The Adventures of Max
My name is Max the 3rd and not so long ago I was known as Declan, more of which later, although I can’t tell you much of my past as I have now forgotten most of it. All I do remember is that I was found wandering somewhere in South Wales - it seems that a dog warden found me and handed me over to those nice GSD 2000 people. They found me a home in some kennels near Bristol where a nice man called Ian looked after me. When I was found I had a nasty gash on my nose and was very under nourished but I soon got better.
Early in March I was quietly sitting in my kennel when Ian called to fetch me and he told me to be on my best behaviour as a couple had arrived who were looking to give a home to a dog. They had already interviewed a new friend of mine called JJ and the re-homing lady Gill thought they ought to view me too.
I arrived at the exercise yard to find a couple called John and Susie; the man looked a bit odd and seemed to be a bit fussy but as soon as the lady saw me her face lit up and I could see that she liked me so I decided to concentrate my efforts on her. I waddled over all coy and greeted her and she made some silly comment which sounded like “Oh, isn’t he lovely”, the man seemed quite pleased to see me too.
I allowed Susie to walk me around the exercise area and of course I behaved myself as Ian had advised me to, I even did a little heeling to try to impress her!
Unfortunately, they had not actually come here to see me so I had to go back to my kennel and await a decision while the couple interviewed one of my friends, another GSD called Rocky.
I knew Rocky was an attractive dog so you can imagine that I became a little downhearted fearing that they would choose him or my other friend, JJ, rather than me! You can imagine my delight when Ian came back and told me to get my things together as John and Susie had chosen to take me back home with them then and there.
After a bumpy ride in the back of a Kangoo van I arrived at my new home in a quiet sleepy village, I jumped out of the van and raced around the garden which seemed to go on forever. After a quick peep in the house I noticed that Susie had put some blankets down in a corner by the settee and I thought “I bet that is where I am going to sleep and it looks very cosy”. I then went around the back of the house to find another large garden and thought to myself “this is all right I will be happy here”.
Whilst I was exploring I found this large round thing with a transparent looking top so decided to investigate and ended up to my neck in smelly water - I had found Susie’s pond! “What shall I do now that I am all wet?”; well it’s obvious really, so I rush into the house and give a good shake covering their new wallpaper with an interesting new pattern!
After I had settled down a little and Susie gave me a biscuit I decided to have another look around my new property. I found to my delight that as well as a large garden I was also owner of an orchard. “This looked interesting” and I raced around to see what I could find, but ended up in smelly dirty water again - I wish John had told me that there were two ponds! Suddenly, a squirrel darted out in front of me and I decided I had to impress my new owner so I was after it as quick as a flash. Suddenly, I heard John shout “Max, no!” I thought surely he can’t mean me as I have been called Declan for the last few weeks. Anyway, as much as I wanted to chase that squirrel it was my first day and I wanted to impress my new owners so I raced back to John leaving the squirrel to run up the tree. John was so pleased that I had come back and said I was a very good boy; I thought to myself “I am going to be ok here!”
After I had settled in nicely I was taken to see a man called Stephen Crickmore who is the vet for GSD 2000. I had heard some of the rescue charity ladies refer to him as 'Old Cricky' so I was a little worried as I was not sure what was to happen to me there. On arrival I found two kind ladies who I think were veterinary nurses, they made a fuss of me and said what a good looking boy I was. John and Susie left me with them and eventually Mr Crickmore himself made an appearance and to my surprise he was a very kindly fellow and not 'old' at all. He made a bit of fuss of me - but being a chap myself I prefer the ladies to fuss me - he whispered something in my ear that he was going to put some sort of computer chip in my neck so that if I ever got lost again they would know where my property was. He also muttered something about removing something from me called neutering or such like, but by then I had almost dropped off to sleep so I didn't hear the whole of his message. When I woke up I felt a little odd; it felt as though something was missing but I don't know what. Stephen also passed some kind of scanner over me which beeped.
When John and Susie came back to take me home I was very pleased to see them but I did feel a little sleepy. One of the nurses gave Susie a sort of lampshade thing to put over my head, but I was not keen on the idea myself - I felt I looked better without it!
I was sitting quietly outside my front door when a car pulled up outside the house and a lady got out with a small creature like a monkey, of course it was one of my owner’s daughters and the monkey she brought with her was one of their grandsons called George. I have not had much to do with small people recently so gave a little bark to show him I was looking after the house and had a good sniff around him. He seemed to know my name and was quite friendly so to keep him happy I played a few ball games with him as I know that is what people expect me to do!
The following day another car arrived containing the other daughter and she too brought a little monkey with her, this one was called Ben and was even smaller than George but just as cheeky. He seemed very happy to see me so as before I gave him the customary welcome. He too wanted to throw a ball for me to fetch, so I humoured him and pretended I was happy to fetch the ball and bring it back to him; these humans do seem to like throwing balls don’t they!
Another pair of visitors I have had to meet were John’s sister Gill and her husband Lawrence, as they came to the gate I had a bark at them until I realised they were family. Lawrence was very happy to see me but Gill was very strange - she seemed scared to come in the gate; I mean why should anyone be scared of me? Of course, Lawrence made things worse by repeatedly pinching Gill’s bottom and blaming it on me; honestly this household do have some strange people visiting them!
Rabbits, well I think that’s what humans call those furry creatures that live in the ground and generally make a nuisance of themselves, well we have lots of them in our orchard and I spend quite a lot of my spare time chasing after them and following their trails. I haven’t managed to catch one yet as Susie always shouts at me to leave them alone, although I reckon John would not be too unhappy if I caught one as I often hear him going on about those ‘B’ rabbits!
More interesting news, I have got a girlfriend! She is a mongrel called Truffles and passes our house several times a day trying to attract my attention, but she plays hard to get with me and runs away all coy when I go to see her. Truffles is often accompanied by two pretty young ladies who always stop by my gate and make a fuss of me. One day we went for a walk in the field and I was allowed off my lead to chase Truffles and we had a grand time, I enjoyed it very much.
I think I have said enough for now but I thought I would let my owners say a few words about me just to keep them happy, obviously I will check what they write in case they make any comments I don’t agree with!
Max III (previously Declan)
Not much to add to Max's story really except to say that in the short time that Max has been with us he has become an inseparable part of the family. He has fitted in with us from the very first day and is a loyal and friendly companion. One could not wish for a better dog.
When Susie first suggested adopting a rescue dog I was very dubious especially taking on one over 2 years old. I was concerned that the dog would be set in its ways and we would have nothing but problems, however I was totally wrong.
We are very grateful to GSD 2000 for giving us the opportunity to adopt this beautiful German Shepherd dog and I would urge others looking for a dog to consider giving a home to a rescue dog. I am quite sure you will not regret it and you will be giving a disadvantaged dog a second chance that they so much deserve.
A year or so later .....
