I’ve always had dogs ever since I was a child. We always had large breeds. We had Dalmatians retrievers labradors flat coats setters golden retrievers that we had a Suzuki Lurcher Cross breed our last dog was a German short haired pointer called Casperwho lived to be 15. My son who was only three or maybe four picked him because he was the cheekiest and most adventurous. They went outside in semi darkness and rain and played for ages, the owners had a very large garden, its own three par golf course. The owners watched as Tom and Casper played and they were more than happy for us to take Casper. He was called Casper after the owner’s eldest son who was 15 and he was responsible for taking care of the pups. GSP’s have notoriously Dodgy tummy’s we had to wean him on lambs milk and they provided the powder. Then we tried normal puppy food which Casper did not like he was not a tall food motivated. the only thing I could train him with treat wise was I used to buy liver lambs liver and grill it until it was hard and that was the only thing he would have. He never had human food he never wanted human food unlike any other dog who if you dropped an egg they’d lick it up not Casper never WHICH was good in a way. Casper died about 10 years ago and we kept his ashes. Then tragedy struck on the 15th of June 2023 are only child Tom was killed at age 26. As my husband works for the same Funeral company they agreed to interred Casper‘s ashes with Tom’s on his plaque. It just says the date he died how old he was and that he was forever to run free and play with Casper. My husband and I have included in our Wells that we both be entered in the same plot and we’ve each paid for an additional 25 years so in total that 75 years I was born in Malta and so was my brother and we took Tom there when he was about 18 months old because they made the Popeye film there the one with Robin Williams and we took him to the set, but he was far too young to appreciate it. He did however on his 18th birthday ask his grandparents when they went to visit Malta if he could have a gold signet ring from Malta, the same as my father’s which they got for him. The puppy would never be left for long, especially at the beginning wouldn’t be left at all. I would make a pen a safe place and not a place for punishment. I would always leave the door or gate open and I would secure the stairs. I would provide plenty of toys I’ve looked at the sort of toys they prefer things that light up or make noises. I would care for the eyes the ears and the teeth. I have a vet nearby or very nearby that would be able to do clipping and deal with clause because I’m always afraid of cutting
quick, Casper‘s claws were Jet black and it was made it impossible to know where you were cutting, after had been to the vet I used to give him a pedicure. I would round file down the Nails a bit so they were round and not jagged using a special Nail file and then I would rub cuticle oil into them and I would also take care of his feet. He never chewed anything. He never chewed any part of himself he only used to get frustrated on the rare occasions he had to wear a collar he used to forget he had it on and couldn’t understand why he couldn’t get through doorways so we just used to move things for him. He always had his own sofa because he was a big dog as he got older and things became more difficult and he started to lose the use of his back legs. I bought him a large bed that sat on the lay on the floor it had a big bumper around with his name embroidered on it. I had a Cushion made for him with a photograph of him as a puppy which my son had and I didn’t get back from his girlfriend. I’ll have to get another one made he had a Blanket too with his name engraved on it was all washable and my husband and I to get in turns to sleep downstairs. So if you needed any help in the night or he slipped off his bed, we could gently lift him back again. we probably should’ve made the decision earlier to have him put to sleep but selfishly I think we kept him alive for us cause his eyes still sparkled and he still like to play but we knew it wasn’t fair so when the time came I told my son Tom he just slammed the door and went off to work. The vet was due to turn up within the hour so I rang and I asked them if they could delay it because I knew that Tom would come back. About two hours later, he rang his dad and asked to be collected, he lay down with Casper and his stroke gently behind his ears and he’s talked to him very quietly reassuringly then when the vet arrived, he went up to his bedroom and stayed there and cried and he cried. The vet and his assistant were very kind and very gentle. They carefully lifted Casper’s bed up onto the sofa so that we could stroke him and reassure him and gently close his eyes as they gave him the injection. I believe it’s painless but for many years I miss the sound of his clause clacking on the tiled floor in the kitchen. I’ve wanted another dog for so long, but I’ve not able to have a big dog so a Maltese would be perfect.