JMICAWE Activities: Mothi the Thai rescue Dog: My first year living in Edinburgh

Wednesday, 13 August 2014

Mothi the Thai rescue Dog: My first year living in Edinburgh

Mothi - 1 year on

by Heather Bacon

Good friends: Stewart, Mothi and Mathilda (l-r)

Next week is the first anniversary of the terrible Thai twins, Mothi and Stewart arriving here in Bonny Scotland.

Time certainly has flown! I remember a year ago arriving at Edinburgh airport to collect them and being delighted that Mothi still remembered her name! Introductions with my Chinese street dog Mathilda went well, and over the past year they’ve grown even closer.

But we’ve had rough times too – earlier this year we had a scare when Mothi , chasing Mathilda across a muddy field, collapsed screaming and lame. So painful she became aggressive, we were fortunately able to restrain her and quickly locate the source of her pain – a luxated patella which I quickly replaced. A trip to the R(D)SVS confirmed my fears and surgery was scheduled to correct the luxation.

As you can imagine, She was pretty sad after the surgery, but what I hadn’t anticipated (rather naively) was how much she would hate crate restriction. Unsurprisingly for a dog that had experienced the horrors of the meat trade, caging in a shelter, and air transport from Thailand, crates did not represent a ‘happy place’ for Mothi, and whilst she wasn’t destructive she was tense and nervous. Thankfully after a bit of creative thinking we found a fabric crate which she absolutely loves, and which was a great alternative to the metal one…

…Which is lucky as she managed to avulse her tibial crest 6 weeks post-op, requiring a second surgery, and a further 6 weeks crate rest!

We’re finally back to normal with Mothi enjoying her new found freedom (and me keeping my fingers crossed that our time in the orthopaedic ward is over!). But despite the worry, I’m so glad that she’s with me. As I write this, she’s curled up on the sofa, chasing rabbits in her sleep. She has lots of friends (both human and canine) here in Edinburgh and is one of the nosiest, loving and resilient little dogs I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. I know my life is brighter for having her, and I like to think that hers is too.