Originally Giddy came from the British judge and Akita breeder Tracy Morgan. He was not sold, instead he was to be kept in partnership between Tracy and Ricci Morgan and his new Swedish home. His ownership was changed into his Swedish owner without the permission or knowledge of his British owners. Tracy lost track of Giddy's owner and tried without fail to find him for years.

His Swedish co-owner had declared that she would show him and Giddy was reported to Tracy to be a great support dog for his Swedish owner's handicapped son, This was an assignment perfectly suited for the patient and sweetnatured Giddy.


HOWEVER - Reality turned out to be very different.

When I was asked by the local authorities and Tracy to help, a cold and rainy day in January 2005, the situation at the kennel was very serious. I found Giddy abandoned in a miserable dog yard, standing in his own dung without food and water, he was surrounded by other dirty dog yards containing another twenty dogs, these were "Japanese" Akitas and St. Bernards.

This was the true environment Giddy had spent his life in since arriving in Sweden seven years earlier. The situation had gone from bad to worse in 2004 as the owner of the kennel had left to avoid Swedish law.  In the same kennel as Giddy was also a daughter of his, pressing against the wire, beside herself with anguish.  Giddy seemed apathetic and almost blind to his surroundings, the stench of ammonia and faeces took our breath away, Giddy and Wilma climbed over rotten wood cuttings and boulders to try and avoid stepping in the waste.

Of all the abandoned dogs, Giddy and Wilma (his daughter) were in the poorest condition. They were a lot thinner, and also dirtier than the dogs surrounding them, they were also covered in more sores than the other dogs. One can only speculate why, but the man who was supposed to feed and water the kennels, warned me thoroughly and repeatedly about Giddy's apparent aggressiveness, particularly against children. I was being discouraged from taking Giddy because I had a young child who would be in danger from him. Vets and personel working at the clinics, confirmed that Giddy had been very fierce and angry on the few occasions they had seen him, how on earth had this sweet dog changed into an angry, ferocious animal whilst in their care.

I just knew I could not leave without him. Eventually I was allowed to open his living quarters to offer him and his daughter an opportunity to leave this place. As was the case with every one of the dogs on the property, both Giddy and Wilma were more than happy to follow us strangers away from their terrible prison. There was no sign of any unreliablity in Giddy, who evidentally had a lot of pain in one hip, he let me lift him up into the car without any hesitation whatsoever.

For the first few days with us, they only rested, ate and drank in peace, they enjoyed their dry and warm home. They were both terribly wasted, just skin and bone, they were indescribably dirty. Giddy's coat was matted with dirt, you could see unprotected skin on his back, shoulders, croup and belly. Both had cronic wounds on their ears, noses, legs, tail and feet.

Wilma was extremely eager to seek contact and wanted to stay in our arms all the time, ensuring us of how much she wanted to please and be loved. She was considerably afraid of being beaten.  Giddy on the other hand had withdrawn into himself, appearing to ignore everyone and anyone around him, he hardly even noticed Wilma's presence unless she deliberately climbed on top of him to prompt a reaction. Giddy allowed me to examine him and dress his wounds without any reaction, a couple of times his nose brushed against me, but he never once raised his eyes to look at me.

Gradually I began the laborious work of getting them clean. Giddy's coat is of better length and quality than Wilma's, but it was so mismanaged, covered in dirt, urine and dung, that when I began to wet it with clean water, large sheets, inches thick just came loose and fell away in huge mats. Underneath that huge matted coat, was a miserably skinny dog covered with outer coat but completely lacking any live undercoat. Realizing that he had endured the Swedish winter without any undercoat was staggering. He weighed just 33kg compared to his normal 50 kg a year later. Wilma was 23 kg and weighed 36kg a year later. Never in my wildest dreams could I imagine seeing living, breathing Akitas of this size and so painfully thin.

Wilma's coat was much shorter than Giddys, so with her it was only a matter of washing enough times before a very small but dear little skinny fluffball appeared from beneath the towels. During the bathing process I found a rusty old neck chain around Wilma's throat. It was so tight that it was impossible to get it over her head, we were forced to cut it off with a bolt cutter. There was very little left of her tail, all feathering was gone and there were large areas of bare skin which was full of rash

The third time I washed and dried Giddy something remarkable happened. Just as I finished towelling him, and unfamiliar expression appeared on his face, it was a gentle but noble gaze, Giddy had returned to inhabit his shell at that exact moment, once again a proud dog of regal standing, no longer ashamed of the filth that had accumulated on him over the years, blissfully unaware of his poor body condition. He lifted his tail and curled it over his back, almost as if he was testing himself for adopting that wonderful regal stance that gave him his name "Strike A Pose".

Then he slowly turned his huge head towards me and met my gaze.

In that long moment everything was settled, I got to SEE the real Giddy and he saw straight through me to my very soul, we had found each other. From that moment, Giddy has become as dear to me as my own dogs, he has behaved as if he has always lived here and loved me, he trusts me completely. I cannot think of a kinder creature than Giddy, if so that would be Hulda. Giddy is friendly toward everybody, delightful with my daughter Minn and simply wonderful towards me.

We have spent many, many visits to different vets and specialists to get help with the rehabilitation of Giddy and Wilma. We walked in the woods, in town and at friend's homes. Not once has Giddy displayed the slightest tendancy to protect himself, he has never been the slightest bit rude or domineering in any company, instead he has been the perfect gentleman that he was always meant to be. Just like my other dogs, he has accepted any form of handling, examination or treatment, always looking to me for that assured gaze that all was well. This in my opinion is a superb example of the loyalty of an Akita, a responsibility you can only humbly accept if offered, and exeedingly obligating if you do so.

Wilma at her favorite spot; ON THE ROOF.......