Costa
We have been asked so many times why we called Costa this particular name – some have even asked if it’s because he’s “Costa – lot of money”! Well, the answer to that is, yes he has – has he been worth it – you bet!
Costa as he was in November and as he is now.
He is still under the care of the vet but the end is in sight!
We were asked to take Costa by his owner quite late one evening. She wasn’t exactly helpful in providing “reliable” information about her dog and it wasn’t until the following morning when we received a phone call from the owner’s landlord that we began to have a true understanding of what was going on.
The landlord explained that he was very worried about the dog and asked if we could help. After telling him that Costa’s owner had already been in touch, he said that he and others in the village had been trying to persuade the woman to re-home him for about six months and wanted to help in whatever way he could because of the state the dog was in. What he told us about Costa in that phone call was sickening and much of it was the complete opposite of what we had actually been told by the owner.
It wasn’t at all easy to arrange to see Costa – we had to fit in with the woman’s working hours; she didn’t want us to park anywhere near her cottage; she didn’t even want to be there to tell us about the dog she said she loved so much and really didn’t want to re-home.
That day is one I don’t think I will ever forget. It was very warm for mid-November, 18° or so, and since I had my own shepherd with me in the car, decided I would park right outside her cottage whether she liked it or not!
I didn’t get the chance to find that out because as soon as I arrived she, with her youngest son, “did a runner”, saying she was so upset she couldn’t bear to see her much loved baby go. Given she had already said she didn’t want to be there this was no surprise, but by that time I had already seen Costa and let’s just say it was just as well she did “do a runner”.
The landlord had mentioned that apart from the youngest son, no-one in the family had any time for Costa; he also said the dog was thin and thought the dog had fleas - but the dog I was looking at had to be without doubt the worst case of neglect I had ever seen.
Costa was 8-10 kilos underweight with nails so long he couldn’t walk properly. He wasn’t just thin, he was emaciated. Starving hungry and shivering with cold, he looked every bit a tired and worn out old dog instead of the five years he actually was.
What fur he had was thin and in very bad condition; where there was only skin it was red, sore and infected.
Taken on the day we brought Costa into care, this photo doesn’t even begin to do justice to the state he was in.
Costa was so pleased to see someone who would pay him just a little bit of attention that he wouldn’t stop jumping up; he was so hungry he snatched at any treats on offer, even trying to rip my trouser pockets off to get to the rest of them! Getting up close and personal with him I also found that he didn’t just smell, he reeked - a dreadful, lingering smell which can only be described as something decaying. To give you some idea, it took four days to get the smell out of the car!
There was absolutely no way I was going to leave this dog in that home so with the paperwork signed and trousers just about still intact, it was time to get Costa into the car. He couldn’t get in fast enough, but had no strength to do this on his own and couldn’t manage without help. True to the end, the owner’s husband made no effort to help, preferring to do what he had done all the way through - just stand there like a plank!
To say the vet wasn’t impressed is putting it mildly. Costa’s immune system was totally shot and it was 50:50 as to whether he would recover. Simply put, if we hadn’t got Costa when we did, he wouldn’t have survived much longer.
We knew it was going to take a long time to bring him back to full health; he was totally exhausted and spent much of his first few weeks asleep wrapped up in a duvet with the occasional run around the garden when he could manage it.
In the three months since Costa has been in our care he has done incredibly well. He has slowly gained weight and his coat and skin have improved tremendously, although some of the infected sores are proving difficult to clear up.
His undercoat is starting to grow again and since he was given the go ahead to have regular baths, his coat no longer smells.
We owe a big thank you to Sally and Dave who fostered Costa for those first few days, and to long time shepherd owners Val and Mike who adopted Costa just a short time later. On hearing Costa’s story, they didn’t hesitate and took him into their home and hearts, along with “that smell”!
Costa is still under the care of the vet, the costs for which are being funded by the Charity. To date we have spent somewhere in the region of £1,000, so YES he’s “Costa-lot of money”! Was he worth it? ABSOLUTELY!!
In case you were wondering .....
Costa’s name is the one that we gave him – we didn’t like the name he was signed into the Charity with and since it reminded us of a cup of coffee every time we said it, we decided to call him Costa!