Shadow and I have had a lovely Christmas. We set off yesterday afternoon, via the vet since Shadow's arthritis became so acute he was unable to weight bear until part way through the day. Several hundred dollars, an injection and five days of medication later, we arrived at Barb's and settled in for the afternoon. Since dinner did not finish until 9 we stayed over. Shadow and Barbara's one remaining dog worked out an accommodation (not exactly friends, but not hackling up at all - just mutually ignoring each other, and Barbara's cat, after working out Shadow was not charging, just turned his back and got on with what he was doing. Overnight, not a single problem which was a relief. They were all good friends by breakfast time. Sat and drank tea and ate toast for a bit then we wandered off into the distance.

Called into the Dog's Home with little hope of finding anything (they only had staffy crosses on the website), but found a nice 14 month old Labrador x hound who looks a lot like Shadow. He has a very dark brindle coat with a broad black streak down his spine and a thin white streak on his chest.  He and Shadow got along well in the introduction pen (once they stopped long enough to pay attention to each other, what with all the interesting smells there) and so Buckley will be coming home on Sunday. I have yet to break this to the cats, lol.

He will not be going outside except on an extension leash that I got back from Barb while I was there (I had loaned it to her while her elderly dog was still active, but too deaf to respond to commands any more - Ben passed away a few months ago). That is until he learns commands and respond reliably to call. Last thing I want to do is add to the wandering dog problem in this neighbourhood. But he seems fairly dim, very placid and steady so I expect we will be getting along just fine in the near future. Shadow will have someone to play with so he gets more activity to keep his limbs lubricated and Buckley will learn how to be a proper dog according to my household's rules.