Brandy 1 year on

Himindoors (our resident mutt!) picked up Brandy from Hannah in Abbeyleix a year ago last Saturday. Karlin had been told that Brandy was about 10 years old and it sounded like he was on his last legs. He had a very hard life and it showed on his face. However, our Brandy was more than a little bit randy with our girls and our first job was to get him neutered to ease his libido!!! Here's his arrival in our house:




It turned out that he was closer to 7 or 8 years old and his ticker was on top form. It took a good 2 months before we sorted out his stomach and put a bit of weight on him as he was so unused to food. His behaviour was very erratic too. He was very aggressive towards Twinkle who only wanted to show him love. He lived on the lead in the house while he learned to behave himself. Next pic shows one of the first times he was on the couch with the girls



a few weeks later



getting closer



all together




I really believe he has brought us luck as a few weeks after we got him I found out I was pregnant with our baby daughter Sophie and we found our dream house in Cork. We could not wish for a more loving dog. So one year on I want to thank Hannah for saving him from his awful situation, Karlin for letting us have him, my hubby himindoors for going to get him, Twinkle for being his best friend and Daisy Boo for being the top dog he needed.


handsome Brandy

How heartwarming this story is of Brandy!!!!! What a handsome one Brandy is too! I love the photo of him being brushed...he looks like he's in love!!!! Thank you so much for taking in Brandy when he needed a home...you obviously have given him a wonderful life! Thanks for sharing the photos & story with us!!!! It's put a smile on my face.

Brandy is gorgeous, makes you wonder what sort of human could mistreat him, anyway he's got his perfect home now and you can see he's so happy, he's a credit to you well done

Himindoors and Joanna were only his temporary foster... :lol: Not my first nor my last 'failed fosters' either!

Brandy was really one of the worst cases I have come across so far in running Irish Cavalier Rescue. He was found in a kennel with no shelter in freezing weather with only some soggy blankets to rest on, by the cleaner who was clearing out a house that was being sold. She went back to the owner who had ALREADY moved out and left him there and said what is with the dog in the kennel? And he said, oh, he's really old and I am just going to put him down.

So she asked if she could take him in -- in total disgust -- and then she contacted a rescue, who contacted me.

The woman took Brandy to the vet who found the reason he only hobbled along was not that he was elderly (we think the owner made this up as a reason to pts) but that his nails had been so neglected they had grown around in a circle and back into the pads of his feet. :yikes They were so firmly embedded and had been this way so long that the vet wasn't even sure where the nails started and ended. They sedated him to trim the nails and for the first time in who knows how long he could lift his leg to pee again.

The woman who took him in washed him and let him sit by the fire and fed him well and then brought him to Joanna and Himindoors -- and he was quite unappreciative and snapped at Himindoors. It took a while for him after living abandoned in a kennel for who knows how long, to remember that people and other dogs could both be friendly.

I know he remains a special needs dog -- he will never be the kind of dog that will love making lots of doggie friends! But he has come so, so far and it is so wonderful to hear this kind of testimony. It is always rewarding to know the ones many would have turned away from have been perhaps more rewarding than the 'ideal' dog might ever have been. This poor man certainly deserved the second chance. I have no idea how many years he spent in that small exposed kennel.

I love seeing him smiling away in the sun. It must be hard for him to even recall the life he led before.

I always hope a wonderful story like this might make one more person think about the dog they wouldn't have thought about before -- the older dog, the needy dog, the slightly difficult dog, the health issue dog... they may not be right for everyone, and they should never be taken in only for sympathy, but because they have so much to give, often, far more than you would ever expect. They can be the most humbling dogs, the most complex dogs, the most thoughtful dogs, the most inspiring dogs, the ones that affect your life in special ways.

I am trying hard not to cry...I am also having a hard time typing because the cat on my lap was rescued after being flung out of a car on the interstate highway and left for dead a few years ago. I think of all of the animals who aren't loved like the beloved pets of the Cav Talk members. I simply do not understand people who mistreat animals, I simply don't. Whether it is neglect or abuse, it is all horrid. My beloved mill momma Angel (R.I.P.) also had her claws grown back into her pads when I adopted her and she could not walk at first. She too looked horrid at first, but she ended up being the most beautiful Cocker who ever lived. Bless you Joanna for turning him into the handsome and sweet boy that he should have been all along.

I'm telling all of you...consider rescuing a dog or cat or two. If you've not done it yet, there is a type of love that you have yet to experience. It is a lot of work but you will forget the work when you see the love and trust in a formerly discarded pet's eyes.

what ever is in the past the photo of him being groomed is a credit to you.
he look so happy. i just hope one day i will be able to make a dog as happy as that.

Joanna you are so wonderful to have taken him and given him so much love. The photo of him being groomed shows how happy he is and how loved he feels..well done to you.

he looks like he has gotten the life he deserves, good on ye for taking him and congrats on being a failed fosterer!!

Oh Joanna, what a perfectly happy ending to a dreadful beginning for Brandy. He truly is a lucky doggie. I too like all the pictures, but love the one of him smiling in the sunshine.

Thanks all for the kind comments. As Karlin says it really is worth considering the more difficult cases. The love we receive from Brandy makes all the hard times worth it. All he wants now is cuddles, hugs and treats.

Karlin said:

They sedated him to trim the nails and for the first time in who knows how long he could lift his leg to pee again.

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I knew about his nails but not about the peeing bit. So thats why he squats like a girl sometimes!

That is a gorgeous story.

One of the reasons they thought he was so old was that he could hardly lift his leg and they assumed he had really bad arthritis. Then the vet discovered his nails. He was also filthy and badly matted.

I'm so glad Brandy was adopted by such a lovely family as yours. He actually looks younger now in his photos than when he first came to you, and definitely happier and more loving. :lotsaluv: It brings tears to my eyes when I think of how neglected he was. Thank God he's loved and cherished now!

What a sweet story! He's such a handsome fellow.

I am trying hard not to cry...

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Too late for me....I couldn't hold them back!! What a beautiful story! I can't thank you enough for sharing Brandy's story. I'm just amazed at the transformation in him through his pictures. I just love the look on his face while he is getting brushed. You can just see him thinking "now this is great!!" To think that this beautiful little life would have been snuffed out. God bless the cleaner who saved him and you for transforming. The last picture just says it all. What a happy and content little face!:luv: