was a proper 1930’s comic book mongrel, there aren’t many dogs like him anymore, a proper Heinz 57! We found him at a local rescue centre where he had been a regular visitor. We were never very sure of Fowler’s breeding but it seems likely that he was a Foxhound cross. He was definitely a hound – hence the sad eyes!
When he first came to live with us, Fowler was a plethora of apparent behaviour problems but once he had settled in, found his chair and his bone and we had formed a bond they mostly just resolved. However, vestiges of his former behaviours persisted and were embarassing enough for Fowler to help me put my feet in my clients’ shoes!
When we first had Fowler he was thin, having lived on the street, in almost no time he was suddenly fat – he had no satiety and didn’t stop eating. We cut back on his food and the next thing was he was out the gate and down the street to see if he could find food elsewhere! At around the same time, he and I had a bonding moment, I don’t think Fowler had had a relationship with previous owners. It was like he suddenly realised what the age old relationship between dogs and people was all about. After that Fowler didn’t wander off again.
With the addition of love, management, boundaries and training, Fowler’s stress levels gradually diminished. He began to trust us to look after him in most situations and the bulk of his behaviour problems simply melted away.
Unfortunately he developed cancer of the spleen and died young. We only had him for 3 years but were able to offer him love, security and understanding in a wicked world. The last time we visited my mum’s before he died, Fowler stole a whole ham from her kitchen. I’m so glad – it made him so happy!
