Finnegan’s story ….

FINNE was taken in as a stray.  He was originally called Harry. Nobody claimed him and he was in a terrible condition, very thin and he had barbed wire twisted around his hind leg and underneath him, which had cut into him.  He is a first class escape artist.  He climbed a nine-foot high fence at the kennels and also managed to squeeze out through a tiny window.  The kennels couldn’t keep him contained and they phoned us to see if we could help.  Marcelle King saved the day and said she would foster him.  She kept him for five weeks and transformed him.  His coat was so matted it had to be clipped off but it has quickly grown back.  He put on weight and improved daily under her loving care.  He is now positively flourishing in his new home with Val and Bob as you will see in his story …

Shirley Carr 2005

Finne is handsome, cheeky and very funny.  He is in fact a loveable little clown, but it wasn’t always so …  We are very proud of him and equally proud of our four other afghans who accepted him into their small pack as if they understood his need for lots of TLC.

Finne was 18 months old when he came to us from a caring foster home with Marcelle, where he spent 5 weeks.  He was terribly underweight and due to the matted condition of his coat when found wandering he had to be clipped off.

At first he would hide behind furniture or crouch under the table and often go frantic inside the cottage banging at the windows in an attempt to get out, as his big problem has been an urge to escape at all costs.  We did all we could to keep him well occupied.  Many walks each day, lots of toys, bones and plenty of cuddles.  He is, however, incredibly nosey and when walking him along the lanes he can stand on his hind legs like a Meerkat so that he can walk along for a short while peering over low hedges, usually at sheep or small calves.  Finne has escaped a few times and on one occasion Bob found him mingling with the sheep.  They looked quite unharmed and although not quite a colour match his silver coat was not easy to spot among the flock.

His other circus act is to do vertical take-offs reaching heights of up to 6 feet bouncing on the spot.  On one walk down towards the river he stopped beside a 6 foot gate that had two Labradors on the other side.  He suddenly flew up in the air his feet reaching the height of the gate.  Luckily, Bob guided him down safely.

Finne is extremely athletic and another “therapy” for him was racing at Warwick.  The first time he raced he ran a fast time but on finishing the race he jumped off the track and sprinted out of the stadium pursued by several concerned onlookers.  He was caught in nearby allotments by a young man who had recently completed the London marathon.  Vanessa, who was also in hot pursuit, came a very close second.  We were full of admiration at the fitness of all three!  We had been teaching Finne to “stay” and at the end of his other races, Roger would act as catcher just next to the track and we would call “stay”.  After a few races he got the hang of stopping with the hare.

Our loveable little clown has been with us since 4 July 2004.  Of course there is never a dull moment with any Affi in the house but we must admit that life has been more exciting than usual for all of us since he joined our gang.

So what would we say about rescuing an Afghan?  For us it has been an experience that at first tugged at our heartstrings but it has enriched our lives with so much fun and laughter.  When we first introduced our Vet to Finne, in his thin, cropped state, the vet looked at him, fussed him and said “Soon you are going to have so much fun with this boy.”  How right he was!  So go ahead, rescue an Afghan.  It is likely to be the most rewarding thing you will ever do.

Bob and Val Buckland and the “boys”  2005