Tickle (was Bourneville) is a small, pretty, spirited girl, just 9 months old when she arrived from Ireland in February.  Now the sharp-eyed among you may spot that she is not entirely black... or, indeed, a retriever and for that we can blame Mary, who spotted her picture on an Irish web site and decided we couldn’t refuse!

And Mary is a good judge because Tickle is GORGEOUS!  Although, blimey, if we had known the scrapes she was going to get into...

Poor Tickle had a very sad start in life -  first neglected then chucked out by her owners.   When a kind neighbour asked after her, she was told Tickle had gone missing and the neighbour took it upon herself to look for her. She found Tickle in a local pound where she was about to be put to sleep so took her back to the owners - who said they didn’t want her.  It turned out the owners had surrendered her to the pound knowing she would be euthanased.

Tickle was scared rigid when she first arrived  with us from Ireland  poor mite, but grew quickly in confidence and we found a lovely home for her in Somerset. Unfortunately, she escaped from their car the moment they arrived home with her and we had a heart-stopping five days trying to catch her as she ran away from anyone who got near her. Eventually, at 1am one chilly Sunday night, she jumped into the back of my car where I was camping out with her best friend, Boz. It was a very moving reunion. For the whole dramatic story, see here.

So we feel Tickle has made up her own mind about where she wants to be and she has now officially joined my other three, who all adore her - as does my partner Jon into whose arms she leaps when he comes home. (Amazing when you consider how nervous of men she was when she arrived). Tickle is fun, feisty, playful and very loving. A very special little girl indeed.

Jemima

Black Retriever X Rescue

(updated 12/4/07)