Libby came to us in early 1999 at aged 8 weeks. Libby and her littermates
were rescued by a friend of ours from appalling conditions from a home up
in Newcastle. When they were rescued they were in poor health and
condition, and had to be nurtured for a couple of weeks before they could
be considered ready to rehome. Libby and four of her littermates were brought
down here as I had found homes for four of them locally, always having the
intention of keeping the one Alyson had dressed in a Red collar for myself.
After a few days of rest after their long journey her four brothers and
sisters went off to their new homes leaving Libby to adjust to life here with
Kim and Bess.
Only months after her arrival I was taken seriously ill, and poor Libby's
socialisation fell far short of what she needed at such an early age. Although
greatly improved, 7 years down the line it is still very apparent that she
missed out on so much in her early months.
I am sure that Libby wishes the other dogs were elsewhere at times, yet
at others I am sure that she would miss them terribly if they were not around.
Always wary of strangers, she is the one dog I do have to watch when inviting
people into the house as it has not been unknown for her to nip the odd
ankle!! ~ If Libby takes to someone it is either instant or never at all,
but when she does she will take every opportunity to get a fuss.
At only a year old Libby became the hero of the pack when she was instrumental
in saving the life of one of our other dogs, Kim. After returning from one
of our walks we noticed that Kim was missing, and when I asked Libby where
Kim was she shot off into the darkness in the direction of a lake on the
Golf Course. When I eventually caught up with her she was staring into the
lake and barking. Shining my torch over the water showed no sign, and it
would be a very unlikely place to find Kim as she hated water?! ~ When
taking a little more notice of the direction of Libby's gaze I shone my torch
over the reeds again and could just make out Kim's head above the water.
Jumping straight in I found Kim tangled in the weeds with one leg stuck in
her collar, obviously resulting from her struggle to get out. The poor girl
was exhausted, and had we not found her she would have surely drowned. Had
Libby not been with us I would never have thought of checking the lake, and
even when I did I did not see her initially. Both dogs received hugs like
they had never received before, and I felt sick at some of the thoughts that
crossed my mind, but shut them away and made the most of our good fortune.
Thanks Libby.
Libby has always taken the roll of voicing alerts, like howling if the
phone rings and you don't answer it straight away, or barking when there
is something to be concerned about (and sometimes when there is not!!) Her
howling alerted us the day my granddaughter fell in the garden pond, her
second water rescue. Thoughts of getting her a life belt and red swimming
costume have crossed my mind, who needs those busty babes on Baywatch when
we have Libby? LOL
She is certainly a *Daddy's Girl* and I can live with that, she has certainly
done enough to earn the privilege.
