ZIM
Sex/colour: Male Black tan and white
D.0.B: approx 2009
Breed: Lurcher poss Greyhound-Saluki- Border Collie mix
Came to AfG: August 2010
ZIM was first found starved, almost bald curled up in a couples large
garden in a remote area of the Fenlands.
They took him to their vet who did skin scrapings later discovered to be
mange mites.
Zim was estimated to be approximately 6 moths of age, not to know
exactly, due to his emaciated condition caused by abuse and neglect.
Once Zim responded well to the treatment and was treated for internal
parasites and ate regular meals, his body condition soon improved.
The vet told the couple Zim would be quite a large dog (possibly
Greyhound size) once he had fully grown.
Once he became fitter, the people found he was hard work to look after
with boundless energy.
We were contacted to see if we were able to take Zim and we could as we
had a suitable foster home for him.
AfG gave him the name Zim.
Although Zim settled into his foster home quickly in the company of
other adult rescued Sighthounds, it took a lot more, time, patience and
proper training to socialise him in the outside world.
Dear Zim had missed out on all this throughout his vital stages of
puppyhood where he would have needed so much mental and physical
stimulation.
The people who found him were not able to take him for long walks and
instead took him on a field allowing him to run beside a fence when
trains passed by at speed.
So this caused a lot of issues when he was walked by roadsides, being
reactive to mainly motorcycles and cyclists.
After a lot of introductions and treats, Zim soon overcame this behavior.
He was happy in the company of other ‘well behaved’ Sighthounds, which
helped him progress too.
He was a very intelligent hound, eager to learn and to experience new
adventures.
He was good with people and other dogs and good with recall so was able
to have lots of free running on large parks and beaches.
Zim was in foster care for almost 12 months until a suitable home came
along.
Zim accompanied AfG on some fundraising awareness events.
On one occasion we met a couple who had 2 other rescue dogs, both
females, a Lurcher and a Collie Cross.
They had rescued dogs for many years and always had females.
We told them, currently Zim was the only hound we had ready for adoption.
So a homecheck was arranged.
Introductions went so well with the two female hounds, so Zim was adopted.
His adopters said he was probably the most loving, affectionate hound
they had ever rescued, so were very pleased they chose to adopt a male
after all.
Zim continued to enjoy many new experiences and adventures in his
forever home.
Photos below show Zim when rescued and his progress into a stunning
hound (shown also in the photos at the top of his page).
