30th November

Well I spoke too soon about the drier weather! I was quite surprised how wet the snow was after such cold and this morning we all felt a bit disappointed, not real snow, but we need not have worried, we certainly have real snow now and it's still falling.

How do your dogs react? Most love it. I still remember John Noakes on Blue Peter gambolling in the snow with his dog.

Riley was the most excited out of ours, he is the youngest after all, plenty of youthful enthusiasm. He did get spooked later on however and bolt back from his walk at the ponies. I am not quite sure what it was but one minute he was there the next gone! Jade and I followed his paw prints in the snow, he had gone right back to the yard but managed to be enticed back out for a rough and tumble game with Jade. I think he may have been upset yesterday by the cows as their calves have been weaned and there was a lot of bellowing and agitation, and to think I worried he might attack them. It is a very safe area, with no roads nearby so he was not in any danger.

Sandy quite liked the snow and was not desperate to get out of it. She is still doing well with her toileting in the garden and playing with her ball. She found a toy in the kitchen, a sort of Kong material toy with a squeak. She had great fun shaking and chewing it and pushing it into shoes and piles of newspapers and other stuff on the kitchen floor, making a terrible mess but enjoying herself, I noticed she only chewed the toy leaving everything else. So good to see her happy.
Well the snow is still falling here, let's see what tomorrow will bring.........

Sandy playing with her ball in the snow

29th November

Hi there! Apologies for missing a few days. Cold weather, new technology and a family birthday are my excuses! I hope you have enjoyed our guest bloggers my thanks to them for stepping in.

It certainly is cold but, for the moment at least, it is dry, making dog walking much easier than in the rain. The dogs seem to like it too dashing round with lots of energy after all the scents, they do not seem bothered by it when they are out but I am pleased we do not have any dogs in kennels at the moment.

Sandy has recovered remarkably well from her operation. On Friday I walked her with my dogs Khan and Sprite assisted by a friend. She had to stay on the extending lead because of her spay but the walk was an hour long (the longest she has ever walked?) maybe. She certainly didn't have any problems with it, however she really does not know how to behave in most situations and did not really relate to the other dogs and sometimes got far too close my friend and myself treading on our heels.

We have been giving her time out in the kitchen and only fussing her when she is quiet but she still becomes very excited when someone new walks into the room. She is though eating and drinking well and yesterday I played ball with her in the garden. She really enjoyed it batting at the ball with her front paws and showing a degree of staffie obsessiveness. It was the first time I have seen her behave like a true dog and really look as if she was enjoying herself. When I took her down the garden last night before bed she did a wee which was a first........it will take a while but we are getting there!

28th November 2010

Looking out of the window to a white glistening sheen over the gardens and rooftops, winter has truly arrived early . Daisy, Honey, Oscar and Doris are oblivious, fast asleep snuggled together on the bed.

.They hear their bowls rattle for breakfast. Doris makes her way down slowly, followed by Oscar in an all out charge. Daisy now pacing back and forth in anticipation. Honey the last to surface from the warm bed. Breakfast over, a quick turn in the garden and a mad rush back to secure their place on the bed with the exception of Doris who wants her special time for cuddles.

All are rescue Staffies happily living together, all with their own personality and needs. Ages ranging from 3yrs to 13+ yrs.

Shopping the next requirement of the day. Dogs safely in their own areas of the house, radios synchronised to the same channel ready for the Tesco marathon. Having run the gauntlet in Tesco's I bravely decided the garden centre was the next port of call.
I spied a rather plump middle aged Staffie bitch with her owners in tow. Never being able to walk past a Staffie I bent down to stroke her. I heard the owners say that they would like another one, to the couple standing next to them. Never one to let an opportunity pass, I accosted the owners, thinking this could be a chance for Bullseye or Riley. Sadly they also had a handsome Boxer with them but would have taken another Staffie had the circumstances been different.

I can honestly say that during each day somewhere in the background my thoughts are never far away from those Staffies needing our help. Whether it is finding homes, raising funds, educating people on the breed or raising awareness of their plight. Of which I have recently emailed Lord Hattersley, he owned a Staffie X called Buster, because of his relationship with Buster Lord Hattersley wrote a book called Buster's Secret Diaries. The antics of  Buster made me laugh relating many of them to my own dogs. Sadly Buster died last year. On behalf of Stafford Welfare I have asked  for help albeit in a small way, also would he consider becoming Patron to Stafford Welfare. As yet there has been no reply. 

Home at last welcomed by 4 enthusiastic dogs all descending on the bags to see what goodies the humans have bought home. Daisy decides a DVD is food and runs off with it. Thankfully no harm was done only a chewed box!
Time to check the emails, 2! A smile spreads across my face, an adoption and a foster enquiry. My heart sinks and I slump back in the chair.
10 year old bitch owner is going away in December she offers £100 for us to re home  the dog to a good home!
2 year old dog, has bitten owner on several occasions, the last time the dog had come over for his belly to be
rubbed and then gone for the owner. The owner is now frightened of the dog. Could we take him and re home him otherwise he would have him put down on Monday. Sadly we had to advise the owner that the dog was not suitable for re homing and what he proposed was the kindest thing for the dog.

Alison and I talk on the phone trying to bolster one another up. Tomorrow is another day maybe just maybe a suitable home will come up for one of the dogs.This is what keeps us going.   Valerie

Friday 26th November

Welcome to our guest blogger :-

MONTY’S Blog Nov 22. 2010
Just turned seven and there’s a curtain of greasy rain falling as Monty and I head out for our morning muddy trudge through theWiltshire countryside. We live close to Salisbury city centre, yet, quite amazingly, it takes only six minutes to be crossing the first field that opens up to hundreds of miles of public and permissive footpaths.
But first we must pass maybe a dozen houses where two things are happening; there’s a blue glow in the front window - the TV is already on and in the back garden there’s a dog barking mad in the darkness,. It has heard the tinkle of Monty’s collar medal as we pass. That dog won’t be going anywhere today or tomorrow or any another day. Yet he is captive within a minutes of dog-walk paradise.
It’s said that we Brits enjoy a long-standing love affair with their dogs. This month celebrates the 150 years since Battersea opened its doors to cast-aside dogs (and cats) and in that time they’ve rescued 3 million animals. The other voluntary rescues are desperately over-loaded. So surely something has gone very wrong with that love affair.
We daily walk for between two and three hours in beautiful countryside. Yes, even in the rain. Yet - and I’m quite specific about this - we rarely meet more than one dog (a Jack Russell) and his owner.
Last year, I regularly encountered a woman who was clearly keen on fitness and walking. Articulate and intelligent, she admired Monty and asked me about Staffies. “Intelligent, robust, great fun and best friends,” I said. “They are not dangerous dogs"
She explained her husband was about to retire and wanted a dog. “Lots and lots of them waiting in rescues for the right home,” I said.
Weeks went by and then I met the retired couple by the Avon . They were throwing sticks for a young labradoodle, the designer mongrels which cost up to £1,000
Rescue dog? “No,” she said. “Got him in south Wales. Pretty expensive, but a lovely little dog. Very nice, helpful breeder too. Met us in a car park to save us getting lost in the Welsh hills. He’s sending on the papers...”

25th November

Sorry for no entry yesterday,still grappling with the new technology!
Sandy is fine after her spay and showing no ill effects. She is eating and toileting and rolling on her back to show us how beautifully her wound is healing!
I cannot believe she has been with us over a week now or that we did actually manage to achieve our goal and take her in. It did not happen as I expected and it was not really until Monday evening when I heard from Sally how well Bullseye had settled, that we could really relax.

Sally and Simon have kindly taken Bullseye as a foster to go with Saffy whom they adopted from us in summer last year. Bullseye is having a lovely time with lots of cuddles and also playing happily with Sally's mothers dog, an entire male, which just shows what a lovely temperament he is. Our thanks to Sally and Simon for their help without which we could not have taken Sandy in.
Also thanks to Glenn and Anna for rehoming Piglet(an extraordinary little dog who leaves a BIG impression on all she meets)

Heard from Tara,Sandy's dog warden this morning and apparently Sandy's former owners have been calling the tenancy officer saying what a horrible person she is for taking Sandy away. It was down to Tara's determination and efforts that Sandy was rescued so maybe you would like to comment to encourage Tara.

A quick word on Sandy's toileting behaviour. She has not had any accidents in the house and seems to understand that she should do it outside. She will go in the garden first thing in the morning and during a walk later on. She is quite conservative, and does not go a lot of times. She does not go however when I take her out to the garden in the evening or at night and becomes agitated and lies down! I am not sure what this tells us and sorry if this is "too much detail" but hey ,"welcome to my world," as these observations are how I get to know each dog in my care and work out the what sort of needs they have and what sort of home they will require!

Caption Competition Winner

This is an email from our Caption Competition winner:

Thank you so much for the gift box.  I thought I would send you a picture of Bingo surveying his prize.  Bingo came from staffierescue's Gatwick Kennels, you are probably aware of Lynne and Sharon (Rescue Remedies), our dog was called Mr Bing on their site, he is Bingo to us and a lovely stafford, looked just like the one in the caption compeition!!!

I am happy to say he is a typical in your face, walk through the door and he acts as if he has never seen you before in his life, happy, loves the kids would do anything for them (except stop pulling on the lead). 

23rd November:

Sandy has been spayed which was routine and went well. She is quiet and sleepy tonight and refused food but is comfortable in her bed next to the radiator. We also have her medical history which Tara managed to track down from the vets. It makes interesting reading and shows her owners were struggling to cope quite early on but she was up to date with her vaccinations and had seen the vet regularly. Most importantly it gives us an age for her. She was born in May 07 making her 3 and a half.

A few comments about neutering, or at least care after the op. We are very lucky in that our vet is, in my opinion, a genius at neutering ops! She is to operations what Nigella is to cooking! There appears to be a little magic involved! She does these very clever internal stitches so that the biggest problem we have is keeping the dog quiet! We also like to keep them active. Sandy has already been a short walk on the lead, allowing her to do her "business". Tomorrow she will go out for 15 to 20 mins, on the lead, at a nice steady pace. This I believe keeps everything moving and aids healing, far better than molly coddling and keeping the dog in.