppies!) It was clear that Rumba is a timid girl and a little bit skittish, barking at people knocking at the door and keeping her ears down most of the time. She gets quite exited when it’s time for walkies and absolutely LOVES being outside and racing through the woods, even better if there’s a squirrel to chase. Her real character shines through when she’s outdoors, she’s confident, playful and friendly with other dogs. Her recall is quite good but she does get distracted by squirrels and other dogs who she wants to say hello to. She has also rolled in smelly things a couple of times but she has no problem with the bath and will even jump in and sit there waiting to be cleaned, she’s so clever! She’s good with commands, will sit and give you her paw, she doesn’t seem to be possessive over food but will give a little growl if Cooper goes near her cuddly toy!
I wanted to get some portraits of Rumba but she was quite wary of my camera when I first got it out so I left it a week or so before trying to get some of her. She was great with a few treats to help and of course Cooper wanted to get involved and show her how it’s done! Her face is so expressive and those sad eyes and floppy ears just make my heart melt. Oh and her blonde/ginger coat is just so soft and fluffy and she loves having her belly rubbed!
We’ve had her for two weeks now and will keep her here until she finds a new home. It would be easy to say “Let’s just keep her” but for a few different reasons we don’t feel it’s quite right for us to have two dogs at this time. If we didn’t have Cooper we’d keep Rumba no question, she’s adorable and will make a brilliant companion for someone but maybe with a dog a bit less lively than our Fathead!
If you are interested in adopting Rumba please feel free to email me for more details or if you are considering getting a rescue dog or cat please visit Carla Lane Animals in Need, Fir Tree Animal Sanctuary, 3 Spurrier’s Lane, Melling, Liverpool, L31 1BA. You won’t regret it! 🙂
And now, onto the photos!
Cooper was just sitting there wondering why the hell I wasn’t photographing him!
The rescue think she’s a 3-4 year old Collie cross, I think she looks a bit like a German Shepherd on this pic and maybe there’s some Golden Retriever in there too?
Cooper photo-bomb! He does love the attention!
Always watching, always guarding!
Those eyes!
Cooper annoying her as usual!
Did I mention she loves being outside and going for big runs?! 🙂
One last thing, ADOPT, DON’T SHOP!!!!
