Wally: Thursday 9th July 2009.

Wally has had a chequered past. This is what we know.

Wally was ten years old when we met him. He started out in Falkirk. Wally became the property of Dumphries Council. Many years later he was homed in Nuneaton. No-one knows how he got from Scotland to North Warwickshire. In January of this year Wally was taken in by the Dog's Trust Evesham branch. That's where we met him. We took him for walks. It was great. Then, about a month ago, we were told he had been transferred to the Roden branch to see out his days with all the other old dogs. We couldn't bear the thought of him being holed up there for the rest of his days so we went to see him. The DT persuaded us to give him a go. We were only too happy to do so. They knew he had issues about human food. Agression, that sort of thing, but we felt we could look after him. We collected him last Saturday and brought him home. He showed aggression immediatley.


In every other way Wally has been fine. Good with other dogs and people. Unfortunately, even the prospect of human food is enough to transform him into a completely different dog. We discussed this behaviour with the DT over the 'phone and they concluded that Wally is not a family pet and recommended we take him back so they could give him further training.

We drove him back to Roden on Wednesday morning. The longest drive of our lives. The heart warming/breaking thing was that, as soon as we opened the car door and the smells and sounds of the compound wafted in, his ears pricked up and his tail started to wag. He was happy. We believe it is known as being institutionalised. They say they are going to try to re-train him and find him another home.

Out there somewhere, the f*cker that abused Wally when he was younger is living his/her life. Probably abusing other animals/children/anyone else they can bully.

Right now we are feeling frustrated, inadequate, angry and, y'know, generally stressed.

Imagine how Wally feels?