The Dog With Nine Lives

by Della Galton

  Welfare did not seem a very apt description. I felt a shiver of trepidation.

  Adam waited in the car with the dogs while Tony and I went into the tiny office. I was beginning to have the first thread of doubt. Had I acted maybe a tiny bit impulsively? I didn’t know anything about this place. Maybe I should have left the dog and her pups where they were.

  ‘Can I help you?’ The woman behind the desk looked up impatiently.

  I explained why we were there and her face broke into a smile.

  ‘Yes, we have prepared a kennel for her. Do you think she’ll come with you – or do we need a collar and leash?’

  ‘I think she’ll follow her pups, but maybe we should put a collar on her to be on the safe side?’

  She fetched a collar, which had a bit of old rope attached and we went back to the car.

  I put the collar on the dog, although there was no need, she followed me willingly enough. Adam and Tony carried the crate of puppies across the dirt floor to the waiting kennel, which was tiled and clean and already set up with a roomy basket, which made me feel better. Adam and Tony put the crate of pups on the floor just inside the mesh door.

  There was a fresh bowl of water too, I saw with relief.

  As we got to the kennel, the dog hesitated. It was as though she’d suddenly realised captivity was imminent. With a small whine she pulled back on the rope.

  ‘Come on, girl.’ The kennel maid took the rope and pulled her firmly into the kennel.

  I took a step back as she clanged the gate behind me. I locked eyes with the dog and I saw her look of reproach.

  I trusted you, and you’ve betrayed me. Her expression was clear.

  It was crazy. I knew we were doing the best thing for her, but in that moment I felt like an utter Judas. My throat seized up and my eyes filled with tears. I wanted to run back into the kennel and gather her up in my arms and tell her it was going to be fine. Of course it was going to be fine.

  But I didn’t know that it was going to be fine.

  ‘Do you think you’ll be able to find homes for them?’ Tony asked, as we handed over the drachma people had given us, along with a donation of our own.

  Tony might have pretended he was indifferent, but I knew he cared about the stray dog as much as I did.

  ‘I hope we can find homes,’ the kennel maid said. ‘All I can tell you is that we will try our best.’

  I nodded and thanked her, and then we had to go. There wasn’t time to worry too much about the dog after that. We had to get a move on. We drove back towards civilisation – we’d missed our relaxed lunch with Sandra and Colin and the rest of Tony’s family, but we could just about fit in a snack if we were quick before we needed to head for the airport.

  We found a restaurant in Rhodes town and ordered pizzas, thinking that would be quicker. But it seemed the world and his wife had picked the same moment to have lunch. A harassed-looking waiter threaded his way through the packed tables, with plates held aloft, but our pizzas didn’t materialise.

  After about half an hour Tony said, ‘We’ll have to cancel our order if they don’t come soon. We really should be getting going.’

  I nodded, feeling guilty that what should have been a relaxed lunch with his family had turned into a stressed-out rush.

  And then just as we were about to leave our pizzas arrived, or at least mine and Tony’s did. Adam had to wait another five minutes for his. He had to wolf down the last of it while we paid the bill, and then we were on our way.

  ‘Don’t worry, we’ll still be in plenty of time,’ I said, as we drove up an oddly quiet road, which was signposted to the airport.

  ‘Mmm.’ Tony frowned. ‘There’s something wrong here.’ He has an instinct for directions so I knew he was probably right. Although, exactly what was wrong didn’t become apparent until we got to a Road Closed sign, beyond which stretched lines of bollards.

  ‘Maybe we could ignore the sign,’ I ventured. I’ve never been very conventional when it comes to rules.

  ‘I don’t think so.’ Tony leapt out of the car, shielded his eyes from the sun and stared past the bollards into the distance. ‘This is a new road. And by the look of it it’s not finished yet.’

  Back in the car he hunched over the map.

  ‘Can’t we just go back the way we came,’ Adam asked.

  ‘Not if we want to get to the airport on time. We’ll have to take a detour.’

  The next thing we knew he was heading down an unmade track, not dissimilar to the one that had led us to RAWS.

  I knew better to ask him if he was sure this was the right way. Tony’s sense of direction is legendary. And sure enough after an anxious 15 minutes we came out on to one of the main roads and picked up an airport sign. We were 10 kilometres away. Presuming there were no more hold ups we’d just about make it.

  I think we all breathed a huge sigh of relief when we were finally on the plane home. As we soared away from the little island and through the eternally blue skies, my thoughts drifted back to our rescue mission.

  Were the little brown dog and her pups really going to be OK? Had we freed them from the frying pan, only to throw them into the fire?

  All I could do now was to keep my fingers crossed and pray.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Have I made things worse?

  BACK HOME IN ENGLAND, I tried to put the little canine family out of my head. We had done the best we could for them. There was nothing more we could do. Absolutely nothing.

  I kept telling myself this, but it made no difference. I was haunted by the look the mother had given me as the kennel door had clanged shut on her.

  I trusted you. You betrayed me.

  It was no good. However hard I tried I couldn’t get her out of my head. A week went by and then a fortnight. I was still haunted by those eyes.

  ‘I wonder how that dog and her pups are getting on,’ I said to Tony. ‘Do you think the sanctuary will be able to find them homes?’

  ‘Yeah – course they will,’ he murmured, looking up from his paperwork, which he was doing at the lounge table, late one night. Tony and I were both self-employed, which tended to mean we worked long and unsociable hours. Fortunately, my job as a writer was home-based, which fitted in well with the dogs.

  I looked at our dogs, all of whom were curled up on the settee, which meant there was no room for any people. At that time we had a white German Shepherd called Katie, a black collie cross called Jess, and a brown and white greyhound cross called Abel.

  How sleek and well-fed they all looked, dozing amidst the cushions. My mind wandered back to the little brown dog in Rhodes. What a different life she’d had to my spoilt lot.

  ‘I thought I might just email the sanctuary and ask how they’re getting on,’ I added.

  Tony raised his eyebrows in affectionate exasperation. ‘Good idea. It’ll put your mind at rest.’

  I sensed he was too immersed in his paperwork to be really listening and I decided there was no time like the present. I ran upstairs to the spare bedroom which I used as an office and emailed the sanctuary.

  12 October, 2001

  Dear RAWS,

  We recently brought in a bitch with thirteen puppies that we found living wild in the rocks on Lindos Beach and I was wondering if you could tell me how they are getting on – and if there is any news on a home for them.

  Many thanks

  Very best wishes

  Della Millward

  The reply whizzed back sooner than I anticipated.

  Tue 16 October, 2001

  Dear Della Millward,

  Rita in Denmark who keeps our website passed your message on to us here in Rhodes. The Lindos bitch is very well. I saw her today. She has a very sweet nature and gets on well with the other dogs at the kennels.

  She is a wonderful mother and when she is free in the yard, she wants in to check her babies in the cage and then wants out again. She needs some time away from the babies although they are still not at the very demandin
g stage yet. She has actually taken on two pups from another bitch quite happily. The other bitch is very poorly with mastitis and an infection in her uterus.

  Hopefully all the pups will be re-homed. The mother although she has a lovely nature will be difficult to re-home. We just have to wait and see what happens.

  Best Regards,

  Maggie Avgerinou for RAWS

  I kept reading that line, the mother although she has a lovely nature will be difficult to re-home. So what was going to happen to her then? Perhaps far from doing her a favour I had actually signed her death warrant. Did they mean they would have her put to sleep? The thought chilled me. But I was realistic enough to know that they might not have a choice.

  All animal sanctuaries are run on tight budgets and only survive because of the dedication of animal lovers. I knew this because I helped out with fostering and dog walking for Dorset Animal Workers Group (DAWG), my local rescue centre. I also knew sanctuaries abroad have an even tougher time than the ones in the UK.

  No sanctuary could afford to keep a dog indefinitely, which had no chance of being re-homed. I decided to talk to Tony about my worries that the dog wouldn’t find a home.

  ‘Maybe we could bring her back here,’ I ventured.

  He shook his head. ‘Love, it will cost a fortune. We can’t bring back a stray dog from Greece. We don’t have that sort of money.’

  ‘True,’ I agreed.

  Neither of us earned a massive amount and we had a big mortgage. I had a car that was on its last legs and had been saving up for ages to replace it. We definitely didn’t have money to throw away on strays from Greece.

  ‘Besides, we’ve already got three dogs,’ Tony pointed out reasonably. ‘Four would be too many.’

  ‘Absolutely,’ I agreed. So why did I find myself sitting down at my computer that night and typing another email to RAWS.

  Tue October 16, 2001 9.10 pm

  Dear Maggie,

  Many thanks for your message. I'm pleased she is doing well and it’s great that she has taken on two more pups. I would love to re-home the mother here in the UK.

  I know this is difficult to arrange because of our quarantine regulations. I’ve been talking to a friend of mine, who deals with rescuing animals abroad, and she told me that also there is a shortage of MAFF vets in Greece, which makes it even harder. She thinks the easiest way to bring a dog back from Rhodes is to fly her to somewhere like Gibraltar, have her vaccinated and passported and then bring her back here, six months later.

  Alternatively, she could be flown back and then put in quarantine here. I'm not sure which would be the most stressful for her.

  I do realise that either of these options would be expensive, but that isn't a problem. If all this sounds too complicated to you, please say. In the meantime I will find out some more information about the practicalities.

  Many thanks

  Della Millward

  I read the email back to myself and bit my lip when I got to the line about the expense not being a problem. Who was I trying to kid? Tony had already made it clear that we couldn’t afford it. I knew we couldn’t afford it. On the other hand I did have my car savings. Having a newer car surely wasn’t as important as saving the life of a little Greek dog.

  I convinced myself it wasn’t, and, feeling only the merest flicker of guilt because I was going against Tony’s wishes, I pressed SEND.

  Maggie’s reply came back before I had a chance to think through the implications of what I was doing.

  Wed, October 17, 2001 16.44

  Dear Della,

  It is great to hear that you are considering taking Mummy dog back to UK. I didn’t hold out much hope here of finding her a home, yet she has such a lovely character and such soft, sweet eyes.

  We have sent 2 dogs and a cat this year to UK using the Pet Pilot scheme. Vaccinations, passport and micro chipping are all done by our local vet. Blood tests are done 30 days after the rabies vaccine, and that is a simple matter of sending the blood to Athens to be tested. Keeping the animals for seven months was a huge responsibility for us (dogs are stolen from the kennels, they can get into dog-fights, get sick, escape etc.)

  The pet pilot scheme may be a bit cheaper. We have also sent a lot of animals straight into quarantine. That way at least the owner can visit the dog and it will be safer although it is more expensive. Also then, the animal can arrive into UK on any airline (scheduled)

  You have to seriously consider your options, see what expenses it would involve. Let me know what you decide.

  Best Wishes,

  Maggie (Avgerinou)

  I decided to have another chat with Tony. I knew he loved dogs as much as I did. I would appeal to his better nature and also I would reassure him that it wouldn’t cost him a penny.

  ‘About that Greek dog,’ I began.

  My timing was obviously not brilliant, because before I could get any further, he put his hands in the air, palms facing me and shook his head, ‘I don’t want to hear another word about that dog.’ ‘But I could afford to bring her back if I didn’t buy a new car.’ ‘I’m not discussing it any more.’ He walked away. I sighed heavily. I knew he was right. It was a crazy idea.

  I went upstairs and composed another email to Maggie.

  Friday October 19, 2001

  Dear Maggie,

  I have decided that I will definitely go ahead and bring her back here to the UK. Give me a few days to look into things my end and I will be in touch again.

  Many thanks for all your help with this

  Very best wishes

  Dellax

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Lindy comes to England

  I DIDN’T DARE TELL Tony what I was up to. I wasn’t in the habit of deceiving him, but I just couldn’t live with the thought that I might have inadvertently made things worse for the little stray dog in Greece. I felt personally responsible for what happened to her.

  For the next few days I corresponded with Maggie regularly. I decided to call the little dog, Lindy, after Lindos Beach where we’d found her. By coincidence Maggie decided to call her Lindy too – and in crossed emails we realised we had independently chosen the same name.

  It seemed like a good omen! Although I think by then I’d have clung on to anything that indicated I may be making a good decision, rather than a very bad one!

  Incidentally, we later discovered that we hadn’t found her on Lindos Beach at all, but Pefkos Beach – I never have been good at geography – but by then it was too late to change her name!

  Maggie said that while the sanctuary was quite happy to keep Lindy until she’d had her rabies vaccination and quarantine period and could come to the UK on a pet passport, they couldn’t guarantee her safety. Dogs were sometimes stolen from the kennels, they had fights with other dogs, there were illnesses and sometimes dogs simply escaped and took their chances living wild. She thought it would be safer if I arranged quarantine for Lindy in the UK.

  So I began to do some research. The kennels I found was near Salisbury, Wiltshire, which wasn’t too far from where we lived. They said we could visit as often as we liked while Lindy was in quarantine, which was reassuring. They also said I could pay her bill monthly, which was a huge relief. I knew the quarantine cost would run into a couple of thousand pounds, possibly more, but at least I wouldn’t have to pay it all at once.

  Then I came up against a major stumbling block. Maggie had said that I needed to find an airline that would fly from Rhodes to Athens and then from Athens to Heathrow. It had to be an airline that would take dogs as cargo. It also needed to be the same airline so they could transfer Lindy from one plane to another. Maggie had mentioned I’d need a volunteer to go to Athens and make sure Lindy was transferred properly and not left sitting on the tarmac somewhere forgotten.

  None of this was going to be easy. Then to make matters worse we discovered that no airline would take an unaccompanied dog between Rhodes and Athens. Someone would have to fly with Lindy for the first leg of th
e journey.

  I panicked. For a couple of days I thought I might need to personally fly out to Rhodes and arrange to do this myself, which wasn’t ideal because I didn’t speak the language. And it would obviously also be quite a bit of extra expense.

  And there was the small matter of what Tony would have to say about it. He’d already made it clear how he felt about the whole thing. The worry niggled away at me and I wondered, once more, if I should just give up this crazy idea of bringing Lindy back to England. Even though I knew I was already too involved.

  Then to my very great relief Maggie offered to do it herself if I would pay for her flight, which of course went without saying. I could have hugged her. Once again it struck me that while there might be a lot of indifference to animals in the world, there are also some wonderful people around who will bend over backwards to help.

  I hadn’t even met Maggie, but she was willing to go to extraordinary lengths for me and for Lindy. It still moves me to tears when I think about that.

  As we made arrangements for the quarantine and the flight, Maggie kept me updated on Lindy’s progress via email.

  Tuesday October 23, 2001

  Hi Della,

  I saw Lindy on Tuesday. She came for a hug, big loving eyes but soooo thin. We are doing our best with vitamins extra food etc. but she obviously was undernourished before she was pregnant and it will take time to build her up again. A vet has looked at her and said she seems well but we don’t want to neuter her yet, she is too run down, so maybe you can get that done in the UK.

  She has an appointment with another vet to be micro chipped and given the rabies shot. I don’t think this has to be done if she is going into quarantine, but it will cut down the time she has to be in quarantine as it counts exactly six months from the date of the rabies vaccine. He will give his opinion too as to her condition.

  Can you confirm what she actually needs to get into the country, health wise, vaccine wise etc?

  I am so relieved that this sweet dog is being given a chance in life. Thank you.