One year on.........

13th December 2013 was the day Clark started his journey to safety. He was taken under the care of Terrier SOS and his life changed from that day forward. It took almost another 6 months for him to arrive here in the UK and since then he has blossomed into the most gorgeous, happy and loved WFT we know! 

He is settled, happy and very deeply loved in his forever home with Lisa & Gill. Clark is living the high life, walks twice a day, good food, plenty of toys to play with and best of all a family to love and whom love him. He has come a very long way and I often wonder how much of his old life he remembers..... he did take umbrage against the church warden carrying a long stick so I guess somewhere in there he remembers some unpleasant treatment. :( 

He's a great help with the chores! 

Snoozing with mum.

You talking to me?!

Clark loves his walks they have been especially helpful in his settling in period and if he became stressed Gill & Lisa took him for walk which helped settle him down. He loves to go around the village, meeting all the residents, intent on chasing a cat he regularly spots and he loves the beach! 

Making Sand Angels, a favorite pass time. 

Checking on the ferry service and its Christmas Lights display.

Come on mum, lets go for a paddle!!

Handsome and happy.

Could he be any cuter!!

Deeply loved and cared for.

Its been a hard time for me since he left as I have missed him so much, knowing he is safe and loved helps but the fact remains he took a little bit of my heart with him when he left. I would so love to see him, cuddle him and tickle his speckled tummy but he needs to move on fully before I can. I am counting the days down to our 3 month check! Worse of all today he visited Rosemullion Vets in Helston to have his vaccines and my colleagues got to see him and I didn't! Siobhan is happy with him and although he now needs to use the Optimmune in both eyes he is doing really well. 

12 months on and Clark is now safe, loved and has his whole life to enjoy his new home and family. We struck gold when we agreed to foster this little boy and then we struck gold again in finding him a perfect forever home. 

Happy Christmas Clark and I hope 2015 is the best year you have ever had! 

Clarky update!

Its been two weeks since Clark left us for his forever home in Fowey and we have missed him like mad!  There has been lots of tears but Gill & Lisa have sent daily updates with lots of photos which has helped us enormously.  

His first week was difficult for him and he was off his food but he is bonding with them every day and is now eating again. He has lots of toys to play with and they are enjoying walks with him. He loves his walks and they have been helping him settle by taking him out when he has become stressed or upset. 

All in all he has settled amazing well and they are all getting on great! 

Some pics of him in his new pad courtesy of Lisa & Gill.

Wet look! 

The view is evidently wasted on Clark!

Lisa's term - sun puddling! Love it!

The intrepid snake slayer!

Snoozy bed

Making himself at home

Tug of war

Hmmmmm not spoilt at all... :)

Bath time!

You talking to me! 

Lounging 

Handsome boy

We are so glad he is loved, VERY much loved by his new family and is settling in well. 

I will bring you another update soon.

Remember if you can offer a foster home or adoptive home to a wonderful terrier like Clark please have a look at the gorgeous pups on the Terrier SOS website!

http://www.terriersos.com/dogs/viking-10-year-old-wire-fox-terrier/

and so he has left for Fowey and a long and happy life .........

Today's the day..... the day Clark Kent, aka Superman, Clarkus Barkus, Clarky Bark left us to go to his forever home with Lisa & Gill. It has been a roller coaster of emotions since 20th May when he arrived here, scared, smelly and sad. 

We had a tear filled day, a lovely walk in the fields this morning and a photo or ten taken! 

On our final walk in the fields

Happy cuddles with Rob

After our walk we had more cuddles.....

Funny, happy and loved

I spent the rest of the time with him alternating between crying and smiling at him, cuddling, taking photos and promising him I'd always be here if he needed me (not that he will of course!!) 

After many tears, cuddles and hugs the time soon came around to 2pm and Gill & Lisa arrived to collect the remaining bits and pieces of medication and of course the most wonderful, handsome, happy, funny Wire Fox Terrier - Clark Kent!

We had decided that the best thing to do was go for a walk as usual and then for Gill & Lisa to take him home with them from there. It was awful and one of the worst days I have experienced, my heart was breaking every moment that led up to them driving away.

We had a good walk, lots of laughs and happy times.

Full of energy, flying over the stones!

Doing a very good impression of Shaun the Sheep!

So after 40 minutes or so we made our way back to the car and to our final goodbyes. It was so very hard to watch him hop up into his cage and shut the door..........

Tears are still flowing and will probably continue to do so for a while but I know that he is loved and will be treated like a prince with Lisa & Gill, a better home could not have been found for him. 

and so from this photo taken on 20th May, the day he arrived from Spain.........

To this, 5 months later, happier, healthier and truly a Superman to me and many others.

Thank you for following Clark's story, this blog has brought many people to together and has developed a 'Clark Kent' fan club on Facebook and further afield.  It has helped me no end and I have a detailed record of his time with us. 

I will do my best to periodically update you all with Clark's progress in his new home and with his new family.

In the mean time if any of you have been inspired to foster or adopt please look at Terrier SOS website and help those dogs that have been abandoned and abused. Thank you!!!

Let down by railings! Clark is staying an extra week!

We had been preparing for Clark's departure tomorrow but yesterday Gill & Lisa called to say they had been let down by the man putting up the railings to make their garden secure for Clark. They are so upset as without a secure area for Clark in the garden he cannot go to live with them yet. They had been promised the railings and gates would be fitted by the end of the month but it is now being done next week, so 'D' day has moved to next week, Remembrance Sunday, ironic hey.

Clarky, of course, is oblivious but Lisa and Gill are naturally upset and it has been hard for me building up to tomorrow. I have another week of cuddles but another week of despondence at his leaving here. Its a funny thing really, my tears and sadness are for my loss not for Clark as he is going to have a wonderful life, it is purely selfish and self indulgent of me. 

For this weeks preparations they all had a bath yesterday morning and I had the camera out taking some final pics, or so I thought! 

Bathed and sweet smelling!

After doing triple zoomies they all thought it was guarding time but only after having dried off on the bed :( 

Clark makes a wonderful model and he is happy for me to take lots of pictures of him....I remember being told when he first arrived that he was camera shy but I think he was just so worried and scared he didn't know that a camera was. Now he is such a poser! 

He loves playing with the girls and he loves to sit on the bed with them surveying the village entrance and letting us know when someone is on the move out there. 

Three woolly beards!

Clark loves a comfy bed and usually sleeps in Molly's bed next to the radiator in the living room however he decided to try Wena's out for size this week......

He's getting very brave as Wen is particularly attached to her bed next to Rob's chair, thankfully she was out on cat patrol in the back garden and he had a little snooze in it before deciding Molly's was comfier!

His confidence has grown so very much since he arrived, he was really very scared of Rob initially and it took him many weeks to start to trust him. Now he will lie and have cuddles and tummy tickles confidently, emitting little groans of pleasure.

He strides out despite his smashed pelvis and he will be leaving us in the best possible health. He no longer leaks urine, he is a healthy weight, his eyes are really comfortable, his limp is minimal and only occurs after too much exercise, which we try not to do with him. 

All in all this Superman really is flying high! 

If you would like to adopt a terrierist please please please look at the Terrier SOS website, there are plenty in need of a loving forever home!!

http://www.terriersos.com/dogs/bernie-fox-terrier/

....and we come to our last week.......

Each day that passes brings us closer to the day that Clark moves to Fowey and I am finding it increasing difficult to think about. These dogs from Spain, saved by Terrier SOS, who arrive here scared, scarred, poorly, thin, dirty, and lucky to be alive, thrive with love and care. Clark is a different dog to the one who arrived on 20th May. He is funny, cheeky, loving, trusting, and such a sweet natured chap....how lucky were we to be the ones chosen to foster him!?

My fears noted in my first post have mostly been unfounded and not caused the worry I had anticipated however one thing I didn't anticipate was just how much they wiggle their way into your heart! I didn't think I would be so sad but I feel real grief at his leaving us. I frequently end up in tears and yesterday on the way home from a lovely day at our agility club the radio played the theme from the 1970's Superman film written by John Williams (one of my favorite composers). I spent the whole 5 mins of the piece crying for a WFT Superman who has captured my heart. 

Despite knowing Clark is going to the very best home any of us could have ever wanted for him at present it gives me little comfort.  We are preparing a bag of comforts for him for his first few nights which we hope will calm him. He has an Adaptil collar, his beds have all been washed today so the are clean'ish when he leaves us but have plenty of both his and my smell on them. He will also be taking some Scullcap and Valerian to help his stress ....maybe I should take some too!! 

Gill and Lisa are also making lots of preparations to make the transition easier for him and he will be loved and cared for by them so very well. Fortunately they have offered to take lots of photos and give me regular updates...... I'll be passing on these to this blog too!

We are making the most of his remaining time with us and today went to our favorite place to walk with them all. Clark has grown in confidence so much that he and Wena now play chase and 'almost bitey face' ...he's not yet brave enough for full on 'bitey face'! 

Clark joining in a game of chase and fast moving 'bitey face'!

Sowena and Molly playing chase.

Clark's recall is getting better and better!

I have also had some fun with Clark this week making a Superman costume for Clark.....after all he deserves to be recognised for his true self! 

I'll be bringing you one more update before he leaves us but it may be tear stained and have lots of typo's!!

Off lead and recall!

Just a quick update....... we have been having some lovely off lead walks and today I had the camera at the ready! 

The first video does look like he is doing a runner but he was just off sniffing .......

This next one shows his lovely recall which has improved beyond belief - he arrived with no commands at all. Those he may have been taught in Spain didn't appear to have stuck or he just never had anyone to train him. So since arriving not only has he had to learn English but also commands he may have never been taught before. He is a little star!  Please excuse my ramblings at the end I didn't realise I was still filming and I can't work our how to edit it!

Wee tests, blood tests and food problems :(

This week has seen a disappointing result on Clark's wee test :( His pH is still too alkaline and not sufficiently acidic which has resulted in Struvite Crystals in his urine. As he doesn't like either the Royal Canin Urinary food nor the Hills CD food we moved him on to Uri-Balance which is an additive to a normal diet. We had hoped that this would lower his pH but so far his pH is still too high so more changes are afoot as we really need to get his pH lower. 

On a positive note his bloods all came back good and he also had a check up with our Ophthalmologist, Neil Wilson, who is very pleased with his progress on Optimmune. Its not all bad news!! 

From this sad boy..........

To this......happy, handsome and getting healthy!

 Clark loves his walks and has been spending more and more time off lead, mooching about the fields, sniffing in the hedges and rolling in poo! He also loves his snoozing and this week he hopped up to snooze with his pal Molly.......she was remarkably calm about this as normally she is a little wary of him. 

We are packing a little spotted hankie for when he leaves us and he has some jumpies and bandanas to take with him on his travels to his new home.  We loves Clarkus Barkus and want to make sure he has all he needs when he goes. His new mums have been making lots of preparations for his arrival and are very excited!  Not long now so we are all very sad he is leaving but so very glad he has a wonderful forever home.

Remember if you too want to help a terrierist in need you can foster or adopt via Terrier SOS! 

http://www.terriersos.com/dogs/nando-young-terrier/

A soft new bed, a fleecy blankie and a window sill!

Clark has been spending some time here with his new mums Gill & Lisa. They came down yesterday and we all went for a walk up at the Dam showing off Clark's new 'off lead' skills and giving them an opportunity to walk with him and learn his ways.  He had the comfort and familiarity of me, Wena and Molly with him yesterday and enjoyed his walk both on and off lead. 

Off lead and having a jolly good sniff with his lakie girls

Today Lisa & Gill took him to the Dam on his own to bond and learn more about his need for confidence building. He did great and despite being a little reluctant to walk very far he went with them. They all had a rest and sat down for a cuddle mid way and their bond is developing. Building his confidence in them is vital and the more we can do before he goes to live with them the easier the change will be for him. 

It will be hard for him when he leaves here as it will be a wrench to leave, not only me whom he has bonded so deeply with but also my lakies whom he enjoys being with....he is one of the terrierist gang of Carnkie! 

Clark with his best pals, keeping a close eye on the comings and goings in the village!

In the last week he has started hopping up on my bed both during the day to keep an eye on the goings on in the village and also at night to cuddle up to sleep - neither of which he has done before. He has stopped leaking completely and we have even started to alter the dose of Propalin he is taking as we want him to be on the lowest dose possible without causing any leakage. We have therefore reduced the dose to twice daily but increased, slightly, the volume of each dose, this way we can assess whether the timing or the dose is more important. If he continues to stay dry on a twice daily routine Siobhan may recommend we reduce the volume of the dose slightly but it will be trial and error until we find the minimum dose he can cope with. As with all long term medications ideally we take as little as is necessary.  

He is also developing the naughty terrierist personality we all knew was hiding when he first arrived. This morning I was amazed to find him sitting on the window sill watching the world at as close a range as he could! I have no idea how he managed to hop up there as he has very little bounce in his back legs and it is a narrow space for any dog to climb on, let alone one with a smashed pelvis!! 

Wena - "Nothing to do with us mum".... Clark - "They told me to!"

Good view from here....right out to The Lizard and the sea!!

Gill & Lisa brought Clark a bed and blanket for us to use - again this will help the transition in November, so we are ensuring they are well and truly 'Clarked' and he loves them already. As soon as they put them down he climbed in, sighed and fell asleep! A good omen. 

Snuggly and warm ZZzzzzzzzzzzz

So as the days pass by too quickly it will soon be time for us to say goodbye to our dear Clark, tears are regularly shed when I dwell on his leaving but I can honestly say he is leaving us 1000% better than when he arrived. He has achieved so much more than we ever expected him to. When I think back to the day he arrived here and how much he has changed it really is mind blowing. He is now the naughty terrierist as described in the title of this blog, exactly what we wanted him to become.....cheeky, happy, funny, silly, sweet, and very lovable. It has been a pleasure to have him in our lives and he will always be part of our family even after he leaves our home.  

Remember there are lots of Terrier SOS terrierists in need of a loving family, a warm bed, and with a tummy ready to be tickled, have a look at the adoptable pages....... they will make your heart melt! Duke has arrived in the UK and is very handsome!

http://www.terriersos.com/dogs/duke/