Written by Julia Travis, PlumPets Social Media
Professional photography by Nat Gold ZA
Skylar lost her human Dad, Ivan Greybe, in March 2022. He’d adopted her as a young puppy from the SPCA and she was his whole world, and he was hers. She was being looked after by Ivan’s son, but she urgently needed a place to call home and he was unable to keep her.
Skylar is a senior dog with epilepsy, and this made her a “tough sell”, but when the PlumPets team met her in May 2022, we knew we had to help. Skylar, a sweet and gentle German Shepherd girl, was in surprisingly good condition, and we were convinced she had another chapter still left in her life. So, we got to work on social media, spreading her story and looking for that “one-in-a-million” family who’d see the potential we saw and take her on.
In June 2022, Noordhoek resident Anthea Rickard contacted us after seeing the post for Skylar and said she’d like to meet her. She had a German Shepherd cross named Kyle who was around eight years old, and although he got on well with other dogs, he was quite vocal when other dogs paid his Mom too much attention. He’d had a bad start, picked up by law enforcement in 2019 running on the R43, and from his condition it was clear he’d been on the road a long time. Anthea had done lots of work with him and they were very bonded, so we knew that getting the introduction right would be vital. We met up in a neutral place and did a slow intro between Skylar and Kyle. The intro went well, apart from some possessive barking, although there was no aggression from Kyle and Skylar wasn’t reactive in any way.
We decided not to push things too quickly, so we didn’t send her home with Anthea immediately. We rather made another plan to meet up a few days later and did another meet-and-greet, this time in their home. Jessica and Andrew (our volunteer couple who help with intros) took Skylar for a walk with their pack to get a sense of her temperament and then headed out to Noordhoek for a home introduction. Things went well, and with some small adjustments and suggestions for dealing with Kyle’s behaviour and managing Skylar’s anxiety in a new place, they felt confident about letting Skylar stay.
And stay she has, as Anthea and her partner, Suzie, embraced Skylar and decided to offer her a new life. Slow intros were also needed with their cat. Skylar’s epilepsy was a bit unstable initially, but it settled. A lump on her underside was picked up during the rehoming process, which created some cause for concern. We held our breath hoping this wouldn’t mean a different ending for Skylar, but Anthea was undeterred by this and said she’d still take her on, no matter the outcome. Skylar was seen by Anthea’s vet and the fluid taken from the lump thankfully showed no sign of cancerous cells. Skylar later had a successful procedure to remove this fatty lump.
Skylar has now been with Anthea and Suzie for 18 months. Skylar and Kyle are getting on well and Anthea and Suzie adore her. There have been some health challenges, and the couple have made sure Skylar has the best possible care. Skylar is having the most amazing time in her new home, and she and Kyle have become a great duo. She also fit in beautifully with the extended pack (their dogs go on daily walks with friends and their dogs on the surrounding trails and on beach walks in the area).
We couldn’t be more overjoyed that Skylar found her special forever home with Anthea, Suzie and brother Kyle. We’re grateful for human angels like Anthea who are willing to take on senior dogs with medical issues and give them a second chance.
We’re sure that Ivan’s resting peacefully knowing his beloved Skylar has a place to call home.
Anthea shares...
One evening, just over 18 months ago, I received a message from a friend with a link to PlumPets Animal Shelter’s post about a 10-year-old GSD whose person had died and who now found herself all alone and looking for a new home.
I looked across the room at my ±8-year-old GSD-wanna-be rescue, Kyle, wondering what he’d feel about sharing his space… and promptly sent a message asking if Skylar was still looking for a home. I got an instant response saying that she was and explaining what I should do next. Between Paulette and Judy from PlumPets and me, we addressed the preliminaries until quite late that night. My partner, Suzie, is a retired nursing sister and wasn’t at all daunted about Skylar’s epilepsy. I think we were all very excited that there may be an answer to Skylar’s search.
Judy did our home check and handed us over to Julia to set up a “meet-and-greet”. Julia fetched Skylar and brought her to the neutral venue, and Kyle and Skylar (or “Skyles”, as they’ve become called collectively) did surprisingly well on their first meet, sniffing each other occasionally, but largely just ignoring each other. We were very excited that this could actually work!
After the second meet-and-greet, Skylar came home, and we haven’t looked back. She settled into her new home within a few days, and it soon felt as if she’d always been with us. Her epilepsy stabilised very quickly, and she seldom has a fit now. When she does, they’re mild.
She’s such a character! We initially had a baby gate in place to keep our elderly cat separate, but Madam Skylar quietly cleared the baby gate, went into the room the cat was in, ignored the cat (thankfully), and emerged, once again jumping over the baby gate, carrying a full bowl of wet cat food in her mouth! Antics like this keep us constantly amused. She quickly worked out the rhythm of the days and is ready for morning and afternoon walks and knows which meals are followed by biscuits when her humans have coffee!
Kyle has settled very well and lost a lot of his anxiety now that he has someone sharing his life. On group walks he now joins the other dogs (sometimes 12 or 14 of them) instead of sticking by my side. Skylar is full of energy and quite a daredevil when we’re only out with Kyle. She just launches off highish banks into the water below! When we’re in a bigger group, though, she stays glued to my side. She loves her walks, all forms of water and exploring the beautiful spaces around the Peninsula. She’s now 11.5 but still has such a zest for life that Suzie will have to wait a while yet for her “armchair” dog!
I’ve always had a soft spot for older dogs, especially older rescue dogs. It feels to me as if they’ve given their best years already and then been abandoned at their most vulnerable, for many different, usually sad, reasons. We’re so pleased that Skylar found her way to us and is living her retirement life to the full and that we could honour the life Ivan had given her into her older years. She’s really completed our family and continues to bring us so much laughter and happiness. (We hope for Ivan too!)
No-one else was able to open their homes to Skylar at that point in time, but as Paulette said, “It only takes one.” We’re so happy to have been Skylar’s “one”.
P.S. To Kim – we’ll always be very grateful that you sent the link on to us. And to our fantastic vet, Dr Tracy Dicks, for all your care and help in getting Skylar back to her best self.
