Working dog retirement

[Moon.lei]

I am a dog handler and had worked with Monty for a year when the company that employed "us" went bust. Long story short we adopted him and as I am now pregnant he no longer works - hes gone from a hard done by working dog to the life of Riley! As he was previously a company owned dog I do not hold any of his paper work but I do know he has pedigree history and was trained as a police dog in his youth.


working dog agility training - Monty loves it!

We dont know how old he is or his medical history, he had a retained testicle when I adopted him in 2009 and has since been completely neutered. His previous handler did not treat him particularly great, he was left alone in a small run for best part or the day with little stimulation and very few toys. He gnawed bricks and concrete which ground down his teeth, he weighed very little (between 26-30kg in the 2 years the previous handler cared for him) due to what we now believe was separation anxiety. Since I took over his care he went from 28kg to 38g, it took patience to get him to be interested in his food, starting with me feeding him by hand and mixing in meat to entice him. After 6 months he weighed a healthy 42kg and has stayed steady to that weight now and finishes his meal most days without being told to.


Since "retirement" he gets to sleep in the house and instead of the draughty old kennel he has a bed in front of the fire!

He was scruffy and looked older when he first came to us, he rarely wagged his tail and had been passed from pillar to post for most of his life. Now has a shiny well cared for coat, lots of walks and plenty of fetch. He still has bad teeth and grey muzzle but looks much more full of life, a happy and well rounded dog. In the future I hope we can go back to work together but as I'm soon to be a mummy its looking un-likely, so I am just as happy to have him as my pet and best friend - we have fallen in love with his intelligence and his smile! My husband is in the army and often away, I love having Monty there to protect me and keep me company


Spoilt rotten - he gets people food treats every so often

[Hillary_Plog]

What a great story! It sounds like you and your husband have a new best friend...and thanks to you, Monty has a new life!

Congratulations on getting your boy back to health and finding it in your heart to take and care for him!

[Pattycakes]

What a wonderful story! Congratulations on your new best friend! He looks great!

Thanks for sharing!

[Moon.lei]

Thanks guys, I'm glad he gets to stay with us although he (and me too actually) does miss working. Security dogs get the bottom of the barrel handler wise (if you pay peanuts you get monkeys eh?) and sometimes don't get the best people to care for them - but Monty got lucky here and is now spoilt - even now its great to see him excited and drooling when I do his dinner, with a bit of attention he is a totally new dog