Finn Proves the Saying: Third Time’s a Charm!

21st Jul, 2023

Written by Imogen Tarita, Volunteer and Trustee, Cluny Animal Trust

Photography supplied by Roenel Keyon  

Finn was found wandering along the R711 road, a dirty chain around his neck, in March 2022 by my colleague Jan. We assumed that he’d escaped a bad situation.

We posted about the cream-coloured young dog on all of the local groups, but when no one came looking for him (which was probably a good thing), we decided that we needed to help him find a forever home.

We estimated Finn, as we named him, to be an Africanis-cross between 6-10 months old; he was 100% healthy and the only thing “wrong” with him – if you can call it that – is that he was the victim of a DIY tail docking (amputation), so instead of a full tail, he has something in between.

The good news was that our vet checked it out and gave him the all-clear, so we went on to sterilise him and started his vaccination regime. He then went to an amazing foster home in Clarens whilst we began the hunt for a home.

First home

Home #1 really didn’t take that long to find. Literally, the same day we posted, we received a phone call from a family in Johannesburg who were building a home in Fouriesburg. So, with the home check going well and a new sister to call his own, he was taken to Johannesburg, and everything looked peachy. Fast forward five months and his family were getting divorced; the husband had left the home and the wife didn’t want him anymore and wanted to return him. The Cluny team were devastated.

We got him picked up and returned to us, but the foster family couldn’t help us and so Finn came back to our clinic. Although we have a large garden, he had to be locked in a cage at night, which he really didn’t like, and so we set about looking for a new home for him.

Second home

Home #2 started out in August 2022 as a foster home, with a local lady from Clarens whom we know very well. So, you can imagine how thrilled the Cluny team were when we received the call: she wanted to keep him. Finn was our first official foster fail, and we were all over the moon – because Finn deserved a happy ending, right?

So, when the call came in in early January of this year that she couldn’t keep him any longer as he’d become very possessive over her, we all feared the worst.

We have to be honest; the discussion was had as a team that perhaps we’d gotten it all wrong… that perhaps the fantastic dog that we saw really wasn’t that fantastic? Whether we should try a third time to get him adopted? Or did we need to make that tough decision that he wasn’t ever going to find a forever home...? This was a very hard discussion to have to make as a team, especially as we’re pro-life. Jan decided that, before we made any decisions, we needed the input from an amazing local dog trainer, Michelle van Blerk. She’d worked with Finn at Home #2 and said that he was without a doubt one of the smartest dogs she’d ever worked with; he just needed a firm hand, a busy home as he’s high energy, and someone who “speaks Dog”.

So, Finn went back to our clinic. As he loves other dogs, he quickly acclimatised to life with us, and we started the hunt all over again for a third and, we hoped, final forever home.

Third time lucky!

Home #3 – when I received the call from Roenel Keyon about Finn, I couldn’t believe our luck. Roenel had approached us about doing some volunteering work; she’s a vet nurse and, sadly, we never did meet her because she had the most horrendous cold and had to back out of an outreach in early February.

But, as she’s a vet nurse and her husband is a vet, we knew Finn had hit the adoption jackpot. They were relocating back from the UK to a massive home in Durban, close to the beach, and she wanted to rescue a dog. She was following our Facebook page and something about Finn’s picture and his story just resonated with her.

We began the adoption process and the rest, as they say, is history. Now, one thing you won’t know is that Dr Elsa, our vet, really fell in love with Finn (she calls him “our special dog”), and the day we made the decision that the adoption had been approved, she leant down and whispered in his ear that we’d found the perfect mom and dad for him and that he was going home.

I truly wish we had a picture to capture that moment. We all believe that Finn understood every word she said. He gazed up at her – he was definitely listening – and then all of a sudden, he took off and raced around our clinic garden like a complete looney; he had us all in stitches of laughter! At the end of the zoomies, this was what he looked like: one happy, happy, happy dog.

We’re still pinching ourselves, and the whole Cluny team are thrilled at how well this adoption has gone. He’s living the life he deserves, and we’re all amazed at Roenel who shares loads of photos of him pooped out after a day of fun, fun, and more fun.

It just goes to show that you just have to keep at it; you have to keep posting about an animal. Because someone, somewhere out there will see what you see and will fall in love!

Roenel, Finn’s guardian, shares...

I saw Finn’s post on the Cluny Animal Trust Facebook page and loved his goofy smile.

I wasn’t really looking to adopt a dog as I have a 15-year-old scruff ball who’s very special to me. However, living in my new house with the huge garden and the beach close by, I thought that having a young, active friend for Jess would be good for her.

I contacted Imogen, but we could only take Finn three weeks later as we were going on holiday and were also still awaiting for our furniture to arrive.

When it was time for him to join our family, we picked Finn up in Harrismith and drove another four hours home to Port Shepstone. He was exhausted on arrival. He immediately latched on to me.

The next morning was our first visit to the beach. He was intrigued and kept pulling on the lead. I let him off, he did a few zoomies and came straight back. Ever since then he walks off-lead everywhere we go.

He’s settled in amazingly well. Finn and Jess are now enjoying their walks on the beach every day. He’s made more doggie friends on the beach; Meraai, a neighbourhood dog, is his favourite friend. Finn has a foot fetish and loves nibbling on toes – visitors are welcomed with a toe lick and nibble. He hates the monkeys and has made it his responsibility to keep them out of the garden.

He’s also very serious about guarding the house and lies at the big glass door keeping watch.

He’s my shadow, but he isn’t too fond of car rides and happily stays at home to look after his house when I need to go out.

Finn’s a very special doggo; highly intelligent, high energy, but so loving and friendly towards everyone he meets. He’s been a wonderful addition to our family!

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