Milo

Me and 'im outdoors have been talking about getting a dog forever.  But in the flat it wouldn't have worked - a whole set of steps and a garden gate to go through before being free to roam.
Now we have a house with a nice big garden and a woodland behind, it suddenly became a possibility.  And with the utility room finished we started talking about it seriously. 

Although we would have liked a puppy we decided that there were so many dogs that need rehoming we should start by looking there.  So one Sunday afternoon at the beginning of June we made the trip out to the Dog Trust centre at Shoreham, being our nearest centre even though it's still over an hours drive away.

There were many dogs who we liked, but most of them wouldn't be able to deal with going to work with 'im outdoors, which was the only way we can have a dog.  No one wants to be left by themselves for 8 hours every day.
After registering our interest and having a good chat with the ladies at the centre we left wondering how long it would take to find someone to live with us.

3 days later and I received a phone call from the Trust.  Were we still interested in a dog.  Yes, I say.  Then they had a 3 year old black Lab called Milo who might interest us.
So the next weekend, on nearly the hottest day of the year so far, we drove down to meet him.  Apparently he is a stray from Wales so Milo isn't his real name, which is why he ignored us when we called him by it.  Otherwise he is a real sweetie.  Very quiet, loves a ball, polite with other dogs but pulls on the lead a bit.  I can't believe anyone would have let him go, but the Trust ladies told us that while it could just be someone had got fed up of him, it was more likely that they had lost their job and couldn't look after him any more or something equally sad.

After visiting him again, having a house visit to make sure the garden was safe and secure and attending an adoption talk - all about dog behaviour and how to help him settle in to his new home, we were able to bring him home.

My car will never be the same!  But mostly he will travel in the truck so that will be better.
Then we had a quiet weekend to bond, mostly with a set of tennis balls and a squeaky chicken. He's a little under weight at the moment so he's on 3 meals a day until he puts on 3kg and I hope to build him up to running with me.
So while we know our lives will never be the same again we very much hope that Milo has now found his forever home.