11th May

Good news and Bad news today.

Good News First :-
I picked up the June edition of Dogs Today magazine and we are in! Woohoo!
As I walked back to the car with it clasped in my hands I thought I should wait until I was back at the ponies to look in case it was disappointing or upsetting. Yeah right! I barely made it into the car!
 It is an excellent article and very positive towards Staffies which has to be good. 'Yours truly' is quoted quite a bit, I hope its ok, Karen Cornish who wrote the feature is very skilled.

Karen concludes with. 'The Stafford is a wonderful people dog who devotes his life to his family, so it's about time people realised the nanny dog, like Mary Poppins,is practically perfect.'

If you want to know what else it says you will have to buy a copy and read it.

Boycie covered in fox poo after his walk today.

All five of our rescues are featured in the Adopt Me section.


The Bad News:-

Angel after wallowing in the puddle.

I took Saffy and Angel to the vet as they both had lumps that needed checking. Angels was on her head and had been seen by the veterinary nurse a few weeks ago when  it was quite big but has since been getting smaller and now has almost gone. Jane the vet thought this was a haematoma as it had become smaller, and was nothing to worry about. She was also pleased with Angel's tail, though she still spins she tends to 'suck' her tail rather than bite it, as she used to. Jane said it was not damaged and that it was not always necessary to correct such behaviour  if it wasn't resulting in damage as it was the dogs way of coping. A bit like us having a fag or a glass of wine!


Saffy's lump however, has done the opposite and got bigger, she has had it for sometime, it is in her left groin and felt like part of the muscle, she has very big muscles!

Jane thought this was worrying and should be removed and tested.
To have this done would cost about £300
When they tested it it would be to establish what it was and also to find if it had spread deeper into the muscle, if this was the case then deeper and more drastic surgery would be required or the leg amputated.
When considering what to do it is different with a dog in rescue compared to one in a loving home. For instance now we know the lump is worrying we cannot carry on and home her, we have to take action one way or another.
Saffy has now been with us two years with no homes forthcoming, she is eight years old.
Our options are :-
A; Put her to sleep now.
B;Have the lump removed and tested, then make a decision on the findings.

You have to ask, is it right to spend £300 on an eight year old dog that does not have a home and has already cost the rescue a lot of money, would the money be better spent on a younger dog?

We could launch an appeal just to raise the money for the first op, but we could spend that money and still end up having to let her go.

I would very much value your opinions as it is your money that we are spending. If you cannot comment please email, address on website.
We look forward to hearing your views.
Thank you, Alison.