Reader, we kept him

Yogi chillaxing....

So you know we fostered little Yogi the Saluki X, just over Christmas, just to keep him safe from harm and to let him experience a little home life before he went on to a more permanent home?

Well from the moment that little sod set paw in our house he was on a charm offensive the like of which I've never seen before. He made every dog and every person he met fall completely under his spell. He even charmed Mark's mum to the extent that she suggested we keep him! But it was Sheba our snooty Saluki that he charmed most thoroughly. He is her BFF, her partner in crime, her little brother for blaming things on and her big brother for hiding behind. They are quite simply inseparable. And while we initially tried to tell ourselves that having a wee mate might cure her of her worst habits, we now accept that all he does is exacerbate them. But sod it, they are having a great time.

With Sheba, playing "bitey face"

Poor little Yogi had a rotten start in life; he was underweight and terrified of people when he was found. By the time we got him he was still a bit underweight but had decided he loved people; he always has to have at least a paw touching you and ideally prefers full body contact.

We are putting weight on him with the time honoured pilchard porridge diet - cheap, delicious (apparently) and digestible. After 4 weeks his ribs and spine still show a little but his pin bones are covered and he's starting to build up some muscles. Give him a few more months and he'll be the handsomest little pup in Belfast and a fitting escort for Sheba (the Greta Garbo of dogs).

I'll keep you posted on his progress but he's another great example of what brilliant pets sighthounds make. Big thanks to Kildare & West Wicklow SPCA for rescuing him in the first place and to Kildare Animal Foundation and Sighthound Strolls for organising the foster and subsequent adoption.

Pilchard porridge (for putting weight on rescue dogs) 
1 mug porridge oats
1 mug goats milk
1 mug water
3 tinned pilchards ( half a 400g tin)
Grated cheese (optional)
 Make porridge with the first three ingredients, cool a little, mix with pilchards and cheese, cool. Makes 2 breakfasts for a hungry dog to supplement their dinner of Chappie wet & dry.