31st January

Daisy, Honey, Oscar, Doris and Luci are all climbing the walls today, driving me mad! Having had to go to the doctors, something that is the last resort for me. As I suspected I have a chest infection and ordered to stay in the warm until the antibiotics get into my system, which is 24 - 48 hrs. After today I will be going out as I cannot stand the look of disapproval and anticipation in their faces.
Luci was spayed on Thursday, where she was as good as gold. She did not bark, howl or whine whilst there even though she was crated. When I bought her home she waited at the bottom of the stairs looking up, she actually wanted to go to bed. I carried her up and she went into the crate and remained there for a few hours, this is something that I could never of imagined in those early days. Luci is on lead walks only for 10days post operation so I have been taking Luci out on her own, whilst Stuart if able takes ours out, otherwise it is two trips. For those of you who do not know Mitcham Common it is a glorious place to walk with dogs covering 460 acres with different habitats, wetlands, grassland, woods, and landscaped areas.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitcham_Common.  Yesterday I took Luci up onto the hill by Seven Islands, (the picture above) and there was not a dog in sight! Here on a clear day you can see Wembley, The Gherkin, and the Shard looking in the opposite direction you can see Crystal Palace radio tower. The end of August sees the annual hay harvest which is sold to local stables. Many rural locations do not have the walking facilities for dog and man, other than bridle ways that we have. Here our dogs run till there hearts content and we come back exhusted!

On Sunday Poppy went on a two week trial to her potential new home. Stuart has not long retired, whilst Margaret still works. Stuart found that he was not getting out enough and had always promised himself a dog when he retired after long discussions between himself and Margaret they both agreed to look for a rescue Stafford. To our delight they enquired about Poppy. So far all is going well and Stuart and Margaret have fallen in love with her expressing how gentle and loving she is. The neighbours who had owned a Stafford untill it died went into see Poppy and they think she is fantastic. Lets all hope that all goes well and Poppy gets her new family.

Author:- Valerie

30th January

My this is a long month and still a day to go.

Our fence panels were delivered today. We lost two panels in the strong winds and our garden has not been completely secure since. The bottom panel left us open to the footpath, so we replaced it immediately. In the end it took four of us, we had to ask our daughters to help, Sara is still complaining, someone, well that would be me,. had the bright idea to take Spryte and Khan, I don't know what they thought was happening but they kept jumping onto the compost heap and out onto the footpath, making what was already a difficult job, even harder

Boycie is back with us.

Our thanks to Sally, Simon and Saffy for fostering him so well for so long.

Sally and Simon had hoped they may have been able to adopt him, but although Saffy tolerated him she was not really happy. He also needed to get on with Sally's Mum's dog as he would need to stay there on occasions, this certainly did not work with them having a run in on Christmas day. So much for peace and goodwill!

They kindly brought him down to Discover Dogs as our representative where he was a complete star.
He had become very attached to them as we found out at Discover Dogs when they left him with me to look around the event. He completely changed, becoming very depressed and curling up on a chair until they returned. So this is not easy for Boycie or them.
However, he has slotted back into the routine here and he is eating and enjoyed a game of ball. I have given him a cuddle but he does keep giving me those 'puppy dog' eyes.
 Lets hope he finds a home of his own soon.

27th January

Ali Taylor was on Thursday's 26th January Alan Titchmarsh Show with a lovely Battersea Stafford called Marcel.
The item was informing viewers what to do if you or your dog were attacked by a dog. Considering that, they managed to turn it round into a very positive piece for Staffords and the numbers looking for homes, what good family pets they make and the need for responsible ownership.
Dogs Trust were also there with a gorgeous young puppy and another oldie.
 Three lovely well behaved Staffords, all of whom I would love to take home, even though I am buried in dogs here.

Marcel now has his own facebook page.

26th January

Today I went to see how Jade had settled in her new home.
She went there just under two weeks ago after I had a call from a girl who works with another rescue who said there was an elderly gentleman who came highly recommended, looking for another dog, who said the best dog he ever owned was a Staffordshire x Alsatian.
I arranged to see him taking with me a selection of dogs.
He had an elderly German Rough Coated Pointer female, which rather put me off putting in another female but it soon became obvious the two young males would be too much, so we tried Saffy who was a bit too crazy and growled at the Pointer. Then we tried Jade.
Jade's biggest need was a home where she would not be left. 'Jade just likes to be with you,' I would say. I should know as she has barely left my side for the past two and a half years!
Mr Hammond is very experienced with dogs and his wife who he lost eighteen months ago, was a legendary horsewoman who was part of the British Olympic Dressage team.
He has a live in housekeeper, scores of nieces and nephews and a whole community doing various jobs around the place. One room is bigger than the whole of the downstairs in my house and it has underfloor heating and two acres of well fenced garden.
Despite feeling this was ideal for Jade, two and a half years is a long time and I cried all the way home.

Phone calls revealed she was settling well and everyone was happy.
This morning I saw for myself.

They are delighted with her and as for Jade? Well just look at the pictures....

25 th January

Stop Press Ali on Titchmarsh Thursday 26th Jan 3-4pm

Firstly apologies! Anyone looking for Ali on Alan Titchmarsh would have been disappointed as we were! We still haven't found out what happened. Facebook appears to be playing up too which is not helping in gaining info, when we find something out we will let you know.
The bit of Titchmarsh I did see he was introducing Seal's apparently 'live,' interview by saying it was in fact recorded and that although the singer spoke lovingly about his wife in the interview mean time she had filed for divorce!
So it seems this apparently 'live' show isn't, so Ali could appear at anytime really. Confused? You're not the only one! Won't be rushing home to watch you again Alan. (Well will be now if Ali is on.)

Chance

Death Row Dogs. 24th January BBC1 10.30pm

This programme was flagged up to us last week as an anti Bull Breed programme.
 Dogs Trust had taken part and then been taken out. We were asked to write to the BBC to complain.
Hysterical Chinese whispers then went round Facebook like wildfire where it was described as 'Staffie Bashing.'
I was feeling rather fed up with this over reaction which was why I wrote the blog before it was shown, last night.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but personally I thought the programme very good. I saw nothing in it that was detrimental to Staffords.
 It was about The Dangerous Dog Act and how in its present form it is not working, stated clearly by the Police Officer at the end.
People are very upset that it showed a dog being put to sleep but this was meant to shock and upset to show that innocent dogs are dying because of the DD Act the way it is at the moment.

I do not think this programme will have a detrimental affect on Staffords or their owners or make homing rescue dogs any harder than it already is.

On a more positive note we are planning another Stafford Walk for some time in March.
We have had a few ideas tonight and I am already looking forward to it!

24th January

Stop Press  Our friend Ali Taylor is on The Alan Titchmarsch show today 3pm - 4pm with a Battersea Staffie discussing dog bites and dangerous dogs.
http://www.itv.com/alantitchmarsh/

Alan Titchmarsh on ITV1

www.itv.com

               
I am purposely writing this before the programme goes out tonight and everyone has their say on that.
I want to let you know where we are as a rescue at the moment and about the two phone calls I had today.
Tara is keeping me company snoring over by the radiator.

Tara

For some time now, weeks that became months, we have had far more dogs than we would like and can comfortably deal with.
The problem is that re-homing has slowed down so much that dogs are staying far longer than they used to, we have also had some returns, which we never refuse as we keep our commitment to each dog we home.

Boycie

We are bombarded by requests to take in new dogs everyday, most of which we refuse but as someone said to me recently, you cannot claim to be a dog rescue if you never take in any dogs, and so there are exceptions and the numbers increase.
Jade's home appears to have worked out so we have had one dog less for 12 days but Boycie is coming back on Sunday. Sally and Simon with Saffy have fostered Boycie for several months, they had hoped Saffy might accept him but this was not the case, they have hung on to him far longer than we had hoped but no home has been found and he is coming back. We also have Sandy in kennels and a puppy in the wings.

Sandy

So we are overdrawn by four dogs! We cannot return to a reasonable quality of life until we home four dogs (and don't take any more in!)
Having so many and one in kennels is a huge drain on our resources and when we pay the January kennel fees we will have all but run out of funds.

That is the situation, now let me tell you about the calls:-

The first was from a lady up north. She had an eight year old female Akita and had recently lost a lab x Lurcher. She heard of a Staffie cross which had been found wandering the streets so she offered him a home. It had taken a long time but she had won his trust. However, the other day she came home to a bloodbath where he and the Akita were fighting and now he had to be caged so she wanted him to go to a new home where he would be the only dog.
We, of course, were unable to help as she was too far away, the dog was a cross and we have no spaces or homes especially ones for only dogs.
She had tried lots of other places, hence trying us despite the distance.
Someone had suggested having the dog 'put down,' and she said she would rather be put down herself but she couldn't keep him caged like he was at the moment......

The next call was on my doorstep.
It was a girl who had rescued a dog' from a mate,'else he was going to the RSPCA and she felt sorry for him.
She got him back to her flat and he didn't like her cat. So she was having to crate him so he was no better off than in his other home plus he was making the most awful racket ( I heard him) and the previous owner was not answering her calls
So she wanted him gone....

This is how it is everyday. Sometimes you feel sorry for the people, mostly we worry about the dog, but you cannot help them all, especially when you are struggling to cope with the ones you have.
So lets see how this programme fits into the equation, let everyone jump up and down defending their breed and signing their petitions, as for me, well, I have dogs that need to go out....

23rd January

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-16687487

I am sure we all feel dismayed by this dog attack on the six year old girl.
It has still not been confirmed what breed the dog is despite it having been seized, but it is hardly relevant.
Having seen the area where it happened, an area where it seems reasonable a dog would be off the lead, I personally feel this could happen to any of us. I wonder if we will hear more details and ever understand why the dog attacked.

Meanwhile we will have to continue to be responsible owners and not take any chances, even if it means restricting our dogs for a while.

The anti-bull breed programme is tomorrow night at 10.30pm on BBC 1

I enjoyed walking the two oldies again today. Tara went mad in the woods tucking her tail under her and charging flat out, before executing last second hand brake turns. Lexus tried to ignore her concentrating on eating his Ground Elder (do any other dogs eat Ground Elder?) none of our others do. Every now and again Tara would charge into him, trying to get him to play eventually giving up and tearing up a stick instead!

Mad moment over, they pad home at a more sedate pace befitting their age.

21st January

Feeling very tired tonight so just a short blog with a few new photos I have managed to download from my phone.
Had better mention everyone is drawing attention to an anti bull breed programme being shown on 24th Jan BBC1 at 10.30pm Apparently DogsTrust were to take part with pro Staffy comments but they were dropped from the programme. People are being asked to contact the BBC and complain.

I am not sure I can get too worked up over this. It is unfortunate, especially when we have had some good press lately, but surely intelligent people can make up their own mind about things.

It is my belief and experience that it is the Staffords popularity (albeit with the wrong people) that means too many have been bred and why the pounds and rescues are over-flowing. Public mis-conception of them as a dangerous dog has little effect on re-homing, it just makes for an uncomfortable time when out walking them!

This is a Stafford Val and I saw in a shop in Banstead when we were there on Monday. I am sure you agree they are a great ambassador for the breed!

20th January

My friend Steven came to help me walk the dogs today, with one thing and another we haven't met for a while.
It was not a very inspiring day weather wise and had one been stuck inside I think it could have been quite depressing.

Getting out I started to spot some signs of spring, with snowdrops out and bulbs coming up I have even seen a couple of Celandines in flower.

We started with Spryte and Khan, Spryte doesn't like the young dogs and ran back when I tried to walk her with Kye yesterday, so we gave her a break and just took her and Khan.
As people with another dog were in front of us where we normally go we went through the gunpowder mills and across the low lying valley fields behind Lockner Farm. We then took a left through Postford Mill and another left which took us into beech woods and along a path neither of us knew, below St Martha's hill and back down to the Gunpowder mills. It was delightful, especially the beech woods which were sheltered from the wind and quiet.
The dogs had a lovely run, and we felt refreshed by discovering somewhere new.

Next we took Chance and Kye and walked up to the big field and round its perimeter whilst they tore along shoulder to shoulder.

Then I took the two oldies Lexus and Tara for longer than usual through the gunpowder mills, we only passed one person and so they were able to potter along off lead for most of it.

I hope the dogs are tired, I certainly am!

19th January

Sorry for missing the last two days, it has been a particularly busy week, with things other than dogs for once!
However, with dog business as well, things have rather caught up with me.

Tara Macnara

We remain very busy with lots of dogs 'in residence,' as well as phone calls and emails.
 Four phone calls yesterday, all wanting dogs re-homed.
Four phone calls on Tuesday, though two were enquiries for adopting, have not gone further, the other two were wanting to hand dogs in.
Two calls today, well three including my mobile, all from helpers, which is nice.

Kye and Spryte

It is not easy keeping all the dogs happy, especially with other commitments, but we have a routine and the gang at the moment are fairly settled.
Dave always does our three dogs last thing before coming to bed which for him can be pretty late, or early depending how you look at it. I do the rescue dogs before I retire usually about 11pm.
Amazingly the rescues do not make a sound when Dave does our three and even new dogs quickly fall into this pattern.
I am usually up first and the youngest dog is the first to go out. At the moment it is Kye and he does not normally let me go beyond 7am, and its still dark! But the other Sunday Dave had to be up by 6.30am to take a service, I was really tired and stayed in bed expecting to hear Kye and Chance create when Dave took Khan out. The next thing I knew was Dave bringing me a cup of tea in bed!  Because I didn't go down they didn't stir, unbelievable!

16th January

Kye is consistently reaching the garden to pee now!

Val with all five dogs, Luci on right.

I had to take my younger daughter to Banstead this morning. As it is local to Val we met up for coffee and she brought Luci.
This is the first time I have met Luci, she is tiny, much smaller than she looks in photos.
She behaved impeccably especially considering she is so young (6 months ) she is a credit to Val and all the hard work she has put in.
A gentleman sat next to us outside the coffee shop and was very taken with her, he seriously would have considered offering her a home if his circumstances had been different and he said he was not particularly fond of Staffies but was very taken with her!
Just as well Val and I don't get together too often, accosting people outside Costa coffee houses!

15th January

The link below is another part of Battersea's Staffies they're softer than you think, campaign. During the montage of still pics there is a picture of our Dolly with her young owner wearing pink.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIP0Xy4KUUs&sns=fb

Welfare are considering the neutering programme again, trying to find something that works for everyone, I will keep you informed as to how it goes.

Each week we have an email about urgent pound dogs needing rescue spaces. It is normally on a Sunday which is a real 'downer' when we are trying to have a bit of a break.
This week was no exception.

There were 24 dogs in total. 8 of them were SBT's a further 6 were described as Staffie crosses or Staffie type.

These are all strays or abandoned dogs who have done their seven days and not been claimed and if rescue places are not forthcoming they will be PTS

The person who sent it said how she had fallen in love with a SBT male called Glen.
 Most of these dogs are lovely and would make wonderful companions for any family BUT all rescues, like us, are full, the situation has reached gridlock, rescues cannot home them and so many will be put to sleep.

On top of that we have emails and calls from owners wanting to rehome their Staffords.
This week was relatively quiet.....7 calls!!   7 Dogs!!

This is the reason we want to start a neutering programme.

Lets hope Glen has a happy ending.http://s284.photobucket.com/albums/ll5/greenowl30/?action=view&current=Glen_188_PEN.jpg

14th January

Kye made it all the way down to the garden this morning before he squatted to pee, (yes, he still pees like a girlie, and yes, we have to negotiate the drive way from the side door to reach the garden!) We would never pass a homecheck!

Kye

Most of the Staffords with their obsessive nature, are fine doing this off lead after a while but new/ young dogs we have to take on the lead. It is crazy in a way, but actually works well as you get to do some lead training. My RSPCA friend cannot believe we live like that and cope with so many rescue dogs. So much for the people who say when they win the lottery they will take in all the unwanted Staffies.
Good job not all of us waited for that!

Once reached my garden is 300 foot long and the reason we bought the house and we feel very privileged  to have it ( all the new houses being built in the village have tiny, postage stamp gardens.)

Back to Kye. I presume his habit of 'performing' so quickly is a legacy from his puppy days where he was kept in a flat. It is a wonder he is toilet trained at all, but he is and hopefully as he matures and settles to our routine he will make it down the drive more often!
He is coming on well, learning to play ball (and bring it back) he had obviously been chased! He has met several dogs whilst off lead on walks and is very good, generally coming away and has never shown aggression though he will play if the other dog allows.

Angel

Both Chance and Angel ignored dogs on the bridleway today when they were playing ball in the field above, a huge achievement for both of them.

Fleur's (Pepper)  blog has proved to be the most popular ever. Do visit our successes pages to read more happy endings.

13th January

In total last year we homed 10 dogs, this is half what we used to home but it is still 10 dogs that now have a good life and a bright future because of Guildford Stafford Rescue.

We have paid £26 out of the Reuben Fund (this is the fund originally started to raise money for Reuben's(now Harley) op to remove a benign tumor from his head. Now used for dogs needing emergency medical treatment.)
This was for an old dog who was having episodes, to do blood tests to find the cause, the RSPCA had also contributed.

Jade has gone to a gentleman in Peaslake (ok so far)

My son spotted a poster for a Found Staffie in the bus stop in Chilworth this morning.
The dog, a female, has been sighted over the New Year holiday but is too nervous to get close to. The dog warden has been informed. From the photo she looks like a female version of Kye.

The gardner whose puppy I found wandering in the road a few months ago, called to say he had lost her again! She was not wearing any ID
It turned out someone had picked her up and taken her to Treetops Kennels. Owner and dog reunited.

12th January

Our final Dog of the Day is Smudge.

Smudge was the last dog we homed in 2011

She was just 3 months old when a nurse from a veterinary surgery contacted us about her, after the lady who had owned her for a month wanted her gone, saying she was moving and taking on a new job, and even threatening to have her 'put down.'
We had no spaces, but due to her age, took her anyway, although she wasn't the quietest customer and 'wound up' the other dogs!
It seemed she was the most unwanted puppy in the world!

After a week David and Helen agreed to foster her and with regular training and discipline from Shadow, David's German Shepherd, she developed into a lovely little dog.
 She joined in the Stafford walk and all the events in November becoming quite a celebrity, suddenly she had become the most popular puppy in the world!












Sally, Greg and their two boys heard about her and came down to David's clinic at Pets at Home to meet her.

They fell in love with her and now she is a very contented member of their family.

11th January

Our Dog of the Day is Sandy.

In October 2010 we were alerted to Sandy's case by a dog warden.
She was being kept in a flat and toileting inside and because she had become so boisterous she was now being shut in a room on her own.
It was obvious she needed to be out of there but we had no space, so we launched an appeal for foster homes/permanent homes and funding and that is how this blog started!
However 15 months on and we have so far not found a suitable home for her, which is very disheartening.

One of the first things we did was let her run and she really loves to run and play with a ball. She ran in the snow which fell soon after she arrived.
We also took her on a basic training course and to agility as well as spaying and vaccinating her.

She is a very hyper dog and needs a home where she is the only dog, with a decent sized garden she can play in.
At the moment she is in kennels as we have no foster space for her and she cannot come back to us until Tara is homed as Tara is in her space by the radiator (although Tara would prefer to be on our bed!)

Sandy is quite happy in kennels and does not find it stressful, perhaps she enjoys watching all the activity after her previous life. Apparently she got on very well with Tina's son at Spangleberry kennels, when he was home from university at Christmas. He spent a lot of time playing with her and she was very good. This is very encouraging, perhaps a home with older teenage children would work?

It is costing us a lot to keep her in kennels and we are rapidly running out of funds.

Could YOU offer Sandy a foster home?

Could YOU offer Sandy a permanent home?

Could YOU donate towards her kennel costs?

10th January

Our Dog today is Peppa formally Fleur

Peppa is one of our success stories of 2011. Fleur as she was formally known was an urgent case. She really needed to come into rescue due to family circumstances but due to the situation with no homes coming  forth for the dogs that we currently have there was no room at the inn. Fleur's previous owner agreed to keep her whilst we put her on the website for re homing, including Stafford Welfare's and Epsom Canine Rescue's (ECR) with the kind permission of Nikki who runs ECR.
Alison and I waited, as we do, for applications and enquiries to come in. Nothing, then an application from Karen and James, they had just lost their Stafford whom they rescued. It looked good but they lived in a flat, no garden. What to do? Then I remembered advise that had been given. People who live in a flat have to take their dog for a walk, whereas those with gardens often tended to just let them out into the garden with no real exercise. Alison and I discussed it. I rang Karen and discussed Fleur with her, checks were done a  meeting was arranged. Karen and James adopted Fleur in November and none of them have looked back.

We recently received this email from Peppa.

Well I’ve got a new home and my new parents are really nice, they give me lots of cuddles. They have changed my name from fleur to peppa and I like it, sometimes I get called piglet, pepper pot, wiggles or cheeky monkey but I know it’s me!

It was a bit strange to start with because they live upstairs and I wasn’t really sure how they worked but I think I’ve mastered them now and I can charge up and down! We go to the park lots of times a day and it always smells great, there is so much to explore! We go to lots of different places for walkies too, I have even been allowed to go off my lead a few times which I love because I get to charge about like a loony! I’ve also been to the woods! Well that was just so exciting and I couldn’t believe how much fun, there was so much to sniff and I even chased a squirrel!

I was a little poorly a few weeks ago but I went to see the vet and now I’m all better, I heard that I’m going to be having an operation soon for neutering, I’m not really sure what that means but I’m sure it will involve me getting lots of love and attention.

I have found so many exciting things like my favourite purple tennis ball and my blue toy bone. But I think my favourite thing is when I get stag bars, I have so much fun running around showing it off to anyone who is here! And I play with my Kong when I am home alone, I get to listen to the radio too! The nice people who sent my harness also sent me some rawhides and I often try to hide them on the sofa but I always get caught! I have my very own blanket on the sofa and I just love to snuggle up into the cushions and have a snore!

I have made friends with all the neighbours and sometimes I go to visit them at their house, and I try to behave my best, but sometimes I just get too excited and I lick their sofas!

I am going to go to school at the end of January, I am going to see a lady who was on the tele on dog borstal (but I don’t think I’m that naughty that I need to go there!) I am going to have some classes because I don’t always do what I am told and also I don’t really feel that comfortable around other dogs, sometimes I get a bit scared and it makes me snappy, but I am lucky my parents understand it’s not because I’m a mean dog, so they are going to help me work on thisI was very scared when the fireworks went off on new year’s eve, and I ran into the hall but I wasn’t scared for long because mum and dad came and sat in the hall with me and said it would be alright, I soon got over it when I saw the packet of choccie drops come out!

Thank you Guildford and district Staffordshire bull terrier rescue for finding me a home where I am so loved and cared for!

 Peppa. X

 

I spoke to James tonight, Karen was out but he did not mind as he had his 2nd  favourite girl on his lap, cuddling him and giving him love as only staffies know how to.

We wish Karen, James and Peppa a very long and happy future together.

Today, Alison has received a call, one of many! Requesting to re home a young male stafford 1-2yrs of which seems a desperate situation due to the health problems of the owner. As it is local to me I will be going to assess the dog for suitability and the situation. However as urgent as the case maybe we are only able to help by the dog remaining in its current home until a new home can be found. 

Lets hope that all the dogs in Alison's care and those that are truly desperate find new homes in 2012.

Author: Valerie

9th January

Our dog of the day is Tara.

Tara is 10 years old. Her owners called us to say she was growling at their youngest child who was two, although she was fine with the older children.
 They mentioned in passing that they could not really keep her where they were, as well!
Probably the truth lies somewhere in between and it was obvious they no longer wanted her. In fact we found out she had been given to one of their friends when they had the baby and then the friend couldn't keep her, so she had not been back with them that long.
Normally if there is any concern about a dog towards a human we don't get involved but given her age my heart went out to her.
It was some distance away so we asked another rescue to assess her.
They found out what we thought to be the case the child was haranguing her and she was just fed up.

The other rescue took her in until we could take her, the only place we had was in kennels so she went there.
We were concerned she was not settled in kennels, after all it was no place for an old lady, and we planned to swap her with Sandy, as there were still no free places but on the Saturday I had a call from Tina at the kennels  to say Tara had broken a panel from the side of her kennel and appeared in reception!

I had to go and get her straight away and Sandy took her place.

We were worried how she would be with us as she would have to spend some time crated, she doesn't like it but she has settled really well and we have her out as much as possible.

People do not like adopting older dogs because they cannot bear the heartache of losing them especially if they have only recently lost their dog, which I can understand but we are loving having Tara. She is so easy after all the young 'Hooligans' we normally have.

Walking with Khan and Lexus

She enjoys her walks with Lexus, charging through the woods. She has plenty of energy but if there is not sufficient time or the weather is bad she is equally happy with just a visit to the garden. She sneaks upstairs and would love to sleep on the bed if allowed.
She could live happily with another male dog.

Could you give a 'Golden Oldie' like Tara a home?

8th January

Our Dog of the Day is Peppa.

Peppa came in to rescue as her young owners found they were unable to take her to their new property, this is becoming more and more of a problem.
She was just a year old and very sweet, she sat beautifully for her photo to be taken.
As we had no space for her she went into kennels. it was during her time there they noticed she was deaf.
When I contacted the previous owners they said they had thought she was but the vet had told them that Staffords were a stubborn breed! They had gone home and carried on as normal thinking it was them!
They had done a really good job of training her, though they did mention her recall left a lot to be desired, hardly surprising!
She came to us once there was space and I looked forward to training her, planning to learn dog sign language and everything. There was, however, no need as she responded really well to everything even recall where she seemed to sense you were calling her back!

Then Annette contacted us. She and her family had previously had two dogs from John Laker, chairman of Welfare and S.E. Rescue. The last dog Annette had owned had become deaf with age so she was well equipped to cope with Peppa. Or as John put it,'She was used to chucking her arms around an all that!'

Peppa, now Lucy is doing very well with her new family.

6TH January

Our Dog of the Day is Chance.

Chance found himself, like so many Staffords these days, as a stray in the pound kennels.
Luckily for him he caught the eye of Rebecca who works there
. She sent us several emails asking if we could help. As we were full we tried not to look but when we unexpectedly homed Peppa during our week of fundraising at Pets at Home in October, I emailed Rebecca to say we had a place, (whether this was strictly true is debatable, and certainly my family would not agree!)

Having spent all day at Pets at Home I got in to pick up call after desperate call from Rebecca asking me to confirm if I could take him as the dogs were being transferred to Battersea that afternoon, and one final call saying I was too late, they had gone.
After lots of calls and emails and the help of modern technology we had a plan in place for the next day with our friend Ali Taylor who works at Battersea.
Ali explained she was at Battersea Old Windsor the next day but she would see what she could do.
The next morning however I had a call from her saying, 'They are here!'

It was all very exciting as we tried to establish which one he was and confirm it with his number by text as I navigated my way to the kennels.
Rebecca sent a text saying,'He is black brindle, stressed and when you stroke him he licks his lips.' I forwarded it to Ali who sent a photo back and said this must be him. She had separated him from the others and put him in an office. I sent the picture to Rebecca who sent a text back saying, 'That's him! Yahoo!'

It was dramatic stuff.

The last time I had been to BOW was when I adopted my first Stafford, Joshua, as a nine week old puppy. It felt like a lifetime ago.
Ali showed me the recent intake and why it was so hard to establish which one he was from my description, 'Brindle, staffie, entire male.' There were half a dozen fitting that description!

However, when I walked into the building there was the most terrible noise. 'Oh,' I innocently remarked, 'I hope that's not who I've come to collect?' The receptionist smiled sympathetically ......it was!

We popped him in the car whilst Ali showed me around and he was quiet, but I began to feel worried.
Once home my fears were realised.
With our system the one thing we need is for dogs to settle quietly in their crates.
 Once in his crate Chance went mad, clearly stressed he made THE most terrible noise.
I rang David Egan in tears, he could not hear me above the noise but managed to give me enough advice.
He advised sitting with my back to the crate until he calmed down. Immediately I could feel him calming.
I ate my dinner there and even wrote the blog there that night!
BUT I did wonder what I had taken on.

Having got through the first night, I did manage to get to bed, Chance did settle though he was very insecure and stuck to me like glue for weeks.

He has now grown in confidence.
He has been neutered and vaccinated, we think he is quite young, 12 to 18 months
He is a stunning looking dog and my vet thinks he is one of the nicest dogs we have ever had.
He is very responsive and easy to train.
Chance needs a home where he can bond with one person and ideally accompany them to work, he would be happy pottering around whilst they worked out of doors. He could live with another dog but needs plenty of attention, he does not 'read' other dogs very well at the moment.
He has lots of energy and would need a home where he could have off lead runs.

It is a sign of the times that he has not yet found a home.