From Around the World

Part IX

Having spent my life working with animals, mainly dogs, not much surprises me, but occasionally I do come across a story that is to me unique.

Raylan the Foster Dad

Raylan is a large fellow of dubious origin who had spent time in a shelter in Northern Ontario, Canada. Now it’s not really surprising that with people’s fascination with designer dogs, pedigree dogs, handsome and beautiful dogs that Raylan didn’t stand a chance. Nobody wanted him. He definitely wasn’t a designer or pedigree, and as for handsome, well, I’m sure his mum thought that he was handsome, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. With the appearance of a German Shepherd crossed with a Golden Retriever, he appeared to be just another large, unfashionable mutt.

With this in mind, euthanasia was an option, but fortunately, a lady called Laura agreed to foster him until a permanent home could be found. This occurred in 2012, and a legend was born. Outside of the cat fostering world, this amazing dog is unknown, but to those in the know, his status is legendary. As sometimes happens with fostering, Laura found herself bonding with Raylan, and the unwanted dog was adopted by Laura. The two of them happily coexisted, and Laura decided to adopt Watson. And who is Watson? Well, Watson was a tiny kitten. Bringing something that small into a household with a dog the size of Raylan was always going to be a risk, but Laura was amazed by just how gentle Raylan was with the tiny feline.

Laura then made a decision that was to change her life and Rayland’s, too. She decided to foster homeless and orphaned kittens.

Raylan embraced this new lifestyle with the same natural kindness that he had shown Watson. He shows an uncanny ability to understand the dynamics of introducing himself to the kittens. Now, as most behaviourists will tell you, when you are around stray dogs and cats or are visiting, the best way to interact is to wait for them to come to you. Approaching them can be intimidating for them, and it’s usually unnecessary as curiosity will eventually draw them to the visitor.

Foster duties

Raylan is an incredible foster dad; he plays with them, cleans them up, sleeps with them, and if necessary, carries them around in his mouth. He has fostered over 150 so far and shows no sign of slowing down.

He happily gives up his bed to orphaned kittens, and they sleep on his back and between his paws.

He doesn’t appear to be at all distressed when the kittens are found homes, merely takes a break from his hectic schedule, but if a new batch is not forthcoming, he gets a little downhearted. This very large dog that weighs around 75 pounds is remarkably gentle, bearing in mind that the kittens sometimes weigh less than a pound.

Laura has no plans to permanently adopt a cat. This way, dozens of kittens find homes.

This extraordinary canine doesn’t just confine his responsibilities to kittens. When a batch of ducklings was present and was threatened by another dog, Raylan placed himself between the ducklings and the threat.

Some dogs want long walks, some need mental stimulation, and some are just needy, but Raylan has found his role in life and at around 16 years old, he is still putting in the hours. It must be kittens that are keeping him fit and healthy.

Winnie at play with children in the nursery

Winnie the Nanny

How many times do we hear stories of dogs changing children’s lives? Only recently, I wrote about how Maya, a child who had been born with cerebral palsy, and her extraordinary progress because of her canine companion, Abby (Full story here). Well, this is not always a one-way street; there are occasions when a terrified dog has its life changed by a baby and some toddlers whom it doesn’t even know.

Winnie was frightened of any noise. She would hide and shake with fear. Unusual, really, I think the Golden Retriever is generally a confident dog and makes a good, reliable family pet, assuming that it has been acquired from a reputable breeder.

Even exercise periods in the park brought no success; in fact, it only made matters worse, as each time Winnie was frightened, she just hung close to her owner. It didn’t matter what was tried, Winnie failed to make any progress.

Change in circumstances

Winnie was adopted when Jenna was 7months pregnant, and strangely, Winnie suddenly stopped being so frightened when the baby was born. She showed no hostility to the newborn baby but positively became less anxious and took over the role of nanny. With all the skill of a service dog, Winnie happily joined in and, when instructed, retrieved and carried anything from nappies to feeding bottles. She watched intently as family and friends visited to meet the newborn and took every opportunity to snuggle up to the infant.

This was a dramatic improvement, but more was to come. The family moved house and opened an in-house day care facility (crèche), and with this Winnie blossomed. She joined in with all the activities including the trampoline, chase, craft sessions and any activity going.

The children adored Winnie, and it was apparent that when the time came for sleep periods, the children all settled down much better in the presence of Winnie, and Winnie herself was obviously very happy to stay in the room, as with the door open, she had the opportunity to leave but chose to stay. She plays with the toddlers and does this with the full compliance of the parents of the children. Bearing in mind that Winnie was born with a heart condition, which restricted the amount of exercise she could undertake, this role as nanny gave her the opportunity to exercise in small doses without overexerting herself

Winnie, it appears, was a natural mum and finally found her vocation.