The other day I found these photos of Harley when we were deciding whether we were going to get her. It honestly made me cry, I didn't remember how little and thin she was and yet - look at the face and eyes. She had such spunk, she was the absolute runt of the litter and at 10 weeks weighed 3.3 kgs / 7.7 lbs, she was full of worms and fleas. We had to bath her the very first night because she had more than 50 fleas. We look at our beautiful girl now and it is hard to even think of her this little, but she was. Beautiful eyes and face Here you can see how underweight she was With one of her siblings, you can see her coat is poor
But even with all the poor condition and lack of nutrition there was something very, very special about this puppy and you can see the Harley of now in her face in this photo The next day we fetched her, took her to the vet and brought her home. You can really see her underweight little body here And from day one she was comfortable with her dad And looking around
Within in a week Harls was looking better and growing like a weed. She did struggle with stomach troubles because of all the worms and she wasn't used to puppy food. DH had to spend at least one night outside with a puppy and her sore tummy The new growing Harley Skip forward a little bit and Harley is a much bigger girl Going to classes From today, asleep with mom and dad
She's super cute Harley. She looks a lot like a yellow version of my Snuffles, who is also a bit runtish and skinny (only a little more than 8 pounds when we got her at 11 weeks). I hope we can emulate your success story.
Completely gorgeous. I love the pic where she's sat with her bottom on your OH's leg and front paws on his other leg. And then the pic from today snuggled between the two of you with her front paws bent over. My pup sleeps like this, it's so sweet. Harley is beautiful
That picture of her on DH's lap is my favourite too, she is such a proud pup. She has no idea she came from a less than ideal background. I am so grateful that she is as cuddly as she is, it is difficult to NOT have her lay next to you and up against you. She sleeps like that for ages...usually snoring away.
MF, I am ashamed to say that we bought her from a local advert. The owner said that it was an accidental litter and there doesn't seem to be any history of these people breeding or selling pups before. The pups came from a home that had cats as well so that was why we went to go look in the first place and then I met Harley and I was convinced she needed to come home with us. The funniest is that DH did not want a lab or lab x. We had looked at the welfare associations for ages but we couldn't find a pup we wanted. And we were advised to not adopt an older dog, unless they came from a home with cats, because of our cats. And just as we want the best for our dog we needed to make sure we were making the best decision for our cats too. I had never intended on getting a lab type but the more we were looking the more I became convinced that I wanted that type of dog. I wanted a dog that would possibly be able to work as an emotional support dog in my practice in the future and I just like labs. I am not a 'dog' person so I reckoned that a breed least likely to be aggressive is a good start. We got Harley 2 weeks after my mom died and I am always recommending that people don't make big decisions in acute periods of grief but I don't listen to myself. I am also a big believer in things happening for a reason and this pup, that came from a place we would not normally look and a breed DH was not keen on was just what we needed in our life. She is the right pup for us. We had been planning on a dog for such a long time, but kept delaying for good reasons. Then we rescued a mixed breed pup (4/5 months), she ran up to us in a parking lot, painfully thin. We just couldn't leave her. Unfortunately, she had congenital mega esophagus and despite every effort we could make, besides a permanent feeding tube into her stomach, we had to make the heartbreaking decision to have her put to sleep. She could not have a quality of life with the severity of her condition. Besides the fact that that little pup was starving to death every day she was the sweetest, happiest little dog. We were so heartbroken. It was so incredibly unfair, that such an incredibly dog had such an awful disorder. We realised that she had brought something beautiful into our lives and we started looking for another dog. Unfortunately, she had set a VERY high bar and there was something about her that we just weren't seeing in other dogs. Until we met Harley. That little puppy had something different but also something that called to me. She needed to come into our lives and she did and I am so grateful for it.
I understand the need to have your pup fit in with your family. A friend adopted a 1.5 yo Lab with hip dysplasia cos the Lab came with a cat friend, and she needed a cat-friendly dog due to her existing cats. So she was willing to take on the extra responsibility of the hips. We all take decisions based on our own peculiar needs! Not that we always end up with what we expected or planned for!! But there is always an interesting backstory. I'm sorry about the loss of your mom. I'm sure you would've loved to have introduced Harley to her.
Thank you MF, I would have liked to have them meet very much, both my parents were passionate animal lovers. Harley did the most beautiful thing the other day. We were at the vet and a woman came in, she was talking about her own lab who had recently been very ill and was quite emotional about it. Harley was on her harness and lead and was being patted by the woman, but then walked behind me and reappeared with one of the rolled up dog blankets for sale that she had taken off a bottom shelf. She made her silly lab "I brought you a present" face and gave the woman the blanket. It was just the sweetest thing and although I know it is just Harley playing behavioural connect the dots she knows that we are always very happy when she brings something and had sensed this lady was upset, so her next move is to take her something. Harley was already getting pats and love from the woman, there was not need to seek attention. I really believe that she was reacting to emotion. Of course the woman laughed and thanked her and according to Harley, a good job done. She really is adorable.
It is so hard to remember our life without this madam in it that when I found those photos they were almost unbelievable. She is and always will be our very special girl.
Lucky Harley being with you both, she has blossomed into a very beautiful girl with a great character despite her rough start in life. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy her as you all deserve each other xx
I've been in tears 3 times on the Forum today!!! What a success story,I love the one of her asleep in bed with you....that's how my dog sleeps ,head on the pillow between us........bless her,she is a lovely,loved and lucky dog x
I need to go to work...and have blimmin tears in my eyes..I really should know better! Beautiful story about a beautiful pup
