Miss Eve
Miss Eve was re-homed with Sue in April 2012 when she was seven years old. This is her story, written by Sue.
The Beginning
I decided it was the right time to get another dog - I was thinking a short haired, sable coloured boy. That was until a phone call from Gill "would you consider a long haired white girl?" She had been on her own in the house for a few weeks since her owner died, just being fed and let out by a relative every day. Well, it was love at first sight and I brought her back to Wales.
Miss Eve has a lovely temperament, is great with other dogs but was, and still is, very nervous around strangers, especially men. Her tail goes between her legs and she tries to hide behind me. Given patience and time I hope she will gain confidence to overcome this.
By the way, if you're wondering how she came to be called Miss Eve, it's like this. When I adopted her she was called Misty. Amongst some paperwork I received with her, I discovered that her puppy name had been Eve. I preferred this to Misty, so Gill suggested combining the two names - hence Miss Eve, a name she responded to straightaway.
After being together for just 3 weeks, we went to the Lower Langford show and were awarded a 2nd place rosette for "The Dog Most Like It's Owner".
This photo was taken at our annual dog show in Cheltenham - as you can see, we have matching tails!
Eve absolutely loves going in the car, so we make trips to the beach and the countryside. Tearooms with outdoor seating are popular too, as she is very well-behaved and sits under the table quite happily. We've also been camping to Dorset and, as you can guess, it rained but it was fun if somewhat soggy.
She has had many new experiences since being with me and there are more on the list. We go out for lots of walks and people always comment on how pretty she is, especially the hair behind her ears which looks as if I've used the crimpers on it. She nearly always gets an "awww" from somebody!
A Big Change
Sadly in June 2013, my lovely girl was diagnosed with CDRM. What started out as a bit of claw scraping has now in November, resulted in her not being able to stand or walk properly.
I did some Internet research into the condition and realising that she needed to be kept mobile, decided to get her a set of "Walkin' Wheels". Julie the UK distributor was very helpful. I placed the order before Christmas so that Eve would be able to get used to the wheels before she actually needed them.
The package arrived and Eve was very interested as I unpacked and assembled them. Over the next few days I pushed them around the living room near her, then fitted and adjusted the harness, finally getting her and them together. We now have a routine of doing this without tangling each other's hair in the velcro straps!
The first time she used her wheels, I laid a trail of gravy bones on the carpet then persuaded her to walk along to reach them. (Shepherds will usually do pretty much anything for treats).
She progressed to going outside, just a small way to start with, but she adapted really well and now looks forward to going around the village. Her spatial awareness has improved so she doesn't crash into garden walls any more. It's a bit like driving an HGV - you have to allow more room for the turns!
The wheels fold down easily to fit into my little car and in March 2014
we went to the Botanic Garden in Carmarthenshire for their "Doggy Day".
It was lovely weather and lots of people stopped to ask about her "cart".
It has made a huge difference to us as we can go out and about again and
Eve is able to continue enjoying life. She loves being in her cart and we use
it at least three times a day, so far we have clocked up almost 500 miles.
To protect Eve's feet from scraping the ground I have crocheted pairs of coloured socks to co-ordinate with her various collars and leads. The only problem we then have is "what colour shall we wear today????".
Relaxing after another day out in my cart!
Despite her shyness around people, Eve has proved to be a fantastic ambassador, not only for the breed but for the Charity as well.
Her latest outing was at the Burns Dogs' Day Out event in September 2014, where she was a big hit with everyone who met her - she was having a well-deserved break from duties when this photo was taken.
Further information about Miss Eve's cart can be obtained from:
Walkin' Wheels UK Distributor
tel: 0800 072 3697
mob: 07791 414757
email: julia@wheels4dogs.co.uk
February 2015
I have had to make the heartbreaking decision to say "Goodbye" to my girl before her quality of life deteriorated. She had an extra 14 months thanks to her cart and was happy right up to the end. This slideshow is my tribute to her.
EVE
10 JUNE 2005 - 5 FEBRUARY 2015