Mr Alan & Mrs Carole Wall

by Alan Wall
(Blyth, Nortumberland, England)

Our story starts when we lived in South Africa and we got a golden cocker spaniel from a building site in Skilpadfontein which was unwanted by the site manager.

He said it was about two year old.

We really loved him, his name was Higgi, but unfortunately he took very sick after we had had him for seven months.

Apparently he had had hook worm among other things before we got him. We tried our best to save him and had him at the vets on numerous occasions and eventually in the large animal hospital in Odesteport Pretoria. He died and we cried our eyes out and wanted another cocker as he had been such a loving dog.

Well we went to Waltloo dog shelter in Pretoria and we could not see another cocker and were just about to leave when this terribly thin, smelly, tick ridden cocker appeared wagging its tail (all our previous dogs had docked tails).

The wife immediately said let's have him and I said no because he looked terrible. My wife said, look he's wagging his tail and his eyes are saying, please, please, please, take me.

Well we got him the next day, and took him home.

We called him Wally and he turned out to be our beautiful loving cocker for many years to come.

When we decided to return to the U.K. in 1999 he came with us along with his big brother, Rommel, another rescue dog (Weimeramer).

Wally eventually died in 2008 aged seventeen and a half and will forever be in our hearts.

Wally and Rommel were the first dogs from South Africa (certificates to proof it) to come in to the quarantine kennels in Rowlands Gill in Northumberland.