31st December

Happy New Year From All at Guildford Stafford Rescue!


Thanks to Val for last nights blog and sharing the ups and downs of her past few weeks with Luci.
What a difference from the photos of a hunched, skinny little dog when she first came in to the relaxed, contented dog in the more recent photos. Well done Val.





As a special on the last day of the year we are having a brief review of 2011
Our thanks to all our supporters and followers especially those who have made donations and kept Guildford Stafford Rescue afloat. It has been a great year!

JANUARY
We had the first meeting of the Stafford Forum at Battersea Dogs Home.

FEBRUARY
Dolly is homed.

MARCH

Cleo has operation on her knee and comes for recuperation.

APRIL
Cleo still with us, target is reached for her appeal, thanks to all who donated to this.
Bullseye homed.
Royal Wedding.

MAY

Four days fundraising Pets at Home.









JUNE

Battersea Old Windsor Open Day.

JULY
Lexus is 9 on the 14th

AUGUST
Family Holiday Seagull Cottage
Angel stayed with David and Pat Bennet and Jess
Sapphire and Jade boarded by Glenn.

SEPTEMBER
Peppa taken in (we discover she is deaf)

OCTOBER
SBT Welfare AGM
Four days fund raising Pets at Home.

NOVEMBER

The first National SBT Day with events taking place throughout the country, we attend Discover Dogs and hold our Stafford Walk.
Battersea launch their 'Staffies they're softer than you think.' campaign.
Battersea and some members of Welfare have an audience with parliament.
Lots of press coverage.

DECEMBER
Bullies in Need Fundraiser

Christmas!

30th December

It's nearly 2012,  hope and faith is renewed.
I took in Luci a 20 week old puppy as a foster never dreaming that one so young could have so many behavioural problem. I am well used to having puppy Staffies and was not undaunted by the fact but nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to encounter.
The first night Stuart and I had no sleep with her constant barking and whining until Stuart took her out of her crate and slept with her on the bed in the spare room. The next day we took her with us to Bristol on a business trip but when we left her in the car it was apparent that she would under no circumstances be left willingly in the car. She was allowed to come into the sales room with us where she settled on top of my feet, if she could have melted into me she would have. Luci would not go out in the garden unless I went out with her, then as quick as a flash back indoors only to run upstairs later to poo or wee. As soon as she lost sight of me she would throw a tantrum barking and whining. I realised that there was obviously some deep lying problems, which should not be with a 20 week old pup. I contacted the previous owners mother explaining what I had been encountering and that I needed to know a truthful account of her back ground and behaviour so that I knew what I was dealing with. From the conversation it was quite apparent that Luci suffered from separation anxiety, was not house trained or trained in anything, she jumped up and bit with intent, biting any part of you that she could get hold of. She was a puppy that was never left, only taken out in the garden when her owners were having a cigarette break, tied her up to a wardrobe when they went for a shower in case she chewed. This puppy had no input with regards to training from them, they thought she would train herself!
The first week I took her to work with me. When in the van and left she would just curl up and go to sleep. Out in the gardens she would walk on my heels as I mowed the grass, it was me and my shadow. At home I was unable to go into any room or the garden without her or she would throw a tantrum, even with Stuart there and the dogs. I knew that unless Luci could be turned around she would need to be put to sleep. It is not a decision that is taken lightly and unfair on a dog to be pushed from pillar to post throughout its life. Everyone has to go out at sometime, shopping, the doctors, hospital appointments etc. The way Luci was it would only exacerbate out of control and she would probably also become destructive. She was not re home able and her future looked bleak. I contacted Robert Alleyne from the T.V. program Dog Borstal and discussed Luci he explained that unless I was prepared to keep her for a while there would be no point to a consultation as all it would be doing is controlling the situation not curing it. I agreed and he kindly gave me a special rate as Luci was in rescue and arranged to come to see her on Tuesday 22nd December.  However on the Friday prior to this Luci had a tantrum in the crate which lasted 4 hours! It was like Chinese torture, I spoke to Alison who could not believe the noise that she was making, John, the chairman of Welfare rang he could not believe the noise. In desperation I rang Robert Alleyne to ask for advice prior to his visit sadly he could not give any as he had not assessed her and gears his advice to a specific dog and the situation. Luci continued, I turned the radio up, I really don't know what my neighbours thought, still the barking and whining continued. I could have easily taken her there and then to the vets.  Out of shear desperation I kicked the crate and screamed shut up!!! I cried to think that I had been pushed that far and it is something I am not proud of but suddenly there was silence and Luci slept for 2 hours. I was counting down the days to Robert Alleyne's visit, hoping for a miracle as I knew that I could not continue the way things were.
Tuesday 10am the doorbell rang, the dogs barked, I opened the door and larger than life, or so it seemed was this smiling, reassuring face looking back at me. Daisy, Honey, Oscar and Doris greeted him and settled whilst Luci jumped on the chair ran up his back onto his shoulders, biting his neck arms and hands. He promptly put her on the floor and held her there with her squealing, Daisy and Honey rushed over to make sure she was alright but I told them to leave and they walked away.



Robert asked about the problems I had been encountering, I explained I kicked the crate on the Friday and that Luci quietened and went to sleep he reassured me that it was obviously what she needed. I told him Luci's history, her diet including treats and her daily routine, and how was she within the pack. All the while he was assessing Luci, our dogs and me. After a couple of hours I had to take out our dogs so that all that was left in the room was Robert, Luci and I, he undertook a training session with her on the LEAVE command with two training aids, two cuddly toys and some treats suddenly she changed into a different dog! Stuart could not believe the transformation when he came home from work that evening, saying it was worth every penny to see her like it. Totally amazing, even as I write this looking back I cannot believe it. Robert was here for a total of six hours. I also have to work with Oscar my big delinquent who does not always take notice of me!
Luci's diet has been changed, with on going training exercises and a weekly update to Robert on Luci's progress. Suddenly Luci has a future!!!!
I am now able to leave a room without her, she will happily settle and sleep next to any of our dogs instead of Stuart and I. Luci goes out in the garden on her own or with the dogs without rushing back in, she is house trained, sleeps in a crate at night without barking or whining. I can even get up in the night to go to the toilet without her starting, you do not know how much a relief that is! Her jumping up and biting is 90% better. She will sit and wait in the hall when the door bell goes not rushing up to the visitor. Her re call was always excellent partly due to her separation anxiety. Luci will sit until you throw a ball return with it, drop the ball and sit. Today Stuart and I went shopping, as always the dogs are separated Luci was put in her crate with a marrow bone there was silence as we left and on our return after one and a half hours we stood outside our house listening for the tell tale barking instead SILENCE reigned. Luci should be up for re homing if all continues well in the next month or so. Whilst we will be sad to see her go at least we know that we have given her an extra chance of a good life and at such a young age she deserved it even if she did take us to hell and back.

You may ask why are we not keeping her?  Realistically we could not afford another dog with vaccinations, insurance, Advocate, worming and vet bills, food and not to mention 2- 3 hour walks each day.
So whilst everyone is enjoying their New Year celebrations without a worry about lying in bed the next morning to recover. Take a moment to think of Alison who will still have to get up to feed water and exercise the dogs in her care whilst waiting for a home of their own.


I would like to thank you all personally for your support and Wish You All A Very Happy New Year.
Author  Valerie

29th December

Sorry bit late with blog tonight, seduced by good telly then did the usual, fell asleep.

Bully and Simon.

I let Kye and Jade off together on the walk today, before, I have let Kye off but kept Jade on. He tried to play going totally over the top but she 'put him in his place' even so they did some charging about and tonight we have had one very tired puppy! Hooray.

The next dog we homed was Monty, at the beginning of March. This was a home to home which I believe worked out but I have no pictures. I have left a message for Monty's new owner and will share any pictures we receive in response.

Bully and Hanni.

The next dog we homed was Bullseye.
Bullseye came from a chaotic family with other dogs, cats and lots of children. He regularly strayed and was well known at the local pound. He was pretty bombproof but just ran in a straight line and didn't stop!
Sally, Simon and Saffy fostered him for months before Melissa and Patrick adopted him as a third dog to go with Hanni their other male Staffy and their female crossbreed. Introducing a third dog really changed the dynamics and David Egan helped them restore order which they worked very hard on and were rewarded with excellent results.
Sadly Hanni has since suffered a stroke and lost the use of his back leg. We extend our sympathy to Melissa and Patrick over this and wish Hanni a full and speedy recovery.
Melissa has promised to write an article about introducing a new dog into a multi dog household, when personal circumstances allow.

28th December

I was woken at 7am by Kye. It was genuine because I tried to get him out as quickly as I could but was just not quick enough getting my boots on and poor chap couldn't hold it. Never mind there was a dog towel handy! Dear Kye still squats to 'pee' and does it almost immediately you are outside, as he spent most of his puppy hood in flats it is not surprising and remarkable he is trained at all.

Tara

I was not impressed when it started raining just as I got the two oldies,Tara and Lexus out for their walk, however it soon stopped and failed to dampen spirits. Tara went mad in the woods putting her tail between her legs and careering madly around performing last minute hand brake turns. You would never know she was ten, it makes me marvel how agile they are as a breed. Playing ball with Sapphire and Angel I am amazed at their speed, they are faster than the ball when I throw it down a slope, incredible.
Tara and Lexus are so comfortable together I indulge in a little fantasy that they know each other from their past, it is a possibility. It is still a treat to walk them both.

Our dog of the day is Kye.
Kye is 9 months old and spent the first part of his life in inappropriate homes in flats with young children and being passed from home to home by internet ads. By the time he was 7 months he had had a different home for each month of his life.
He is Staffie crossed with something much bigger poss German Shepherd.
He is quick to learn but requires ongoing training especially within a home environment.
He could live with another dog but must not be allowed to play continuously.
He would best be suited to a home with teenage children upwards due to boisterousness.
An experienced home would be best.

27th December

We have had a very pleasant Christmas so far here at the Oakden abode especially considering we are a very full house indeed.
We even managed lunch at my brother in laws yesterday. They graciously ate early so we could leave in time to walk dogs before dark, meaning we had all the best bits like a delicious lunch, and missed all the awkward bits, like making conversation afterwards, should have thought of this years ago.

Batley

No special events today so I set out to give the dogs more exercise. Only problem everyone was out walking today.
I took Chance up the bridleway in the woods. When I let him off he shot off full pelt up the hill, I called and he came back only to take off yet again, this time when I called he did not return. This is so out of character as he usually sticks to me like glue and has only recently become confident enough to venture further but never far or for long.
Despite continued calling, nothing! I hate it when this happens, although there is no immediate danger of roads or the like, when you can't see them you don't know what they are doing (awful pictures flood my mind) and they are hardly 'under control,' as the law requires.
After a long ten minutes a friend came by jogging and stopped to help, she thought she heard something and after I continued calling we heard someone calling back, not very often and not very loud. I puffed up the steep hill to find a girl with a big male Staffie cross, that has gained quite a  reputation locally for being out of control. There was Chance, apparently they had been playing happily for ten minutes! We must have followed them up the hill and Chance ran off to play.

Oh,' judge not that ye be not judged!' I have been 'tutting' when I met this dog, but now it was my dog who was out of control, and the owner was completely non condemning, perhaps I should suggest walking together again!

It is funny how one remembers events. I certainly have had problems remembering the dogs we have homed this year despite numbers being down on past years. I have had to check back and I had forgotten Batley.
Forgotten because he was so easy. We didn't have him very long, he was SO straightforward and he went to my friends Paul and Sue at the Wheatsheaf in Bramley at the beginning of March. I only rang them about something else and happened to mention him, the rest, as they say, is history. He settled in almost immediately and is adored by all he meets, which is quite a few as he lives in a pub! During the day he accompanies Paul to work, for Batley it is the perfect life.
I could only find one picture of him and that was after much searching.

Counting up we have homed 9 dogs so far this year, still time to make it double figures...

26th December

For our twelve Dogs of Christmas the idea is to alternate a dog we homed in the past year with a dog who is still waiting for a home.
Our dog today is Angel.

Angel is 5 years old. She originally came in from a home with young children and another male dog with whom she had a litter. She was not walked and left to play in the garden with the other dog and chased her tail so badly  she was damaging the end.
We homed her and her tail chasing stopped immediately but sadly her dog aggression became worse making it impossible to walk her with their one year old son and she was returned.
She is a highly strung,very intelligent little dog who is very well trained.
She would suit an experienced home where she is the only dog and could be walked where she is unlikely to meet many other dogs.

She is excellent in the home, very affectionate and would be an exceptional dog in the right home, she is one of my favourites.

24th December

This time last year, Christmas Eve, we were asked by another rescue if we could take in an 18 week old female pup that the fosterer had returned. It being Christmas Eve most of their usual options were unavailable. We had cut down for Christmas so had a space, so Dolly came as our Christmas puppy.
From the moment she arrived she was a delight and no trouble whatsoever.

She stayed with us until the beginning of February when she was adopted by Nathalie and her family.
Dolly has remained a lovely girl and a great ambassador for her breed.

Some of her photos have been used by Battersea in their 'Staffies they're softer than you think' campaign and Nathalie tells everyone how wonderful Staffies are and especially Dolly who is adored by the whole family.

23rd December

Still feeling ridiculously stressed but beginning to calm down as the day draws nearer. Managed bank,petrol and Sainsburys today avoiding worst queues although petrol was on second attempt and Sainsburys on third.



This was the scene at our party last year.

 Have been coping with two instead of three crates in the car since Monday. Jon borrowed one for Kye and Smudge's should have been back on Tuesday but was delayed as replacement not in. This makes things very difficult for me as I can only take two dogs out with me instead of three which means more left at home and makes a huge difference.
However, picked up Smudge's cage this morning and Jon returned cage this evening, sadly along with Kye as things didn't work out. So full quota of cages but another 'guest' for Christmas.
Handover of Kye coincided with cloud burst so wet feet and most everything else too. Happy Christmas indeed!
It is our Christmas party at the ponies tomorrow so I am busy baking mince pies and sausage rolls and writing this with greasy fingers.
Felt like Christmas Eve this evening, little traffic etc, wonder how tomorrow will be.

We hope to do our twelve dogs of Christmas again plus comments from the residents staying at the Oakden Hotel over the festive period, if time and energy allow.

Wishing you all a wonderful peaceful Christmas.

Alison.

21st December

BT engineer has been. Partial solution and internet restored. Dave will sort phones as it is due to our extension wire.
Fortunately engineer was a dog lover/owner and pretty accepting sort of a chap seemingly unfazed by conditions in our abode!



Some of the feed bowls

 I have been helping someone else and in total today I have fed 11 dogs, 6 ponies, 2 cats, 2 pigs and 5 of us.
I have walked 9 of the dogs, some of them more than once! No wonder I feel weary.
I also did my main Christmas food shop which I found ridicuously stressful not least paying for it all!

No snow and fairly mild but horribly messy underfoot, my kitchen floor is black again.

Received a card  from the Chief Executive of Battersea and other members of the forum including our friend Ali Taylor. It is the picture of the Staffies plus knitted Staffie in front of Westminster bearing their slogan, 'Staffies are softer than you think.'
I feel very proud to be part of it all.


A bag of food of this size lasts a week.



All done!

 Also lovely to get cards from owners of dogs we have homed, a great one from Syd.









Just to let you know, we sorted something for the two dogs and their seven pups.

20th December



Kye

 Still having problems with internet and phones. Chased it up today only to find out an engineer had not been booked on Friday as we had thought, so starting all over again!

Kye has been neutered and is now in his Christmas foster placement with Jon and Lynne.



Kye having a training session with Sam outside Pets at Home.

 Smudge has been fully adopted by her new family.

I did not get one call about Tara but she is doing very well and it is a pleasure having her here.



Tara

 With Kye going out and one dog less it seems quiet and easy but I can't count, it's only five rescue guests we have not six, at least I hope so!

Have heard of mum, dad and 7 eleven week old pups needing re-homing. They are Staffie X I am trying to sort something for them but not with us there is no room at this Inn this Christmas.

17th December



Happy Christmas.

 Still only a tenuous internet connection.

I am going to collect Kye from kennels tomorrow (instead of attending a Christmas drinks party! No further comment.)
Kye is booked in for neutering on Monday, he will then spend Monday night here and go to Jon and Lynne for foster over Christmas.
He is now 9 months old, we think he is crossed with German Shepherd, he still needs a permanent home.

Christmas cards almost done, will get some new photos of dogs soon.

It looks as if we will have six 'rescue' guests over Christmas, see how they rate the service in the Christmas blogs!

16th december

A very quick blog just to let you know we have been having major problems with our internet and landline phone. We hope this will be resolved in next few days but apologies if anyone has had trouble contacting us.

We hope to feature a different dog for each of the twelve days of Christmas as we did last year probably between dogs we have homed this year and those still waiting.

Hope your Christmas plans are going well.

Alison.

15th December

Just a brief blog tonight as been writing family Christmas letter hopefully make it with 2nd class post. Why does it always get to last minute?
Had most normal day today I have had for weeks. Felt all dogs I was responsible for had sufficient exercise even managed some training with Angel and Chance. Also did supermarket, housework arranged haircut (much needed) and organised for Kye to be castrated and to go to Jon and Lynne for foster over Christmas, starting 20th December.
So not bad day.
Have not had single call about Tara despite newspaper ad. In Surrey Times today too.
Smudge is doing well in her home.


Spryte and Lexus on holiday. Seems a long time ago.

 Cold weather on way!

14th december

Little Luci the 20 week old pup Val took in proved very difficult to start with so Val and Stuart hardly had any sleep for two nights! She was insecure and had separation anxiety so that she needed to be close to you constantly. Val could not even move her foot without her jumping up and whining. The other dogs did not calm her at all and she would not settle in a crate even if someone stayed next to her.
Val despaired and really wondered if Luci had a future as she was un-homable as she was.
So Val contacted the mother of the young man who had handed her in and we gained a fuller picture.

If you wonder why so many Staffords are in rescue, here is Luci's story as we have pieced it together and I would suggest this is not an isolated case but what is happening all over.

Someone bred a litter of un registered pups. Whether this was intentional or one of these 'amazing' accidents we are always hearing of, I don't know.
Friends came round to coo over the cute babies but when asked if they wanted one the answer was 'No.' Their work, home, lifestyle did not allow it. Then they found they could not home the puppies, they grew and grew, now getting long past the age when they could have been homed and they could not afford to vaccinate them.
So, they pleaded with their friends and people who never really wanted a puppy and whose lifestyle was not suitable now succumbed and took one.
The boys who took Luci were like that. They were living in one room of a rented house and one was working. No access to a garden for toilet training, unable to securely leave her when they went out.No money for vaccines. Apparently they had to tie her to the wardrobe to have a shower! She in turn became completely dependant on them constantly being there and with no outlet for her energy increasingly hyper.
Then they split up and moved home to Mum and Luci came too!
Thankfully Mum had also paid for the vaccinations. She had a dog and a cat of her own.
So then they began ringing round rescues and of course all are full. Luci is the third five month old pup we have heard of in the past week.


Out with the gang on one of the first walks

 When Val spoke to the mother and told her of the difficulties she was having, the mother completely understood as she had struggled for a week with her.

Val then rang Ali Taylor our friend from Battersea Dogs home and Ali was able to give her advice as she has taken in many such dogs. Things have slowly started to improve.



Settled in the crate at last!

 Thanks to Val and Stuart, thanks to Ali Taylor, thanks to GDSBTR and all of you who support us Luci now has a future.

12th December

Here is the article from the Surrey Advertiser about the Stafford Walk. The dog featured is Tara (not our present Tara) but another older lady we re-homed last year. Thanks to Sandi Beeton-Caird for the photo (she sent several to the paper for me, they picked this one)

They wrote the bit saying the walk was to promote the work of the rescue, which is of course not really true as it was to promote the breed, but they have said that too so we will let them off.

Thanks to all who have given donations recently we are very grateful.
Pets At home in Godalming are supporting us in their 'Support Adoption' Christmas appeal. We will benefit from the 'round the pound' giving and people can also donate items to the charity bin.They have huge signs on the counter declaring this. We have already received some lovely goodies.
 We also have any food or goods that are put in the charity bin and have done very well lately with an almost full bag of Wainwrights food which is what we feed anyway, and today, a huge bag of tripe sticks which smell awful but the dogs love, also very expensive so I do not normally buy, so we are doing very well and the dogs enjoying some extra treats.
Thank you to all who support in any way.

10th December

I'm back! And....we made it into the Surrey Advertiser. Not just the ad for Tara but a piece about the Stafford Walk. It really is a very positive write up, I will scan it,when time and energy allows, so that you can see it. I only wrote some of it the rest they have taken from the website but as these things go it is fairly accurate and I am very pleased, I lurve a bit of media coverage.



Angel with Jess on her summer holiday.

 So Val took in that puppy after all. Apparently the other lady went to look at her and said she was too small, so they rang Val and took her straight round.
Val was having a very busy day attending her grandson's school Christmas performance, among other things, so, as often is the way, it was not the best time to take in a puppy, but she did it anyway and we are very grateful to her.
Her day continued to be busy and the pup 'challenging', so for the moment we have swapped roles and I am the one enjoying a quiet night with Tara snoozing on the floor next to me.
More info and photos when Val gets a chance....



'Please like me Jess?'

 Walking Tara and Lexus together remained the highlight of last week. They really seemed like they had been together for ever. Lexus would take his tennis ball and Tara run madly round in circles in the field occasionally barking, so good to see her  happy. (She is snoring beside me now.)

At one point Tara stopped to squat and then shot off full pelt, at the same time Lexus had dropped his ball by my foot and left his nose there in anticipation of my kicking the ball, only problem, Tara was on the extending lead rapidly hurtling to its full length. If I stepped forward I would have tripped over Lexus' nose and gone flying. I did a sort of lurch with my upper body and let the lead go, averting disaster, but who said these two oldies were a nice safe walk!

Work in the garden continues.

My neighbour felt too exposed with the trees cut down so has had panel fencing erected at the top of the garden (very smart and secure for us.) It meant moving the dismantled kennel I have had lying there for years. So on Friday Steven moved it to the bottom of the garden for me, while I cut back an aggressive shrub rose and laid two bags of bark down so the dogs have a dry area near the top of the garden for their toilet. It took far longer than expected but I am very pleased with the result.

9th November

Dear All,
Alison has lost service on her computer for the last few days so is unable to do the blog.
I was hoping to do it  tonight but circumstances has stopped me. We have taken in a 20 week old puppy today, which I will be fostering and making an assessment of her. Her name is Lucy but I will be spelling it Luci from now after a dear friend.
So watch this space I hopefully will have some photos and her story tomorrow. I have an early start tomorrow driving to Bath to look at a lorry for the business as we have to change the current one due to the Low Emission Zone that will be coming in force on January 3rd. Thank you government you are really helping small businesses.

Valerie

7th December

A brief update on everyone.
Sandy and Kye are in kennels and both are settled and well and they can stay there for the moment.
Tara is in Sandy's bed so really Sandy cannot come back until Tara goes as it would be too unsettling for everyone. So it was a great relief to know they were settled and could stay but then in the middle of the night I began to worry about the money.
Next to vet fees kennelling is the most expensive outlay of funds. Whereas with veterinary costs you cannot  cut corners, kennelling always seems such a waste. It is much cheaper to keep them in foster. Even with rescue discount it costs almost £400 to kennel two dogs for a month. Last month, with so many dogs in, our kennel costs were nearly £600
Our thanks to those who have given donations but to continue to help so many dogs we need your continued support.

Smudge is almost one week into a two week trial at her new home, Things seem to be going well so far.

Tara and Lexus enjoyed another walk together today they really are like Darby and Joan.

I took a call today about a five month old female who had been bought by someone for his partner. They had now parted and the owner worked too much to care for the puppy and had taken time off work to find her somewhere. He was in val's area so I took details and said she would contact him. When she did she was told someone from  a rescue nearby (in a road known to Val) was going to see the puppy on Friday.
You can imagine this felt like a kick in the teeth when we had offered to help. Oh, the delights of rescue!

A complete aside, with my columnists hat on, I bought a different bath soak today as it was cheaper than my normal. Whilst I soaked in my bath I peered at the bottle and saw it reassured me it was 'paragen' free! Well isn't that good to know.....

6th December

Tara has been given a clean bill of health!
No blood in the urine sample, blood tests clear.
It was quite a surprise as I was preparing myself for bad news although she did look remarkably well when she trotted off with James at the vets this morning.
Now we know there are no lurking nasties we can get on and find her a home.
There will be an ad in the Surrey Advertiser this Friday and in the Guildford Times next Wednesday.

She had to miss breakfast so was very pleased to be fed. I left the door of her crate open while I had lunch, Lexus had warmed her bed whilst she was at the vets and she took herself in and sniffed around and then rolled around on her back. It was the first time she has taken herself in there.

Later I walked her with Lexus. He insisted on taking a tennis ball and they trotted along happily enough, he with the ball in his mouth. She is slightly taller but he is at least twice as wide as she is!
When we reached the field Tara began eating grass and I kicked Lexus' ball. She wanted to chase but i stopped her. After he had had a run I clipped him on and let Tara off. She tore round the field giving the odd high pitched bark, doing that mad 'Staffie' thing. At one point she crashed right into him!



Just out of shot, Bella, Hippo and Bonbon and Chance

 Run over, I clipped them back on and they trotted home.



I found the photos of the Stafford Walk I thought I had lost, here is one on the Lammas land.