Now, I can't think of the next boy without feeling such sadness for him.
Trooper was given to me by a breeder who was too old to be breeding dogs and consequently she did not socialise them or care for them properly. He was locked in a shed until I got him at around a year of age, behaving, by then, like he'd suffered a nervous breakdown. Poor dog! He never fully recovered, though I know we gave him a happier life. This photo was taken the day a friend picked him up for me and she just had to wait for the dog to stop running around in circles so she could take it. I class him as a rescue and am glad he's at peace now. Bad me, but when his breeder died, my first thought was "Well, she won't traumatise another dog like that."