Islo swims and retrieves as well as any lab ... so I have nominated him an honorary lab.

How it started...
Last saturday evening, I received a mail from a friend asking me to help in finding a family for a 9 yr old English Setter who had no buisness being in a shelter (not that the others do - but he had specific issues).
When I opened the attachments, I saw a very good-looking though unkempt dog.
I mentioned adopting an old dog to my husband, whose immediate response was no - not another male and not that old ... I let it drop for a while. I subsequently showed him the pictures ... after a while he came back and told me that if I really wanted to go see the dog, we could drive up on sunday morning to take a look and see how the dogs reacted to each other.

The next morning we went to the rescue - lots of mosquitoes and in a very sunny and hot spot of the countryside. Lots of dogs barking and running back and forth in the kennel runs. Actually, way too many dogs. It was a very sad sight and the volounteers who were there to feed/clean/medicate and walk the dogs were way too few - though they do their best and are very dedicated.
We asked if we could see Islo - they walked a ruffled thing out on a new leash - head hanging and tail down. We let the dogs smell each other, and they pretty well ignored him after smelling ... he probably smelled worse than we could ever notice.
We walked them together for a while and then decided to see how things worked out in the car (we had no crate). Mary and Giorgio jumped in (mommy take us away from this horrible place) - Islo had to use all the energy he had to get in.
He got close to Giorgio - who did not react, though his ears were back and I didn't like the look he had.
So Islo moved into the furtherest corner and huddled down - Mary kept well away from him.
Took us a while to decide if we'd give it a try ... we finally decided to try for the day and see how things went. If any issues popped up - we'd take him back in the evening.
What induced us to do so was Islo's look when we tried to get him to jump out of the car to sit in the shade (it was desert heat in the car) ... he just looked at us as if to say "no way am I going back there".
We are officially fostering him since last Sunday - as soon as I have time, I will request adoption papers.

Islo's story...
Islo was sold by an amateur breeder to his previous owner about 10 years ago. The breeder breeds working English Setters - most of them end up with hunters, some end up as plain house pets.
His owner used him for most of his 10 yrs (we found out he was 10, not 9) to hunt.
About 3 weeks ago, he turned up at the rescue saying they absolutely had to take his dog in. He was too old for work and he thought it obvious to dump him.
The rescue refused - so he just told them he'd have to dump the dog in some field along the road. At that point, the rescue decided to take Islo in.
Islo refused to eat and drink for most of the time he was in the rescue - they managed to make him eat some baby food, but that's about all he ate.

This past week ...
Once we got him home we found out he was flea infested. I battled fleas this past week - it now seems I have won my battle and none of the dogs have any fleas. I have had to disinfest dogs, home, cars and office every single day since last Sunday. I got some great Neem Oil collars - they are now all wearing a collar and I haven't seen a flea since bathing them thursday evening.
I had him checked by the vet and he's more or less ok - does have some minor issues, but nothing very serious came up. He needs artificial tears in one of his eyes about 4 times a day, he's getting a vitamin complex and has a bacterial infection in both ears.
We had lots of problems with food ... he would hardly eat anything. The first days he only ate ricotta cheese and little else.
I finally figured out he likes chicken and sardines - so I now stocked up chicken and turkey wings and legs. I cook them with some veggies and make some broth.
Since yesterday, he has eaten a complete bowl of cut -up chicken, cheese and broth at each meal.
I really think it ought to be downslope driving now.

We took him to the doggy pool with Mary & Mr. G. yesterday and he had a nice swim. He needs to build up muscle - at the moment he can't manage a normal swimming session, but he's coping.
From what I have seen, he looks to be totally deaf (have to be very careful when you wake him up, if he's sleeping) and almost completely blind.
He sticks close to us on walks and if he is on leash he will walk next to one of the others. Changes of direction have to be slow or he bumps into things and people. He also pees on people who are standing still ...
We have had some growling episodes if unknown dogs off-leash walk up to his face ... nothing serious, but I keep him away from other dogs if he's tied. No issues with dogs at the park, when he's off-leash.
Mary & Mr. G. have, more or less, ignored him most of the week. Giorgio tried to make him play with his bone, but the effort was too much for Islo and he evidently has had very little play socialization.
These past days they have started to smell and lick him on the nose and ears - he, in turn, licked them all down when they got out of the pool.
They now sleep in the same spots on the floor and use each other as cushions in the car.

Epilogue ...
Though I seriously doubt we have acquired a new playmate for my dogs, they seem to get along well and have found their own ways to relate.
He is going to stay as long as he lives - we'll probably have to face more health issues, considering his age.
But he looks happy, wags at us when we come home, sometimes tries to jump up to greet us.
I'm pretty sure he feels better - maybe not 100% happy, but satisfied.