We were well prepared! I had signed up with Mark Vette Puppy Zen Training online. We had the crates. We had the cuddly beds. We had the cuddly blankets. We had the food, the bowls and the clicker. We had the cat pheromone calming spray! And we already had the name….or did we?

Whiskey seemed so adorable but we had toyed with a few others – including Bailey. I decided to choose once we met him. When I lifted him into my arms for the first time – he felt like a Bailey but we knew him from afar as Whiskey. 24 hours later we were no clearer.

Eventually my son wrote Bailey on one postit and Whiskey on another and we did a surprise vote.

But on the first loud call ‘BAILEY’ our elderly cat thought we had called her (Haydey)…and after a spot more limbo – we decided on Shiloh.

Shiloh ; Therapy dog in training ; future purveyor of places of sanctuary and peace