Nearly five months after being found in dire condition in the Okanagan backcountry, a nine-year-old Labrador retriever mix has found a forever home.
According to the BC SPCA, Fish had a body score of one out of nine when he wandered out of the woods in a remote area of Enderby, close to Kingfisher, back in July.
Fortunately, there was a good Samaritan there to get the emaciated dog, who was covered in sores, to the BC SPCA’s Shuswap animal centre.
Since then, it’s been a slow and meticulous recovery for Fish before he was finally made available for adoption late in 2023.
Just before the holidays, he was adopted by a retired couple who promise to give a dog that has been through so much the endless amounts of love and attention he deserves in his final years.
Tony and Darlene decided to adopt Fish after grieving the loss of their rescue dog Abby to illness in the summer.
“We read a story about Fish and we just knew he was our dog,” Tony explained of the decision to send in an application to adopt the dog, which was accepted.
The BC SPCA said in August that Fish was “so sad looking” when he was found in July, but that couldn’t have been further from the truth when Tony and Darlene picked him up.
“We walked out of the animal centre and when we opened the door to our truck he jumped right in. He didn’t hesitate at all,” noted Tony.
Darlene added that the couple has had a number of rescues over the years, but none have settled in quite as fast as Fish.
“Considering everything he has been through, his trust in people is just amazing,” she said. “He is just so loving and big hearted.”
Beyond Tony and Darlene, another family member was waiting for Fish when they first brought him home.
The couple says that Ballou, a rescue cat that had been very close to Abby, greeted Fish when he arrived and they’ve quickly become very close.
Fish has been nothing but calm and gentle around Ballou and it didn’t take long for them to start taking naps together on the couch.
“Ballou was missing Abby terribly,” noted Tony. “He loves to spend time with Fish and is excited to see him when he gets back from his walks.”
Fish is a huge fan of walks and will even pick up Tony and Darlene’s shoes or boots to try and hurry up the process as he paces around excitedly waiting to go outside.
“We have an amazing dog beach right by the lake that he loves. He has been so good with other dogs and just loves meeting new people,” said Darlene.
“We just want to make Fish the happiest dog we can. We are retired so there is always someone at home with him. Whatever he needs, he gets.”
“He rescued me,” Tony added.
