Misty came to live with us when we lived up North, she had been offered "Free" on the Internet, I contacted her owners to explain the possible dangers of offering animals for free, see The Perils Of "Free To Good Home" Ads I then asked if they would let me find her a home which I would home check to ensure Misty would stand a good chance of finding a permanent home, I went to see her to take pictures to add to my website.

On arriving I was shocked to see the condition she was in, she wasn't quite a year old, had had a litter of 6 puppies from the local Staffordshire bull terrier, she looked malnourished, had not been given a good diet when carrying and feeding the pups, she had been kept tied up outside a lot of the time as her owners said she got too excited with the children, some of her nails were turning in to her paw pads they were so long, she had ear mites and a flea infestation,  the family had decided they would keep one of the pups, sold the rest and had no room for Misty, they told me they were moving and could only take one dog with them, they had chosen the new pup over Misty!

I asked if I could take her home, phoned John to fore warn him another dog was joining us for a short time, she happily followed me and jumped in to the crate in the back of my car. We stopped off at the vets, had her nails, clipped as best they could, treated her ear mites, worming and fleas, after a few weeks Misty was looking so much better, her coat was growing and shining, flea and mite free so it was time to have her spade and find that forever home for her, this proved tougher than I thought it would be, she started to suffer from separation anxiety if I left her, I found a lovely lady who had recently lost her old dog and was looking to rescue another, Misty went to meet her, the lady fell in love with her, I was happy to let her have Misty after she had been spade.

When I collected her from the vets they told me she had howled the place down when I left in the morning and didn't stop until she was placed under anaesthetic! Poor Misty was so relived when I came to take her home, she must have thought I had abandoned her. A week later she went off to her new home, we sat in her new owners sitting room, Misty wouldn't leave my side, the lady called her over, she wouldn't budge, I got up and walked to the kitchen and encouraged Misty with some treats to go in to her new dog bed, nothing worked, after about an hour we decided I should leave and see how things go, I didn't make a fuss, I gave Misty a stroke and got in to my car and drove home feeling mixed emotions, happy I had found her a nice home and sad that she had to go.

Later that day I got a call from the lady to say it wasn't going to work, Misty was howling, jumping at the window, scraping at the door, she feared she would escape and get lost, could I come and get her. As soon as Misty saw me she was all over me like a long lost friend, Misty was meant to be my dog so she came back home, I was so happy because deep inside I didn't want her to go and had not slept the night before her departure, I thought I was doing the right thing re homing her, we couldn't keep another dog already having three (at the time)  not only had Misty become inseparable from me I had become inseparable from her, she is my Velcro dog.

Fours years have past, she is now about 5 years old and is such a happy little thing, still a little insecure if I am not with her, if she goes out with John or a friend she will initially wonder where I am but soon settles and enjoys her outing. I'm so glad I came across that advert, I really believe we were meant to be together.