Introducing Waldo..

My first post on this forum a couple of weeks back was as a former cavalier owner. My beautiful Blenheim Oscar had just been put to sleep at the ripe old age of 14. At the time, it was very much a case of 'never again' -the sadness of his passing just seemed so great that none of us wanted to go through that ever again.

Coincidentally, I saw a posting on this forum about a Tri Cavalier that had been rescued from the pound, and had been fostered by the volunteer group a Dogs Life. I made some enquiries, and incredibly, Waldo had not been reclaimed; a visit to see him at his foster home, and that was it, we fell in love with him on the spot.

We decided to adopt Waldo -and from a situation where we thought 'never again' we are now so happy we decided to give Waldo a permanent home. He is the sweetest, most affectionate dog, and obviously came from a background where he was well cared for. Housetrained (not one accident so far), beautifully mannered and affectionate to every member of the family, we have probably broke every rule in the book by showering this lettle fellah with love for his first week, but we cannot believe how lucky we are. He is SO well behaved, great in the car (Oscar was a terrible traveller and even short journeys used to be very stressful) and he can be left in the house for short periods with no need to keep him in a crate.

If we have learned anything, it is that 'pound dogs' does not always mean you are inheriting a 'problem' dog -in many cases, dogs are surrendered to the pound for a wide variety of reasons and can sometimes come from very loving backgrounds. All these dogs need is a second chance in a stable, loving environment, and we certainly intend giving Waldo that.

If anything vindicates our decision to adopt a rescue dog it is the greeting we get every time we come back into the room, even after short absences -Waldo jumps up on to our lap, puts a paw on each shoulder, and gently rubs his face against ours, an example of a canine hug if ever there was one.

He has settled in so well, and everyone who meets him falls in love with him straight away. We still miss Oscar, but we like to think we are honouring his memory, by taking on this beautiful dog and giving him the love he deserves. Some pictures of the new arrival:



resize waldo window by pagep195, on Flickr



RESIZE waldo cuddly toy by pagep195, on Flickr

Now that is one of the most loving tributes to a rescue dog I have ever seen :d*g:

Thank you so much for such a thoughtful post. I'm sure we are all delighted that you have taken the decision to rehome a loving "homeless" Cavalier and trust you will have many happy years together. I'm sure Oscar will be looking down on little Waldo with tears of love in his eyes to see his owner so comforted and his successor so well cared for.

Well done pagep - you are a true star in the Cavalier firmament!

Waldo is so cute:lotsaluv: We ,too, have had two Rescue Cavaliers and they are best little dogs you could imagine. We lost Sonny last year to MVD and I was very similar to yourself about not getting another dog. Needless to say a few weeks later we fell in love with Kaley who TLDR were looking to rehome. One of the best decisions we ever made.

I hope you'll have many happy times together.

How wonderful a tribute to your much loved family member, and it is evident Waldo was meant for you. He is a treasure and will become a valued member of the family, and in knowing you have provided a loving home, he wil continue to delight all who come in contact with him :luv:

:jump: Yay! That's great, so glad you were able to get another dog, and a little one who needed a home. God Bless and keep us posted on how things go.

He is adorable and you are lucky to have found each other.
I hope you have many years of happiness together.

Good for you, two years ago I too had a Cavalier (Toby) who died at 14 and just a few weeks later heard of a couple who due to illness were needing a home for their much loved cavalier , I had no plans to get another so soon but I am so glad I did, I still miss Toby but adopting Ben helped me so much after losing Toby.

You no doubt know that you did the right thing.

He is a beauty and a wonderful tribute to your beloved Oscar.

Sometimes it's harder on the heart to continue to leave that open space not filled. And obviously Waldo was meant just for your home.

I love the 'dog hug' story. Just beautiful. Funny that he rubs his face on yours.

Congratulations on welcoming Waldo into your home.He looks adorable and no doubt you''ll have many years of happy companionship.
Sins

Good on ya and what a lovely thing to do. I like you didn't want to go through that again and ended up getting two! Have fun with Waldo.