My birthday isn't until the middle of next week, but I got to the post before my partner this morning, to find an envelope addressed to me from the Dogs Trust. For people who don't know, this is a UK based dog welfare charity, helping to rehome unwanted dogs. The major difference between Dogs Trust and the RSPCA is that the Dogs Trust won't kill a healthy dog. As a result they have some 'problem cases' which can't be successfully rehomed, and they look after those dogs in 'sanctuary' sites dotted around the country.
I was a bit mystified but opened the envelope... to find that my partner has sponsored a dog in my name. Jason is a German Shepherd who can't be rehomed because he's frightened of people he doesn't know. He lives at the Salisbury sanctuary site (since 2005!) and is coming up to 11 years old.
When I was very young, my grandmother had an 'Alsatian' called Fury. I loved that dog and have always had a soft spot for them, but my partner is a bit nervous around them having had a bad experience in youth. So we have Golden Retrievers instead! L was looking at the Dogs Trust website a month or two ago and noticed there were a couple of German Shepherds, one of which I was very taken with - Jason! Now I have 'my' very own 'virtual' German Shepherd! Yay!
We've reached the point in our lives where we have most of the material things we might want or need, so L decided instead of searching for yet another thing that sponsoring the pooch would be a good idea. Great decision - there was much laughter and even a few tears this morning... I'm just a big softie really.
