Kerry Hudson: A bottomless pit of love: how a 'last chance' dog has changed our lives

This month we’re desperately in need of good news stories, with February being the bleakest month, freezing and endless with spring, let alone summer, seeming so very, very far away. So, like many folk, I latched onto a recent Herald article about a wonderful Glaswegian dementia assistance dog, Lenny, looking for a home.

This young labrador will help someone in a mild stage of dementia live at home with a full-time carer as part of a collaborative project between Alzheimer Scotland and Dogs for Good. It will be the 10th time the team has placed a dog in a Scottish home since this project was launched a decade ago.

Let me tell you, it did my wizened, wintered heart good to think of that dog bringing happiness to someone. It seems that I'm not the only one clinging on to the press equivalent of cute dog videos at this time of year: another recent article in the Guardian explored "last-chance pets and the people who rescue them". Featuring tales of incontinence and bad knees and yet untold rewards in spite of it all.

Chronic illness: Kerry Hudson says the best medicine is sensitivity

I can personally heartily recommend a senior pet. Johny, our staffy-labrador mix (read giant, muscular, a canine bottomless pit for both food and physical affection) was already nine years old by the time we adopted him. The grown children of his former owner said that they hoped........

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