Update on the abandoned lurcher.

Glyn the lurcher is now renamed Lewis! He is so quiet but is clearly very weak and so pleased to be safe, he rarely moves from his comfortable bed where he lies snuggled up on a Winnie the Pooh hot water bottle cover in which I have placed a heated pad.There is very little life and expression in his eyes though today his tail flickered a little when he saw me which is encouraging. If only animals could tell us their history - or would we really want to know? For this chap, his life is just beginning and I have no doubt that each day he will be a bit stronger and more responsive to the care he is receiving but for now he seems to be just content to be fed and have somewhere warm and cosy to sleep. Trisha from the Porthmadog shop came to see him and she was horrified, the photos do not show just how malnourished he really is, it is doubtful he would have survived many more days without food and water. Of course until the Vet sees him tomorrow, we cannot be sure his problem is from food being witheld, he may have an underlying health issue but he is drinking and eating normally though we will know for sure after the Vet visit. He somehow reminds me of my lovely William, he is similar in size though William was never in this condition, not even when he first arrived from the Dog Pound all those years ago. Anyone who has had a lurcher will know how sensitive these dogs are and yet they are one of the breeds which so often fall into the wrong hands. They are too often used by' the wrong sort' for hunting and kept kennelled (not always in ideal conditions), yet they are incredibly gentle dogs who feel the cold and are very nesh with a very low threshold of pain.I think possibly that is why I have always felt such empathy with them! William and I were two of a kind. It is always dreadful to see neglected dogs but knowing lurchers as I do, they are so less able to deal with trauma in their lives and sink into a form of depression so easily.
When I lived in Liverpool I had a brindle greyhound cross called Lucy whom I had as a pup.She was one of a litter rescued from Gypsies and I managed to home all but one within a week or so of them arriving.By the time I homed Lucy, she was 6 months old and when she went to her new home she cried every day until the new owners returned her. On arrival back to me she ran round to each of my dogs and licked each one, then climbed up on to a chair, heaved an enormous sigh(of relief?) ,closed her eyes and went to sleep for forty eight hours! Of course I had no heart to try to home her again and she stayed with me until she died at the age of 13 years.
PS: Thanks for the comments, I know his story has touched many hearts.