We kept what you are about to read quiet for a while …… but now the time has come to tell Rumble's story. As least as much as we feel we can today.

Rumble was part of a loving home from the age of 8 weeks. He was owned by a couple and from what we know from a heartbreaking long letter written by his daddy he was the centre of attention. The lady was at home all day with him, the husband working some 90 minutes journey from home. One autumn evening in 2004 his owner arrived home to find Rumble in the garden sat with the body of his wife who had tragically died suddenly.

Life was never to be the same for Rumble. His owner tried to keep Rumble… but being absent from home 12 hrs a day leaving Rumble by himself he knew was not fair. In late 2005 he had to make his heartbreaking decision to let Rumble move on to a new life he realised that Rumble “had a lot of loving and a lot of running left in him”.....being 8 years of age ….the condition for rehoming from his daddy was ….

“That his daddy be given an absolute promise that he would be taken good care of, for ever, will never be smacked” He described Rumble as a loving and much loved home boy.. ..but he now needs a new home.

Rumble from what we understand went to the kennels where he had boarded during holidays since being a puppy and the intention being to rehome him from there. The first rehoming lasted less than 24 hrs…..he wiped his wet beard on the sofa. Back to the kennels he went. The next home we are unsure how long he was there but at some point he growled at a child when being cuddled and was immediately returned to the kennels. In January this year, he was, as a number of Planet Airedale Members know, rehomed and then in less than a week he was again returned to the kennels having bitten the new owner whilst being cuddled.

We felt compelled to find out what had become of Rumble. We were to learn that he was still in the kennels. He had always had a special diet for a food allergy and if his diet was changed and if given the wrong food his skin erupted in sores…… wet eczema. On the last two rehomings he had returned to he kennels on the wrong food and with sores. He had been seen by the vet and with medication “his skin was healing nicely”? He was being accessed by staff and a different person handed him every day with no problems.  He just loved a big fuss and giving wet kisses.

We asked if they could consider letting him come to a home with other Dales. After talking at length with the kennels on the Sunday, arrangements were made for us to make the long journey to bring him home on the following Friday. Later that day we learned he was to have a check-up at vets Friday morning…we arranged to be there in time to go to the vets so we could fully understand about Rumble’s problem. The following day we heard, quote…. “his back is still very sore and I don't think it's fair to leave him until Friday (although that is when the vet has told us to take him back). Also, if he needs medication (which I think he will,) we might as well get him started again rather than wait and he can have a follow-up appointment on Friday.” ….. We were not to be too upset when we saw his back. He was going to the vets now Tuesday morning.

We suggested it may not be in Rumble’s best interests at this time to subject him to a long journey (290 miles) and a new home with four Dales. Tuesday morning Rumble was seen by a vet and his “wet eczema” was given new tablets and to be bathed with special shampoo that day and every fourth day. The vet felt it would be beneficial for Rumble to go to his new home as his problems may now also be stress related from being in a kennel. He was to be seen again on the Friday before coming home with us.

Nothing had prepared us for the boy we met………….he was in a dreadful state his poor body a mass of sores he was so thin…and he stunk!

We went to the vets with him …however this was a large practice and the vet had never seen him before. He read from the notes that Rumble had “wet eczema” and was on tablets. A very “brief” look at him yielded yet more tablets. We asked for a copy of Rumble’s veterinary notes to give to our vet, as we had already spoken to our vet and for continuity of treatment Rumble would see her a week after settling in with us.

We were handed a full copy of his records for our vet from him being eight weeks old to date.

It’s important to say whilst at the vets word spread that Rumble and his new owners were there….and staff from all over came out to hug Rumble and wish him well in his new home….they had known him since he was a puppy and he is now almost nine years of age. Our point…remember this is a dale that this has bitten.

We know Rumble went into the kennels with all his own “kit” as it was referred to by his daddy…..collars, leads, pads, duvets, bowls and toys….he left with us and his water bowl?

Before arriving home with Rumble, we had made our minds up he was going to see our vet first thing Monday morning……………Rumble should not be in this appalling state. His introduction to our dales was extremely important and had to be handled correctly…………… whilst the new boy was important, our four Dales meant the world to us. To cut a long story short within an hour of being in the house things were going well and they spent the night in the kitchen asleep on their beds. We however spent the next three nights down stairs in the den…on hand should the need arise.

Our first task on Saturday was to bath Rumble……he allowed us to bath him & massage special shampoo into his poor body. He never made so much as a murmur…………..he just let us get on with it. Boy did he smell better. He had an insatiable appetite and was sleeping a lot. Monday we took him with his notes to see our vet. Within minutes of reading his notes and as she started examine him we knew by her body language something was wrong……………..her diagnosis…. in her opinion he had a form of cancer and needed a skin biopsy as a matter of urgency. He was malnourished and neglected (over a period of time he had gone from 30 kilos to now weighing just over 19). His dosage of tablets was also too high. What about his food allergy? What food allergy....his special diet had been given to him as a puppy for bad guts….all the treats and other food he had been getting (information from the letter from his daddy) throughout his life had negated the special dietary food he was on.

We have known our vet twenty years ………….for once let her be wrong. We were shattered. Rumble went in for his biopsy the following Thursday....during which time he and the Dales were settling into life together…you may have seen our postings in the Forum. When we went to collect him from the vets in the afternoon following his biopsy he was so pleased to see us….what a greeting we got....lots of wet kisses!

Well sadly our news is tragic………….Rumble’s biopsy results confirm …. he has Epitheliotropic Lymphoma (cancer) his prognosis is not good at best we may only have him eight weeks. This is the worst form of cancer…all his sores are malignant tumours and his internal organs are affected. He is now in the advanced and final stages of his illness. There is nothing we can do for him….except love him and make him comfortable.

We continue to tend to his sores……he is having four meals a day to try and build him up. He is having the food he has always been used to…but he is also enjoying treats in life he has not had…………lets face it he deserves them!

Rumble continues to settle into life here with the Thuglets (our four Dales)…..he has claimed his place in the kitchen by the Aga. His tail never stops wagging and he has taught himself to go through “the Dale door flap” so he pops in and out all day long as he wishes along with the others! We are not asking anything of Rumble other than to be happy.

This is now all about what is best for Rumble and his quality of life. We will not allow him to suffer.

We make no apologies for the photographs….this was how he looked when we brought him home and bathed him.

Rumble’s daddy trusted the kennels and the vets………………both he and Rumble have been so badly let down?

Ask yourself the question WHY WHY WHY ….??

We want to scream shout rant and rave at the world! But we won’t achieve anything. But something needs to be done … lessons need to be learnt.

Sadly two weeks after this story was written Rumble was put to sleep.  His final eight weeks were full of fun and love from Karen, Alan and The Thuglets.