About a year ago I was abandoned by my previous owners. Goodness knows why: maybe I grew too big, or perhaps my owners couldn't afford to keep me anymore ? Maybe I was woofing too much, or chewed up one too many pairs of their slippers ? ... who knows ?
It was very sad and lonely living on the streets, really difficult to find water or something to eat, and people kept shouting at me to go away !
Then one day I got lucky. The Proteccion Civil picked me up and took me to the dog refuge: Accion del Sol. The kind humans there gave me some water and something to eat. Their vet checked me to see if I had any injuries, and tested me for heart-worm which can be a very nasty illness for us pooches. I was de-flead (phew thank goodness, those pesky fleas were a real pain!), and I went to say hello to the other inmates in the cages there. One day I'll tell you all about some of the wonderful woofers that I met there, but for now let's get on with my story ...
Because I didn’t have a micro-chip or a collar, Accion del Sol couldn’t find my owner, so I had to wait with the other dogs until someone wanted to give me a home. Then I had another bit of luck. After only three days, the nice lady director of Accion del Sol: Marion found me a potential home with a local couple who's little Yorkie (Basil) had just died. When I first met my new family I was a liitle shy and timid, but then we went for a walk, and I got more confident and started to cheer up a bit. They decided that they'd try looking after me for a few days to see how I'd get on with them.
Before I could go to my new home though, I had to be castrated and micro-chipped. There are already far too many abandoned dogs without me adding to the problem with more puppies. Also it means that I'll probably live a bit longer, and be a happier pooch - so it's not as bad as it sounds ! Having a micro-chip means that if I get lost, the police or a rescue shelter can locate my owners.
The next day Nikki and Richard came to collect me, which was very exciting ! Marion gave me a farewell cuddle, and then I got in their car to go to my new home. When we go there, I started exploring straight away, and it wasn't long before I'd sniffed out some interesting smells, discovered the dog biscuits, and I felt quite at home straight away. Within about half-an-hour my foster family realised how cute I was (lucky I was on my best behaviour), and decided that they were going to keep me permanently !
Now I get lots of lovely walks; I've got my own bed; plenty of fun toys; bones to chew; and loads of cuddles. So I definitely have landed on my paws all right ! :-)
It wasn’t long before I was assigned the important role of SpokesMutt for TenerifeDogs.com, following in the paw steps of the late, great Basil, who was the first ambassador for TenerifeDogs . Nikki set up this website to support all the kind humans who help poor abandoned pooches like myself find a new home, and being a rescue dog myself I know only too well about the plight of abandoned dogs in Tenerife. By the way, do check out the advice, information, and list of rescue shelters on www.TenerifeDogs.com if you're thinking about adopting a pooch.
I was very lucky to find a home quickly and land on my paws, but there are plenty of my mates still waiting for someone to give them a home. So, if you're thinking of making a pooch part of your family, a rescue dog would love to meet you ! If you do give them a home, there'll be one less pooch on the streets struggling to find food and shelter, and one less dog living in a cage in a rescue shelter.
This article has been printed in Island Connections - Copyright Nikki Attree
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