7th January

What a horrible day! Wet, cold dark! Oh no that was yesterday! It seemed, here we go again but then at lunchtime it stopped raining, the sun came out and more importantly it had warmed up by about ten degrees!

Grasped the opportunity and took Spryte and Sandi for a much needed run bumping into a friend on the way, so both dogs had a really good run and Sandi was very well behaved.

The rain did come back again but at least the temperature held.

One or two enquiries coming in along with the "need to be rehomed "calls. Followed them all up, one family have decided to get a new house instead of a new dog which was a bit of a surprise but nice to hear of someone doing well in these hard times.

Spoke with John Laker chairman of SBT Welfare, it is always encouraging to talk to John.

He is about to take in a young bitch who has spent all her life in a cellar.He is already planning her recovery.

At the same time he is facing losing one of his old dogs who has an enlarged heart, she is sixteen and her companion Henry is eighteen, apparently he is fine physically but suffering from "old dog disease" and is lost in his own world.

Also spoke with a lovely man who had recently taken on a very nervous little Staff, having had two rescues before. A member of Welfare he declared he loved the breed and talked extensively about the virtues of all his dogs.

Overall, quite a cheery day for the beginning of January.

6th January

What a horrible day! Cold, wet, dark! Not a good day for Staffies a "Oops no thank you," when you opened the door, sort of day, and it just kept on so no real exercise for anyone here.

I do hope you have enjoyed our twelve dogs of Christmas. It has been great to tell their stories.

I especially enjoyed sharing about the Staffies that have inspired me as it helped me remember why I love the breed so much, my view had become a little jaded of late. You may have noticed a recurring theme in these dogs, I do love a character.

Thank you too for all your comments, which are such an encouragement.

Thanks to "anonymous" for their comment today, you don't know how encouraging and pertinent that was for the day I have had. Maybe I should write it all down and send it to the Times after all........

Tuesday we had three phone calls from people desperate to re-home their dogs. I did pick up the phone to one but two left a message despite my message saying we were full.....and so it goes on.

Tara the Croydon Dog Warden said they had six unclaimed Staffies in and a friend told me of a newspaper article saying a rescue had received a call every eight minutes.

5th december

Our Twelth night dog is Boris.

Boris was re-homed when his owner and partner split up. It was a private arrangement done through an ad in a pet shop.

He was taken on by a couple who had recently lost their Staffy.Whether it was a case of he was too different to their last dog, or he didn't get enough exercise, or just the wrong dog in that home, I don't know, but they came to us with a whole list of problems most of which he has never shown any sign of since.They certainly would have done better going to an established rescue instead of answering a private advert. They finally handed him in when the wife had to go into hospital.

We had a full house as usual but Sandi and Graham offered to foster him with their dog Kassi.

He soon settled down and loved being told he was "a good boy".

He loved Graham but Graham was already ill, Boris sensed this and would not pull on the lead when Graham walked him.

Boris was fostered by Sandi and Graham for six months until in January Graham sadly died.

I went and collected Boris on the 16th of January and took him a long walk, in the slowly thawing snow before he began his stay in kennels.

Not too long later we had an enquiry from a couple wanting to adopt a dog and Boris seemed to fit the bill.

They met him in the kennels and fell in love with him! I couldn't wait to tell Sandi!

She was trying to organise Graham's funeral, I carried on organising Boris's adoption to Jenny and Simon.

Eventually we agreed on a day and a time, I let Sandi know only to find it was exactly the same time as Graham's funeral! At first I thought "O no I won't be able to go to the funeral." But quickly realised Graham would far rather I took Boris to his new home.

So on the 28th January with Graham and Sandi in my thoughts I collected Boris from kennels and drove him south to his new home at Cherry Tree Cottage, meanwhile the vicar speaking at Graham's funeral, told them how Boris the foster dog was at that exact moment on his way to a new home.

After all that time being fostered he only spent 12 days in kennels before finding a home! Now tell me that wasn't meant to be?

Boris is very happy with Jenny and Simon who have done a great job with him working through one or two problems but I know they would not be without him.


                                          In  Memory  of  Graham Beeton-Caird.

  

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4th January



Before he lost his leg



Max

Max was another "approaching Christmas" emergency. He had suffered a shattered elbow from some kind of fall in his home at only four months old. The details of his accident, his home and the relationship between the ladies who handed him in and his home remain very vague. The ladies who contacted us had made sure he received treatment from the RSPCA but could no longer look after him and so he came to us. After a few days his injury broke down and we had to make the decision to have his leg amputated. It was a very emotional time. Recovering well from his operation we took him to the riding school christmas party. One of my daughters friends fell in love with him. They adopted him on Christmas Eve and he travelled up north with them for Christmas, instead of remaining in our overcrowded house.

He has gone on to make a full recovery and is well known around Godalming, promoting Staffie rescue wherever he goes.

3rd January

Our Tenth Day of Christmas dog is our golden girl Sandy, who was the inspiration for starting the blog and one of our biggest rescue stories for last year.

She is doing really well. She loves to run and she will chase rabbits etc but she needs work on recall as sometimes she just doesn't seem to hear you. She also runs up to people and other dogs and jumps around them which is not always appreciated!

What she really needs is a home of her own.

The ideal home for her would be one where she is the only dog and with someone around for most of the time. Any children should be 10 upwards and no cats.

She needs someone who is willing to continue her training and she would benefit from a one to one bond with a balance between affection and laying down boundaries.

Could you be the one to offer her the home she needs and provide the happy ending to her story?

2nd January

Ninth Day of Christmas.

Saffy.

Saffy was a stray in the local council kennels.

Because she was the much sort after "Blue" colour and stunningly good looking she was attracting a lot of attention from people working there, everyone and their Mum wanted to adopt her!

She would jump up at her kennel door when you passed "Choose me, choose me!" But as soon as you walked into her kennel she would run to the back and hide, cowering on her belly. If you tried to walk her she would just lie down and refuse to move. She also showed aggression to other dogs.

She was in season and had recently had pups, by the look of her it was not her only litter, she had probably been used as a breeding machine to produce the very desirable blue coloured pups.

I was desperate to take her in to ensure she was Spayed before she was re-homed and to make sure she went to a responsible home else I could see that her life could get into a downward spiral of unsuitable homes and people who could not cope with her so she ended up being passed from home to home becoming a little more damaged in each until she was un-homeable, as happens to so many Staffords we come across in rescue.

Once home she would charge around the garden but only walk a little way on the lead. A dog trainer showed me how to handle that by walking on and not fussing her. I had poultry in the garden at that time and I shall never forget the first time I picked up the watering can to top up their water with Saffy sniffing nearby....she was gone! And would not come near me until I put the watering can down! One can only imagine what had happened to her!

I think I turned down more prospective homes for Saffy than any other dog. It had to be the right home and they had to be responsible!

Eventually Sally and Simon came along and they ticked all the boxes, not only that, they fell in love with her despite all her challenges.

They have turned out to be an excellent home and Saffy now walks happily on the lead, plays, at first with Sally's mother's dog and now with other dogs and they are currently fostering Bullseye for us too.

Thank you Sally and Simon for the patience you have shown Saffy and for helping her become the wonderful, well adjusted dog she is today.

Rescue dogs do not come to order. "We cannot knit you one," as Barbara Green from North West Rescue says, but with a little effort and a lot of patience they can become the dog of your dreams.

1st January

Bullseye a young male Staffy of 2 years was living in a chaotic household. The family had more than they could handle, with children, multiple dogs and cats. Bullseye was allowed to stray and became 'streetwise' with no master there at his side to care or guide him and give him boundaries. It was for this reason the RSPCA set about securing a rescue placement for him. Alison took him in, although there was no room in a home for Bullseye he was placed into kennels until a space for him was secured.
Bullseye proved to be an accomplished escape artist, climbing the chain link fencing just to say "Hello" to the kennel staff. Needless to say  he loves attention and gives freely his affection to anyone who will spare him the time. For as much of a chaotic life he has had he is house trained and is quiet in the home. He desperately needs a home of his own and someone to bond with on a one to one basis. He is good with dogs and cats and is being fostered in a home with another Staffie.

It is sad to think that whilst people are enjoying fireworks and the coming together of families in which to celebrate the dawn of a new year. There are so many Staffies that require a new home. Many of which will not have the 2nd chance of a family of their own,  nobody to remember their life or mourn their passing.

Only a cold floor and a surgical syringe to put them into a forever silent slumber.

For those dogs that have suffered the fate of the dog pounds as strays we remember you.