Oscar the Spaniel is adopted

Oscar the young Springer Spaniel has been adopted.  He went out to his new home yesterday where he has another liver & white Springer to play with and annoy.

Oscar is so lively and full of life that we were determined to find him somewhere where he would have opportunities to wear off his energy and find the stimulation that a young, working bred dog needs to remain happy and healthy.

Lilly returns to her original owner

Lilly the Staffy cross was reunited with her original owner after he lost touch with her, through no fault of his own after a relationship breakdown, then found her on our website by chance and contacted us with a view to having her back. A tearful reunion and another happy ending.


We have Lola, a 5 month old Deerhound cross coming into kennels unless we can find her a good home first.  The daughter of the family she's currently living with has developed an allergic reaction to the dog so they need to be kept apart...not fair to either Lola or the daughter.

Cassie the Rhodesian Ridgeback/Saluki cross should be going to her new home tomorrow, and we think we've found a home for Oscar the Springer Spaniel.

All good news.

March Adoptions

Zeke the Kelpie cross is hopefully going out to his new home this week with a family who are experienced with pulling dogs and loved Zeke to bits when they came to see him.  Skye the Siberian Husky should be going this week as well to a family who walk their Husky and Dalmation through the forestry and up the mountains, and already work their Husky on a harness with a scooter, so now they'll have a pulling pair.


Molly the Jack Russell Terrier is going for her home check this week as well, and all being well she will have found her new home.  Nan the little Border Collie who wouldn't work with the sheep was very nervous when she first came to us, but she won the heart of the man who came to see her, so she should be going to her new home on Thursday.  Also, a family came to look at Willow the Staffy cross today, and we think that they're going to choose her.

So, after a quiet couple of weeks on the rehoming front, it looks like we're going to have a good week for adopting our dogs out.  This is good news for the dogs who have found homes, and good news for the dogs who are urgently awaiting a place with us, so the kennels will fill back up as quickly as we empty them.


This is what we're all about though...matching the right people with the right dogs.  Some of our dogs, such as Ollie the Lab/GSD and Milo the Staffy have been with us for far too long, and sometimes we think we're never going to rehome them, but then one day somebody turns up and falls in love with them.  This happened with Bez the little black terrier and Sam & Sophie the Staffy crosses.
Alan.

Monty the Border Terrier

Monty the Border Terrier is on his third day here now, and is demonstrating a remarkable response to his rehabilitation, although we haven't done much with him except for allow him to chill out, adapt to his new environment, and ensure that he has three walks each day.  The walks weren't as straightforward as it sounds.  He was well behaved but withdrawn once he was out, however getting him on a lead was, to say the least, fun!  A couple of days later, when I enter his kennel he's putting his head on my knee and the collar and lead are going on and off with ease, as well as running around with a wagging tail on his walk instead of the nervous and fearful body language.

For the first couple of days he was frightened of cats, or so I thought, but he'd fooled me.  This morning he was stalking a Bengal.  This is why it takes a while to assess dogs properly...how they behave when you first see them or when they first enter the kennels isn't necessarily how they're going to behave once they feel safer,  more secure and more familiar with their environment and the people handling them.

Alan.

Canine Projects

An update on some of our canine projects…dogs who are or were in rehabilitation for various problems.

BELLE THE DOBERMAN

After a painstaking 12 months of rehabilitation work with us, which followed a great deal of veterinary care at the cost of her sponsor before coming to us, Belle finally found the perfect new companion, and is now living in a lovely little Welsh village.  Belle was a real success story for us, and for her sponsor Pete, and it was fantastic to see her fully rehabilitated from her terrible physical and psychological abuse.

CHARLIE TOW THE LABRADOR CROSS

So called because when he came to us, he was dragging us down the road.  Charlie was referred to us from another dog rescue centre.  He still has a very high prey drive but no longer pulls you over to get to his potential prey.  He has now been successfully rehomed near Wrexham and will be taken on long runs and walks to wear some of his energy off.

MIA THE GERMAN SHEPHERD

Mia was brought to us from K9 Focus dog rescue with dog aggression.  She responded so well to rehabilitation that within 2 weeks we had her running free in our resident pack.  She was successfully rehomed in January.

PIXIE THE BULL CROSS

Pixie also came to us from K9 Focus.  An extremely hyperactive little girl who was dragging us all over the place, lunging at other dogs, and with a very high prey drive.  Pixie is coming on slowly but surely.  There’s no rush with her, as bull crosses are notoriously difficult to rehome, despite them being such loving and loyal dogs.

OLLIE THE ROTTWEILER

Ollie was referred to us by dog rescuers up north due to biting his handlers.  He can be very nervous and excitable, but also very friendly and affectionate.  He just needs to learn a few boundaries and to behave appropriately around people.  This shouldn’t take long as he’s a lovely dog and quite responsive to rehabilitation.

HARLEY THE HUSKY CROSS

Came to us from SHARE (Siberian Husky Rescue).  He has bitten his handlers and demonstrated aggression towards other dogs.  He is responding remarkably well to rehabilitation and we’re confident of him being suitable for rehoming soon.

SADIE THE BORDER COLLIE

Because we’ve had quite a few different volunteers handling the dogs lately, Sadie is feeling much more comfortable around people and being handled and approached by different people.  This has been great experience for Sadie…even more people to throw sticks for her.

STELLA THE GSD CROSS

There has been nothing wrong with Stella since the moment we collected her from the pound.  Very hyperactive little girl, but so friendly with people and other dogs that she should never have been classed as a rehabilitation dog.

DENZIL THE AMERICAN BULLDOG

He is coming on lovely.  Still only handled by Alan and Anne, but we’re looking at broadening his experience now.  He still panics if he gets tangled up in his lead, but when he gets panicky, he’s much more manageable now.  Walks lovely on a lead, even through the pack, is very curious and wants to investigate everything, and would stand and stare at the cats in the cattery for hours if you let him, although he’s never tried to hurt one of them.  Denzil is a very affectionate dog who loves his attention and exercise, but he still needs to build a relationship with somebody before he feels comfortable with them.  We always knew that Denzil was going to be a long-term project.

BEN, SHADOW, ASKIM & LADDIE will always stay with us due to the severity of their past experiences, as will YUM YUM, for whom we’re currently campaigning to build a new compound and kennel.

SADIE & AMBER could be rehomed now with the right kind and patient owners.

Bez the Terrier x

Bez was continually overlooked because he wasn't as colourful as the Jack Russell types that came and went, but he eventually found the perfect home with the perfect family, where he's flying the flag for Wales.

Prong Collars

We had a massive reaction to our photo of the prong collar on Facebook, and the fact that we don't advocate the use of them.  The dog trainers who do have chosen to tell us all how ignorant we are.  However, as much as we welcome their views and have listened to their arguments, we cannot agree with them.  We tried the collar on our own necks today, and the pain and discomfort caused with the slightest pressure was deemed too unacceptable to be used on any of our dogs, regardless of whether the dog has a tougher neck.  We have better methods that don't involve pain, and choose to stick to these, even if it makes us ignorant.

It isn't necessarily the degree of pain caused, it's the fact that pain is used as a training aid at all.  These methods are in complete opposition to the methods that we use, hence we cannot condone the use of them, regardless of timescales or the opinion that there is no other way.  There is always another way.

We hear all the labels that are given to dogs, such as the various aggressions and syndromes.  We tend to throw away the labels and text book jargon, along with the muzzles and contraptions, as dogs enter the Sanctuary, and work with the dog's mind in a holistic way.

No amount of arguing over this will change our minds as we are always looking at more progressive and natural methods that are equally effective.  And it seems that the trainers who advocate their use will not change their minds, so we have to agree to disagree.

Alan.