A Tail Of Two

The story begins on the 12^th march 2008 when we made contact with Michelle Bloor about rescuing two Afghan girls who needed a home urgently. Michelle got back to me with the news that these girls had already been re-homed but she would pass on our details to Shirley Carr.

Shirley made contact next day and put our details on file. Low and behold, two days later Shirley was back in contact with us about another two 4 year old girls, Rosie and Cassie (litter sisters) in Scotland, that needed re-homing.

They were living with Mrs Brown who had lost her husband recently and, if that was not bad enough, she now had cancer and was unable to care for the girls any more. They had not been groomed for over 12 months and were in a terrible state by the time their breeders got to them, they needed a severe “haircut” to rescue the situation.

Things then moved very quickly. We had a home visit from David Evans (Numa) whom Carol and I had known for many years from when we had shown our first three Afghan girls, Suriya, Lucy and Lotus. Thankfully, we passed this with flying colours and the race was on to get the girls down to our home in Highworth, near Swindon.

In the meantime, Valerie Buckland had very kindly made some coats to keep the poor girls warm and had sent them directly to our home. Thanks very much, Val.

We had to purchase all sorts of doggy necessities as it had been 5 years since our last Afghan Lotus passed on and we had given everything away, so baskets, bedding, bowls, grooming gear and a new fenced Run were all purchased. Thank god for credit cards!

March 1^st was the big day and we met up with Rosie and Cassie’s breeders near Lancaster at 1.00pm to collect our new girls.

Carol and I will never forget the moment that we opened the hatch in his car to reveal the two very bemused girls lying down cuddled together looking like a pair of rather large puppy Afghans, with their extremely short coats. They were obviously very confused as to what was going on, but once we put leads on them and walked them for a few moments they settled very quickly, which surprised us.

After a quick cup of coffee and a chat about Rosie and Cassie’s parents and a bit more background information on the rescue, we set off on our long journey home to Wiltshire.

Rosie and Cassie were great in the car; they just laid down and went to sleep until we got home, many hours later. When we arrived we were all greeted by my sons Alan and Michael, and their wives Katie and Genevieve who made a great fuss of the girls, welcoming them to their new home.

The first night was a trial, though, with both the girls trying out for the new X Factor category “who can howl loudest at 1.30 am”! Thank god that lasted only a few nights until they got used to their baskets!

In typical Afghan fashion, they quickly sorted out which sofas are most comfy and had taken them over within 24hrs, as you will see in the pictures.

Rosie and Cassie are inseparable and have the most super temperaments you could ever ask for, a credit to their previous owner. They settled in to our home very quickly, as if they had lived here forever.

Rosie is a very loving and friendly black-masked gold with monkey whiskers, who is into everything and full of mischief. Sometimes called Nosey Rosie, she feels just like a teddy bear to touch.

Cassie is a black-masked blue brindle, again with Monkey whiskers; her coat has the most amazing colours. She is very striking. A different temperament to Rosie, still very loving but much more reserved when near men until she gets to know them. Rosie just loves everyone straight off.

They like cats, showing no aggression towards them at all and love to chase pigeons and rabbits - true hunters.

The girls are now better known in Highworth than Carol and I and we regularly get cars stop or horns parped as one of their many fans go past and I am sure many say “look there is that couple walking with Rosie and Cassie”.

Rosie and Cassie really are local celebrities, with everyone from the local Vicar to most of the shop owners. the Postmen/woman, Golfers, the local tennis coach and many other local residents stopping and making a fuss of them, especially the local old folks which. of course, they lap up.

They love long walks and get two 45-60 minute trips out each day, where they meet their many admirers most of whom ask “what sort of dog are they?” because of their short coats. We have kept them deliberately short so they can have fun on their walks on the Golf course and in the woods, as they are easy to dry or clean when they get wet and muddy. They also stay cool in the hot weather - whenever we get it, that is.

But enough of Rosie and Cassie. What about Carol and I? How are we coping with this major life change? Well we are both much fitter and lighter thanks to all the walking, and both Carol and I have lost weight.

The girls have bought about a complete change in our life, with most of it being for the better. Like seeing our children more, as they frequently come round to see Mum and Dad but actually its Rosie and Cassie they are really visiting. But seriously, we now have someone we can trust to look after the girls if we go away, as we have jolly good dog sitters in Mike and Gen.

We also have great companions in Rosie and Cassie who are always pleased to see us no matter what and look after Carol whenever I have to work away from home.

And ok, some things are worse! Like many chewed TV remotes and expensive purses!!!!!!! Very expensive purses!!!!!!!!! And don’t even mention handbags, gloves, shoes and slippers. Sometimes we get the odd lapse in concentration, leading to the loss of a meal or two or three. Actually, I have lost count (it helps with the weight I find).

We have a stair-gate to prevent devastation upstairs, and an Afghan-proof bin in the Kitchen to prevent rubbish being strewn all over the house. Oh, and we cannot keep the knobs on our cooker as Rosie takes them off and plays with them. They are now stored in a Rosie-proof jar. We have child locks on all the kitchen cupboards, as she can open them; and we have a special lock on the front door as they managed to open that and escape once, so we now live in fort Knox (minus the gold I might add).

Most of you reading this can connect with our story of how Afghans takeover your life. Rosie and Cassie are no exceptions.

You can see from the pictures (all taken in the first few weeks) how well they have settled in and how happy they are. I have never seen dogs smile so much! They are such happy-looking Afghans.

Rosie and Cassie are devoted to each other and hate to be apart for any length of time, but they do scrap, as siblings often do - especially as to who has the comfiest sofa.

Carol and I are so glad that we have kept the sisters together, and have such great companions as Rosie and Cassie.

And six months on here's how they look. Just as happy and just as much mischief! Rosie has even taken to reading the Mail on Sunday!