... of your heart. Once this man wraps his arms around you and gazes into your eyes, well..... you will be lost. :-) Certainly he melted my knees in seconds. :-)
Meet Rescue kerry Seamus, whose owner passed away, leaving 11-year-old Seamus in the care of his vet. In not the greatest shape when he came in, Seamus is still on the skinny side, but that detracts nothing from his sophisticated charm. Seamus loves meeting new people, loves walks, and is still perfectly capable of standing up on his hind legs to gently wrap his front paws around you and give you a quiet hug.
Seamus is in good health for his age; maybe a bit stiffer and slower than a young dog, but so are many of us. He gets eye drops daily, but other than needing a few more pounds, he is in fine shape! He does need to follow a fairly regular schedule for potty breaks, as is understandable. It's difficult to say how his hearing is, as it appears to be selective to the opening of the treat jar. He probably has some hearing loss, but again, I think a lot of it is selective -- after all, he is a kerry blue, and a guy. (Sorry, guys! Just kidding. :-) ).
He has been enjoying the busy life of his vet's clinic, is happy to meet other dogs, accepts treats gently, and does not seem overly obsessive about cats. The best home for him would be one where he could bond with his new owner (not likely to be a problem; Seamus is a very engaging, interested kerry), and enjoy lots of moderate walks, hugs, treats, and small adventures. We find that many senior rescue dogs really enjoy being around activity, perhaps as a change from the isolation they may have experienced as their former owners grew increasingly unwell.
As you can see, Seamus is currently shaved quite short, as his coat was very matted when he came in, but he has plenty of soft dark fur, and he is fairly tall, making him tall, dark, and handsome - of course. He is the Cary Grant type. Now, we all know that the older the barrel, the sweeter the cognac, folks!
Seamus is being fostered in Massachusetts. If you are interested, please complete an Adoption Request Form.
Youth and idealism among recent veterinary school grads. :-) When we had the late Duffy, the very impassioned and newly minted vet at the oncology teaching hospital stoutly declared that she would not refill Duffy's anti-inflammatory medicine unless he had $700 worth of diagnostic testing every month to make sure his kidneys were working well. Duffy was already at least 12 years old, and had been given 2-4 months to live because he had a head full of inoperable cancer, that was asymptomatic as long as he got his one little pill a day. We didn't care about the long term perfection of his kidneys. We cared about him not choking on his own nosebleeds. Anyway, our local vet had us sign a release form and then the local vet gave us the refills, and Duffy lived another adventurous, happy-go-lucky, bouncy year or so -- asymptomatic until the end.
A quick update on Seamus, a 12-year-old kerry boy who came into the Foundation's rescue system when his elderly owner passed away. Though 12 is actually.... um.... younger than we are used to, Seamus is a very old kerry in personality and body. He is friendly and is very responsive to food, but hasn't really been engaging with the family, and spends all his time, when not on walks or when let out in the backyard, sleeping alone in the garage or the mudroom by choice. We walk, we pet, we groom.... just not doing it for him. I've never known a kerry who didn't follow his people from room to room, but, there you go. He was also escaping at every opportunity and heading off up the street on his own, and he will keep going (at a determined walk) until caught. He can't hear and he can't see very well, so he can't find his way home (or he doesn't want to). Maybe he wants to go back to his first home or even to the vet's office where he lived for a couple months; who knows.
However. He is always very interested in our outdoor cat's bed on the porch, and in sniffing out all the spots she sleeps on the porch or on the stone wall. Yesterday, as it happened, she was sitting on the stone wall, which is eye-level for Seamus, when we came outside. He can't see much (the vet says one eye appears totally occluded and the other one has some function but not much), but a black and white cat at eye-level..... Well. Guess who got his mojo back!! Seamus jumped the two-foot high stone wall and took off after kitty across the lawn. Very impressive. He lost kitty almost immediately, but he was still very proud. Later we took him to the town concert at the local park (running kids, dropped ice cream cones, kites, bikes, balls, picnics, etc.) and he was Mr. Man About Town. Going up to everybody, tail wagging charmingly, making sure he met every single other dog there, woo-hoo. My 6-year old ran all over the soccer fields with him, with Seamus galloping right along (sort of).
Back at home, he is beginning to lie down for a few minutes in the kitchen and living room with us, before eventually heading back to the mud room, and he is much perkier and that tail is going to hurt someone. :-) He is suddenly much more interested in other dogs we meet on our walks (the advantage of senility is that he thinks the dogs are new every time he meets them), and I think we will go to doggie daycare next week to further stir up those sluggish neurons. And, when we're all out in the unfenced front yard he has begun keeping an eye on me (for whatever that one eye is worth) and checking in with me every few minutes, instead of bolting for points unknown. Good boy, Seamus!
The only down side is that if he perks up much more, he will be too fast on walks for 15-yo Andrew to keep up, and also he trips and falls over low obstacles. Eye-level, he's okay, as long as it's not on his blind side, but he has fallen a couple times, while going along as his newfound, relatively speedy jog, when he didn't see a rock or root in the trail. In any case, go, Seamus, go! Glad to see the glimmerings of a kerry in there.
And, I cut the stupid pom-pom off his tail and he looks much better. That's probably why he's perked up. He has shed the shame of the tail pom-pom.--Sharon