Our Mollie

I moved out of my parents house almost exactly one year ago. I had lived there all my life and have a very close relationship with my mum, dad, younger sister and of course our dog Cassie. I was very happy living at home with my family, so when the time came to move out I was quite distraught. Although my boyfriend and I had decided it was time to get our own house and move in together, it didn’t stop me from being really upset at having to leave the comfort and security of my home. I cried every night for about 3 months and went back to my mum and dad’s as much as I possibly could, which ended up being about 5 out of 7 nights. My relationship with my boyfriend started to suffer and we discussed what we could do to help things. Around that time, my boyfriend was due to have surgery on his back which would mean him being off work for 6-8 weeks and we discussed whether it would be a good idea to maybe get a dog, as I had always had a dog and missed my Doberman cross Cassie who lived at home with my parents. Anyway, we forgot about it for a while and concentrated on the operation. On the day, we drove to the hospital and waited for the surgeon to come to the room to talk us through what he was going to do in the operation. It ended up that he had decided against the particular operation and we had to go home. On the way back, we decided to stop off at a pub for some lunch. While there we chatted about the Dog’s Home which was just down the road. My boyfriend joked around and suggested we go and have a look while we were at a loose end. I was a bit reluctant because it’s so sad when you see all the sad little faces looking at you, saying ‘Please choose me.’ In the end he convinced me to go for a look. We got to the end of the first row of kennels and there was the most frightened, neglected looking little red cocker spaniel you’ve ever seen, so much so we couldn’t work out whether it was very old or very young, and it didn’t have an information sheet on like most of the others. We asked a member of staff what the details were and she said that the dog had only been brought in half an hour earlier. We ended up walking the dog to the paddock to have a better look. She said it was a girl, her name was Mollie and she was 9 months old. We had already fallen in love with her and before we knew it we were paying the bill and signing the form to say we wanted to adopt her. The staff said how lucky it was that we came when we did, because it was very rare that pedigree cocker spaniels get brought in. We went straight to the pet shop and bought her a bed, some food, a few toys and all the other bits she would need. When we got her home, she was a bit unsure and nervous but settled down quite quickly onto her bed and went to sleep. She didn’t make a sound for the first few days, but since then she has certainly made up for it! The point of my story is that Mollie helped me so much to settle into my new home. It was fate that the operation was cancelled because if it had gone ahead as planned, we wouldn’t have gone to the Dogs Home when we did. My boyfriend and I love Mollie so much, we would do anything for her and we give her so much love, kisses and cuddles - she likes to give them back too! She has brought so much happiness into our lives. She is the prettiest dog I’ve ever seen, and the naughtiest! We quite often find her on our bed if we forget to close the door, and her favourite place is on the sofa, which she knows full well she is not allowed to do! She is probably there right now! I have attached a few photos of Mollie - I think you’ll agree that she’s gorgeous! Emma

Dog story about Finlay

My dog is Finlay and he is a red american cocker. I have a daycare in my home and he loves, loves, loves the children. He actually howls and cry’s when they cry. Im not sure how to deal with this problem as he gets louder than they do. When a child crys on tv he does the same thing and we have to lower the volumn until he stops. He will even do it in his sleep if he is sleeping on the floor and a child crys on tv, he starts wimpering. Anyway, Finlay is a very good dog and we love and appreciate him very much. But, I haven’t been able to become the master here and I’m sure it comes from lack of knowledge. When the door bell rings or someone knocks on the door, Finlay barks. This is a problem and having a business in my home, my door is busy alot of the time. Can you suggest how I can handle this situation. Thanks for your imput Shirley C