Sky
Sky is one of our older ladies who has become very special to us. All we can say is that "someone" is definitely looking out for her since the time she came into the Charity - This is her very special story.
We first knew about Sky towards the end of 2009 when she was eight years old. Her owner had died, and with no-one in the family able to take her, they asked us for help.
Sky is a lovely, gentle, sweet natured dog who wants nothing more than to be with people, and after just a few days in kennels she went off to her new home in Hampshire where she settled in very happily.
Not many months later, everything changed again when her new “mum” went into full time residential care. Sky often accompanied “dad” to the home to see his wife and she very quickly became a firm favourite with both the residents and staff who always looked forward to seeing her.
It was quite a sad day for us when Sky's owner got in touch to ask if we could take her back.
Sky had been with him for a little under two years and he thought the world of her, but his health had deteriorated significantly in recent months to the point where he could no longer look after her properly.
It was a bit of a worry for us – Sky was now ten years old and with winter approaching, we were anxious to avoid having to put her into kennels.
We were very lucky in that just before Sky was due to be returned to us, we were contacted by the Kennel Club to ask if we had a particular dog we would like to feature in their new initiative on Facebook. This initiative would highlight dogs in rescue in need of a home, in particular those that had been in kennels a long time or elderly dogs so often overlooked in favour of the younger ones.
This, together with a write-up in our magazine, generated a lot of interest in her and the offer of a home in Devon. Sky and her new owner took to each other straight away but sadly this was short-lived because her new owner was rushed into hospital after just a couple of weeks. Once again Sky was in need of a home, albeit a short-term foster home, or so we thought!
One of our members, Jo, very kindly offered to foster Sky until her owner was well enough to take her back. Sky had been with Jo only a few days when Jo said that she would very much like to keep Sky if her owner didn’t make a full recovery.
A few weeks later we heard from the owner’s family that this was indeed the case, and Sky has been with Jo ever since.
Jo told us:
"Sky is a wonderful companion. This gorgeous, gentle and loving girl turned up at my door and has barely left my side ever since. I am so glad I was able to offer her a home as there is something truly wonderful about an older dog - a lifetime of unconditional love.”
Sky has been through so much in the last few months that it wasn’t surprising to hear that she was having a few tummy upsets. Unfortunately, instead of settling down they got worse and an endoscope examination showed a blockage which had to be removed surgically. Surgery for the older dogs is always a worry, but we are delighted to say that Sky has made an excellent recovery and is again enjoying life to the full – Is it any wonder we think that “Someone” is surely looking out for this delightful girl?