Maggie May - her story

We first met Maggie on the day she had arrived from Liverpool at our local RSPCA shelter. She was tired, nervous, very thin, filthy and absolutely beautiful. We were smitten at first sight, she was introduced to Toby our staffie cross and was very friendly. After the home check we were told she was ours. Maggie had been born on the streets of Liverpool and had lived wild for most of her first year. She was eventually caught by the RSPCA and taken to their shelter. Due to overcrowding she was transferred down South. Our first job was to bath her and give her five small meals a day to fatten her up. She wasn´t house trained but thankfully was a quick learner. During her first year we spent more time at the vets than we did at home. She was always poorly and on antibiotics, matters came to a head when she threw a temperature of 107 and we nearly lost her. Untreated kennel cough whilst on the streets had damaged her lungs - the prognosis was not good. However our Maggie was a fighter and did pull through. Our vet said we would have to take great care of her and that she was unlikely to make old age. After much heart searching we decided to let her live a normal life and not wrap her up in cotton wool - better a happy short life than a long miserable life. Maggie seemed to agree with us and took great delight in living her life to the full. She is such a naughty dog and is a typical Liverpudlian - big personality, cheeky, with a wicked sense of humour. She actually smiles at you when caught up to mischief. She is now 13, so much for not making old age! She has a dickie ticker, dodgy lungs, chronic kidney disease, poor sight and few teeth . Despite this she is still very much a puppy at heart, still charges around the garden having mock battles with Sam until she is breathless. She is still a thief and her favourite snack is a worm or something from the compost heap. She and Sam have many toys and she plays with all of them despite her health she has a good quality of life and still manages to add to my grey hairs most days! Do I regret giving her a home No! She is worth every penny of the fortune she has cost me over the years.