PERRY (now MERLIN)

PERRY was a stray who was never claimed so he is very confused and sad. The reason, no doubt, that he was dis-owned was because of the possible expense involved in treating the lump on his shoulder. We had this removed at the same time as he was castrated and he was given the "all clear".
 
Perry got on well with Sandie's dogs in Ireland and seemed to be a pretty laid back sort of fellow. We estimate that he is about 7yrs old and, generally, in good health.
 
ANDY'S INITIAL ASSESSMENT
 
Perry only came to us on Saturday morning so this is just an initial assessment.
 
Firstly he's a big old handsome Goldie, both tall and broad. I think he's been someone's pet at some time as he walks like a dream on the lead, and is perfectly housetrained.
 
As you'll see from the pictures, poor Perry's been in the wars, he had a lump removed from his back last week, and was neutered at the same time. Add to that his yukky ears, and you have one poorly soldier. Fortunately his lump was nothing sinister, so he should soon be on top form again.

 
Poor Perry's been through a lot over the past few days, and while really a big soft fusspot, right now he's a little grumpy, and for that reason, for now at least, I'd have to reccommend he didn't go anywhere with young children. I'd expect this reccommendation to change as he gets used to his new environment, and starts to feel better.
 
He's a lovely big dog, and with some grooming will be one impressive Goldie.
 
TWO DAYS ON
 
Perry had a pocket of fluid develop by the stitches on his back. To be safe, he went to the vets this morning to be checked out. The vet was able to drain most of it out, and said it was nothing to be concerned about. He was given an antibiotic jab, as a precaution, and some tablets to make him wee more, which will apparently help..............although it'll do nothing for the garden:))))))

 
If it does build up again, he willl have to have a local anaesthetic and a drain put in.
 
In a waiting room full of dogs, and when the vet was putting needles in to drain the liquid, he never so much as grumbled.

 Could you be the one to put the smile back on poor Perry's face again???????????

         UPDATE ON MERLIN (was PERRY)
 
Perry (now Merlin) has gone to live with Lorna and Rachel and our very own Zena, who has been feeling a bit lonely since the loss of her beloved Ben.
 
Andy and Val both took him to his new home to see him settled and to have a cuddle with the beautiful Zena, of course!!!!  The dogs had previously met and got on well.
 
Lorna, their mum, says "Both dogs are getting lots of fuss and had a settled night.  We have had four walks since he arrived.  Zena is a bit slower of course, so I have to make Perry wait, and he is getting very good at it now.  We have renamed him Merlin in honour of Andy, who liked the name and with his arrival being so close to Halloween."
 
"Thought you may like to see a couple of photos taken by just a few minutes ago – there were treats involved of course, but I make no apology for the gross bribery that was going on in the name of art!!!!"
 

MERLIN and ZENA WAITING FOR SANTA

Lorna says: He is a perfect darling.  He has really settled in well and loves to follow us around.  If we are in different rooms, he tries to keep a paw in each room just to make sure that he knows what we are up to. He has settled with the cats now that they are confident with him and although he would love to chase them outside, they don’t give him much of a chance.  He is listening to me when we are out and it has saved us a barking match with other dogs more than once since I got him to come and sit in front of me at odd times whilst we are out.  I can put this into operation if another dog approaches.
 
Zena has slowed down quite a lot and I remarked on it to Rachel this afternoon.  That was when we realised that she is a year older than when we adopted her as we had her come to live with us last January. She is still really keen to go out, but after the initial excitement she does slow to a plod.  On days when she can’t manage much, I take Merlin for a longer walk on his own.  He can get quite bouncy when we are out, so this helps him to get rid of some of his extra energy.
 

�2006 Irish Retriever Rescue UK