Читать книгу Rescue Dog Tales - Mikael Lindnord - Страница 7

DOG’S NAME: Billy

AGE: 12

OWNER: Ann

FROM: Nowzad, Afghanistan

LIVES: Hertfordshire, UK

‘Billy has come a long, long way to be our dog. I have always been a dog lover, and grew up with them, and even though my husband didn’t, we always wanted to get one. We knew we could never buy a dog from a shop as we’d learned all about puppy farming, but for a long time we were living in a small flat that the rescue charities we went to said weren’t suitable for their dogs, so when we finally moved into a house we couldn’t wait to adopt a rescue! Our first dogs were two Westies: Daisy and Tommy, who made it to the ripe old ages of fifteen and sixteen.

I’m a volunteer fundraiser for Nowzad, a charity that rescues stray and abandoned animals in Afghanistan, so we were only ever going to rescue from there, really. I’d been so moved by the stories I’d heard of the animals out there, and the way some of them were mistreated. But when we saw Billy we weren’t even looking to adopt a dog – we thought we’d have a couple of dog-free years so we could enjoy a few more weekends away in Europe! It was all over when I saw Billy on the Nowzad website and loved him instantly, and before I could even mention it to my husband he came home from work and told me about a dog he had seen on the Nowzad website that he liked – who turned out to be Billy. Billy was an older dog – almost twelve – when we saw him, and after reading about his background and how he came to be in the shelter we just desperately felt we wanted to give him a good retirement home. It’s very expensive to get a dog over from Afghanistan, and as Billy was older we thought that not many people would want to adopt him and he’d be left in the shelter to see out the rest of his life.

Sometimes when I look at Billy I find it incredible to think what he’s been through. Billy is quite the war veteran. He bravely served in Iraq in 2006/2007 and was transferred to Afghanistan in 2009, where he worked as an explosive detection dog. He was sent to Kunduz province in 2015 and was working there when the Taliban took power. Unfortunately, when this happened Billy’s handlers fled, leaving him in the hands of the Taliban. We don’t know what happened to him during this time; all we know is that when the government forces retook Kunduz City and Billy was returned, he was extremely fearful of men and was unable to work any more. Billy, who probably saved many lives in his time, was given up on and left to live in his crate until Nowzad rescued him and put him up for adoption.

As anyone who’s adopted a dog from overseas knows, it’s a long, complicated and expensive process. Once we’d decided to adopt him, Billy finally arrived in the UK on 1 December 2016 after spending his three months’ quarantine in Afghanistan. He landed at London Heathrow Terminal 5 at 7.20 a.m., and five hours later he came through from the Animal Reception Centre. When we got him home he ran around the house at 100 miles per hour sniffing absolutely every square inch of it – because he’s an ex-explosion sniffer dog he’s constantly checking for bombs. But now he’s realised that we don’t have any in our house he’s calmed down a lot.

Considering his background, Billy is remarkably well-behaved. The only time he really goes crazy is when my husband leaves the house, as they’ve formed a really strong bond. He was extremely well-trained from his time in service, but I also think that being an older dog he is just that bit calmer, and happy to have a family. He is very food-focused (his particular favourite is naan bread) and he doesn’t have much in the way of table manners, but in fairness to Billy he hasn’t really needed them.

For an old dog he’s incredibly energetic and gives the younger dogs at the park a run for their money. Explosion sniffer dogs are often rewarded with tennis balls, and Billy goes absolutely mad for them. It’s all about the ball. But he’s also incredibly loving and often just wants to snuggle up beside me on the settee.

You’d think an older dog would have outgrown their puppy silliness, but Billy makes us laugh on a daily basis. Only last week we took him on his first ever holiday to the Norfolk coast. We decided to let him roam the property we had rented at night so he could sleep wherever he wanted, and everything seemed fine. But when we were lying in bed on the first night we heard a loud noise and wondered what he was up to. When I went to see where he was and what he had done, I discovered that he’d jumped into the bath and was standing there with his nose pressed against the shower screen, wondering how on earth he was going to escape this situation!

Having Billy has taught us that a rescue dog really can make the perfect companion, and that there are so many wonderful dogs that deserve a loving home. And it’s not just about the dog – it’s great for people too. We’ve always said that ‘a house is not a home without a dog’, and with Billy here, we have a home again. All Billy wants now is to be loved from the moment he gets up in the morning until last thing at night. And he is.’