The Skinny Stray…

I thought it was about time that I told you about my other dog Ernie. Technically he’s not a family pet, he actually belongs to my sister but she hasn’t moved out yet so I kind of guess he is a family pet. My sister used to work at a animal shelter where she worked with hundreds of stray dogs every year. She always went on about getting a dog of her own for ages until one day she came home gushing about a young stray border collie who had just come into work. My mum and dad weren’t sure about it as a lot of responsibility and costs such as food and vet bills come into owning a dog. Somehow before we knew it this straggly stray who looked more like a baby calf with his gangly long black and white legs was coming for a sleep over to see how he would get on in our house. I couldn’t get over how skinny he really was, he looked fluffy but all you could really feel were his bones, he was also really shy and followed my sister around everywhere like her shadow (which he still does today). Well that one sleepover has lasted for three years!! 

In the start I’m not going to lie he was a pain in the ass!! He had so many behaviour problems due to a lack of socialisation with dogs and the outside world, it took a lot of work from my sister to get him to where he is today. He also had a bad tummy and my sister couldn’t find the right food to settle it, he was also completely untrained, had no recall and had never been left alone for long periods of time.  But slowly he put on the weight he needed too and began to understand what he was and wasn’t allowed to get away with. Lucky for him my sister left the animal shelter and started her own dog walking business, where she is able to have him by her side all day long. 

We began to learn that even though border collies are known to be clever Ernie bless him can be a bit stupid at times for example, he thinks he’s a lap dog. If anyone sits on the floor the next thing they know is they have a fluffy collie butt reversing onto their lap. But he loves nothing more than cuddles with his mum after long day at work, or snuggling up in his little man cave between the sofa in our conservatory. One of my favourite things about him is how sweet he can be. Me and my sister share a room and Ernie sleeps with us too, when my sister gets up early for work Ernie will without a doubt nestle his head into my duvet and give me a tiny lick to make sure I’m alright (or to check I’m still alive I’m not too sure).

And even though my mum and dad pretend that hate him at times due to his malting hair and the fact he can sometimes be a bit smelly, even they can’t resist his cute little collie face. He’s such a big part of the family now and I can’t imagine him not being there. I often think about what would have happened to him if my sister didn’t take him on. I’m just glad that she gave him a second chance at life, because I know I couldn’t be without him.

Thanks for reading.

Little Mayfly x