PEDIGREE ADOPTION DRIVE ..... 17th - 21st October 2011

Today is the start of a very special week , the PEDIGREE ADOPTION DRIVE . Anytime during this week  you can visit this blog page and take RIPLEY , the campaign dog , for a  'virtual' walk .
Every time RIPLEY is walked  PEDIGREE will release  £1 donation from their £100,000 total fund . I hope all of you will participate in this exciting and vital project . The money raised will help Rescue Centres across the country  help more abandoned dogs to find a safe haven , where they can have their broken , unloved little bodies restored and where they can stay until new homes are found .
Too many dogs end up having one  'Last Walk' ......... the walk to the vets and the fatal injection .
With this in mind , I have written a story with two possible endings . I would be grateful if you would read it and choose the appropriate end  and then I would like you to take  RIPLEY for a walk .

So here is Timmys story , his fate and the fate of all abandoned dogs , is in your hands .


                                                         Timmy's Walk .

Timmy was sure today was a special day . He walked around his small enclosure and sniffed the air . The only window was high above his head . Far too high to jump up and catch a glimpse of the outside world , He knew because he had tried . Bouncing up and down like a black and white hairy beach ball, ears flopping and back legs aching , until he was exhausted . The window was slightly open and through the gap floated so many delicious smells , so many interesting scents .
He wandered over to his water bowl and gave it a shove with his paw , stuck his black nose into the water and blew bubbles . Oh , that was fun , so he tried it again , snorting and snuffling and shaking his head .
Tiring of his game , he went and lay in his little bed , cuddled into his fleecy blanket and started to lick his paws .
At least he was safe here , safe from the terrifying experience of being abandoned . He had been discarded like rubbish , pushed out of a car by the family he loved , straight onto a busy road , left to his fate .
He had picked himself up out of a muddy puddle , dragged his bruised little body to the pavement and crept under a bench next to a bus stop.  There he lay , bewildered , shivering with cold and soaking wet . Cars rushed by sending up huge sprays of muddy water , making him even wetter and colder .
Some boys came by and began throwing stones at the bedraggled little dog , laughing at his lop-sided ears and scruffy, patchy coat . Timmy fled , yelping as a stone struck him on his rump . He ran , straight into the path of an oncoming car , heard the screeching of brakes and the shouted abuse from the startled driver . On he ran , on and on , too afraid to stop , searching for a safe haven . Tired and aching he found himself near a little parade of shops . Some cardboard boxes had been put out , ready for tomorrows waste collection . Climbing inside the largest one , Timmy sheltered from the rain and wondered what he had done wrong . He was cold , he was hungry and he was all alone .
It was here that the kindly lady had found him the next morning . A little scrap curled up tight , shivering and afraid . She had brought him here , to this place , where he had been bathed and dried and  wrapped in fleecy towels . He had been fed and taken care of , given his own little pen . A tiled floor , three solid walls and one huge steel gate .
Strange people walked by each day and looked at him . Families with giggling children peered at him through the bars and sometimes he was taken out to meet them , out into the corridor . The children kneeled down, made a fuss of him and stroked his sparse coat , but the adults looked at each other over the childrens kneeling bodies and shook their heads and he heard the words  " Too old ".
And so time passed .
He didn't know how long he had been here , but he knew there was something special about today . He had been examined by the white-coated girls who looked after him and they seemed to have made more of a fuss of him than usual . Yes , something special was definitely going to happen today .............


Story Ending Option A

The gate of the pen opened and one of the white-coated girls came in . Tenderly she clipped a lead to his thin red collar and patted him gently . Then , together they walked down the long corridor to the room at the end . A kindly man waited and Timmy was lifted onto a table .  What was going on ? The girl reassured him as the man used a weird buzzing thing to shave a patch on  Timmy's leg and then , as the girl held him tightly in her arms , Timmy felt the slight scratch of a needle ...............................................


Story Ending Option B

The gate of the pen opened and a white-coated girl came in . Tenderly , she bent and clipped a lead to his thin red collar and then she stood up . Looking past the girl ,  Timmy saw an elderly couple waiting in the corridor . He was sure he had seen them just the day before . He had liked them . They had patted him and played with him and he hadn't heard the words   " Too old " . No, what was it he had heard  ?  Oh yes  , " Just right "
The elderly lady bent down and placed a kiss on his scruffy little head ,
" Come on darling ," she said , " Come on , you are going to your new home !  Oh , you are going to love it . We will love you and take care of you . Don't be afraid . Oh, the walks we shall have ............."
Timmy looked up at them and he felt safe . Then he padded happily down the corridor with his new family . Just before they reached the room at the end , they turned right , through big double doors and together the three of them walked out into the sunshine .


So , which option did you choose ?  I'm sure you are all yelling
" Option B , option B "
Lets try to ensure that all abandoned dogs get their happy ending . Take Ripley for a  'virtual' walk and help PEDIGREE give more dogs like Timmy a second chance .