[Picidae]

Worth bearing in mind some travellers/gypsies often don't treat their dogs any better than the animals that are hunted imo - A tale you might like to hear: (sorry Kayleigh if it's too off thread for you!)

Years ago, while waiting at a coach station for a bus late one rainy Feb evening, I entered the waiting room where two people were already there sheltering from the rain. A third person, homeless/traveller, had two dogs tied to each other by a short piece of rope. The first dog, a fit looking black Lab cross, was dragging round a thin beraggled young white Lurcher on the end of a bit of rope that was round the Lab and the Lurcher's neck. The Lurcher was weak, exhausted, stick thin and had severe conjunctivitis. Her coat was matted and grey. Every time the black Lab got up and walked around the waiting room, the Lurcher was compelled to get up too pulled up by the bit of rope attached to it's neck and that of the Lab. It was heartbreaking. After a while, the other two members of the public started commenting and a discussion ensued with the homeless chap who the dogs were with. It turns out the homeless guy had rescued the Lurcher from gypsies that he'd been hanging around with who were using her for hare coursing but she'd become pregnant and ill. Her puppies had been killed in front of her and she'd become 'useless'. He'd regularly seen her kicked and beaten before running off with her.

I got up and went over to look at the Lurcher. She then looked up at me and I saw in her half closed eyes an expression I never want to see again in an animal. A look of complete hopelessness and defeat. A look of an animal that 'knew it was dead and didn't care'. It broke my heart to see it.

In the end, to cut a long story short, I ended up returning home with a a dog when that was the last thing I needed since the guy said he was probably going to prison awaiting a court date and wouldn't be able to look after her anyway!

The first trip to the vets proved she was barely out of puppyhood herself and that the homeless guy's story seemed to have more than an element of truth in it about how she had been treated. She had serious gynae problems from 'mating' too young and had to be spade immediately. She was severely malnutritioned, was almost bald in some areas, had lice, fleas, and worst of all, swelling behind one of her eyes caused by repeated bruising to the head which had led to cataracts and conjunctivitis. She didn't stop shaking for several months and it took me nearly a year to gain her trust.

Jenny, once she had recovered from all the ailments, eventually turned into the best natured dog you ever met and stunning to boot with a pure white thick coat, two soft sandy coloured ears and laughing dark brown eyes. Her favourite passtime was hightailing it over the Downs chasing rabbits (but never caught anything all the years I had her!). She became a faithful companion and had a healthy 15 years before I had to sadly have her put to sleep from a serious illness in her old age.