|
Molly came to us when it suddenly
became necessary to take her and her puppies away from
where they had been living wild as part of a pack until
they could be re-homed. She was an older dog, who
was nursing not only her litter but that of one of the
other females too. The puppies were distributed
between several fosterers. As well as mum, I took
two of the litter who it was felt would do best by
remaining with her: the weakest, and one with a limp
which needed watching.
Molly was a very nervous dog around people although she
quickly settled in with our own dogs. For days she
would not willingly come near us but gradually she
responded to kind words and the steady supply of food.
What a wonderful moment it was when she learnt that it
was nice to be hugged and petted and actively sought out
such contact.
Her two puppies we named Bandy and Tyke. Bandy, a girl,
was the smallest one of the litter but was growing
encouragingly fast. Tyke was a typical boy with a
jaunty little swagger and confident manner. His limp
proved to be nothing to worry about and soon
disappeared. These two were to be re homed in Germany as
soon as they were strong enough to travel and homes had
been found for them. Molly we hoped would be taken in
by someone with a lot of experience of dogs and her
increasingly warm and friendly behaviour encouraged this
hope. Sadly, things turned out otherwise.
Molly and her two
puppies
The dogs had been with us a couple of weeks when one
afternoon one of the children came in via the side gate
with a friend. My two dogs ran up barking to greet
them, Molly went with them but misunderstanding their
intentions actually bit my son. She backed off as soon
as I yelled and clearly had no intention of savaging him
but it demonstrated to me that pack instincts ingrained
from a life with other street dogs were still there. I
contacted the people whom I had Molly from and it was
decided to move her back to where she came from.
Unfortunately this was not soon enough to prevent her
biting again. Once more, it was undoubtedly a case of
her misinterpreting the actions of dog’s who have been
brought up in a family. The injury was thankfully
slight, but clearly Molly had spent too long in a
different kind of life to easily adjust to living with
people. It was now imperative that Molly left us before
another such incident. Her puppies were no longer
feeding from her and I had noticed with some concern
that as she weaned them she was becoming increasingly
dominant with my dogs who were allowing this development
although she remained passive and affectionate with me.
There was nothing for it but to take
her back to where she had come from. As I had got to
know her well I was certain that she was not a
dangerous dog. Had she been then other options
would have had to have been considered. It was just
that like many older dogs on the streets she just
would never learn any other rules than those she
lived by in her pack. |
Molly
One of the women involved in animal
welfare came to take her back. We had terrible
trouble getting her in the car. She knew
something was going on and was so scared. In
the end we picked her up and bundled her in.
She made no attempt to bite either of us but was
clearly very frightened and in need of reassurance.
I was very fond of Molly, despite the fact that she
had bitten my children, so I sat with her on the
journey. Her head was on my knee so
trustingly, I felt terrible.
Then something amazing happened. As
we turned into her territory she lifted her head,
ears pricked and alert. We stopped the car, opened
the door and she jumped out. There was a dog close
by and the two ran to meet each other, tails wagging
madly. Then more dogs appeared, all rushing
excitedly to greet her. I can’t tell you how happy
she was to be back in her own environment with her
own “family.” I went over and said goodbye. I was
crying but I was also happy and so glad that I had
gone too. It was the right thing to do for her and
I could see that now, yet up until the moment we
arrived I had felt that we were letting her down
simply because she had made a mistake. This was the
happiest I had seen her since I had known her and I
felt satisfied and comforted when we left her there.
Molly's puppy Tyke
Molly’s tale is rather bittersweet
but it showed me quite clearly that there are many
ways of helping animals. Not every animal can be
re-homed. For Molly, we provided safety when (for
reasons I can’t disclose) safety was necessary. We
found homes for the puppies that survived and we
took her back to where she belonged. Some Greek men
who work nearby regularly feed these dogs, as do
other people. A few days after we had left her she
was collected by the little organisation that had
brought her to me and taken to be neutered. Molly
now lives a life she knows, in a place where she is
happy, without having to go through anymore
pregnancies and the dangers and problems that
entails. She and her friends are regularly checked
up on by caring locals. Other members of the pack,
male and female have also been neutered although
sadly one died. That however is the reality. You
do what you can, where you can and hope it is for
the best. Although it still makes me cry a little,
I think Molly’s story is a positive one. |
