An abandoned Husky found wandering around Dunbeg almost three weeks ago has found his forever home -thanks to a group of local dog lovers.
The outcast canine was spotted wandering around in the Ganavan/Dunbeg area on April 15 and a concerned resident took him to Oban Vets to see if he could be identified.
With no tag or microchip, the handsome hobo, thought to be around one-year-old, was taken into council care and moved to Lochnadubh Kennels in Barcaldine to await his fate.
Kennel owner Fiona Woodhouse has many years experience in pet rehoming and immediately put out an appeal to find his owners, but sadly nobody came forward to claim the lovable hound.
Thankfully an appeal on social media attracted a lot of interest and soon dog lovers from all over were lining up to rehome him.
After the required seven days to allow his owner to come forward had passed, Fiona, who also runs the pet rehoming charity Fiona’s Ark, carried a rigorous vetting process before selecting a suitable new home.
Now-named Shadow is settling into his new life with Dunbeg couple Chloe Smith and Liam Guild, who say they are absolutely delighted with the latest addition to their household.
Chloe, who became a qualified dog trainer and canine behaviourist in 2020, told us: "I was always dog-mad from a young age and absolutely loved learning all about them.
"We both grew up with dogs and had been talking about getting one of our own for some time.
"I saw the original post about Shadow on Facebook and thought the owners would reclaim him in about 10 minutes, but much to my surprise he wasn’t.
"I went out and met him at the kennels mid week and just fell in love with him instantly. I just couldn’t understand why anyone would abandon him."
Shadow has now been with Chloe and Liam for just over a week and has settled well, taking the training in his stride.
Chloe said: "He suffers a bit from separation anxiety and can become a bit fraught, but already with his training he’s now being left alone and not destroying anything, so fingers crossed we’re on the right path.
"We feel extremely lucky to have him and I’m so glad that I have the knowledge and training to really help him because he is an incredible dog and one who loves to learn.
"He wants absolutely nothing more than a cuddle and I just hope he knows we will never give up on him. This is his forever home."
Fiona added: "It was an ideal scenario.
"He is not the easiest of dogs. He has a lovely nature but he doesn’t like being left and Chloe has experience in dog behaviour.
"We hope for the very best for this lovely guy in his new life, he deserves the world."
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