Monty Howard

FAREWELL TO OUR BEST BOY (6.7.2021)

Monty’s Mum, Anne, has told us of his very sad passing saying “On 6th July 2021 our beloved Monty died after a seizure caused by cancer from which he never regained consciousness.

We had Monty (then called Chance) from IRR at age 7 years and we had a good experience with his adoption. We loved him dearly and miss him terribly.

He was such a character and Cindy, our Labrador (incidentally another Irish rescue) and Monty were good buddies (plenty of blarney going on there, I suspect). She has been with us since she was 18 months old and is still a healthy lively 11-year-old, but she has always had a companion dog with her and is really missing his company.

Since adopting Monty, we’ve moved to a small village with a smaller but more secure garden without a stream! Contrary to most retrievers, Monty hated water…he would walk around a puddle rather than get his feet wet! We now live down a dead-end lane with a footpath out onto dry fields opposite our front door, so Monty loved it here.

He loved people and had a trick to get to know them. He would sit in front of strangers and give them his paw without being asked. Most would take his paw and ‘shake hands with him’ with a smile on their face. What they didn’t know was once they had let go, he would just change paws and offer them the other one for just a little more one-to-one time! This extended to bedtime at home too as often one of us fell asleep with a hand out from under the covers holding a paw as we both fell asleep.
He was definitely a one-off, with a lop-sided face and very few teeth, he was our best boy.

Many thanks to IRR for pairing us up with Monty. He gave us years of pleasure, fun and deep companionship”.

History

Chance is a delightful 7yr old castrated male, mid-gold, Golden Retriever. As usual, he received all the necessary inoculations and veterinary assessments to travel to the UK.   

He went into foster in Burnley with David and Alison  

PERSONALITY

David describes him as tall, dark and loveable with a crooked nose that gives him charm, He is well-adjusted and very bright at picking up routines and cues. He will go to any house with a tennis ball!!!!!

He is a super dog who takes all in his stride and will learn to push boundaries. He enjoys shooting the breeze or being involved.

Chance is a useful guard letting us know someone is about but happy to make a new friend.

He is a great dog, confident, alert and inquisitive, playful and happy but still calm and laid back  

Chance is a well-adjusted lad with great character. He is a sensible house dog but knows when he has to settle down. He adores carrying a tennis ball virtually all day but will happily let you take it from him or swap it for a treat.

HEALTH

Chance has a crooked nose and jaw line with some teeth missing; this gives him a somewhat crooked look. His right eye also weeps possibly due to the misshaped nose but it is not inflamed.

His ears were quite dirty but not inflamed. However, he loves to have them cleaned and he also adores being brushed and jumped on the grooming step from day one.

He needs his back legs building up. There may be some slight stiffness in his hips as he has a slight ‘old man’ gait. His nails are overgrown but they are wearing with road work.

SOCIAL LEARNING

TRAVEL: He is happy and content travelling in a vehicle but prefers the passenger seat !!

HOUSETRAINING:  He is housetrained

BASIC TRAINING:  He had, clearly, had some basic training and continues to get better and better. He has a good recall and is responsive to commands.

Chance has settled into the household very well. He knows what is expected of him and is willing to please. He adores being fussed but sometimes needs to go and lie down in another room to prevent over fussing.

LEADWALKING and RECALL :  He walks `loose lead’ with a body harness and does not pull. He has been to the secure field where he had a wonderful run around but still came back when called. 

RESOURCE GUARDING: Chance has shown no evidence of  resource guarding

SEPARATION ANXIETY: There have been no signs of separation anxiety. He is very confident in being left on his own and soon settles down with his tennis ball.

ADULTS and CHILDREN: Chance is very friendly with adults but hasn’t met any children. He is a good guard dog, letting us know when someone is about, but he is very friendly and loves being brushed as well as going for walks.

DOGS: Chance is very friendly but he did not bother too much with the girls so we believe he could go to house with or without dogs. He shows no aggression with other dogs but we consider him more of a person dog.   He is certainly not an amorous beastie. He accepts other dogs into the garden and on walks but showed little interest in playing with them although he is, now, beginning to have great gentle games with Daisy.

CATS:  He has seen a cat on a walk but took no notice of it whatsoever.

CHANCE’S DREAM HOME

Have tennis ball will travel – Chance is a super dog and we believe he will do well wherever he goes. He is ready to find a home where he can rule the roost (in a nice way) and get as much love and attention as it is possible to have.

He would probably be quite happy as an only dog or with another gentle canine companion.

His forever humans are definitely going to get a dog in a million with him.

JULY 2018

Chance has gone to live in his Forever Home