Heidi – 5 1/2 month old female Cross-Breed

Heidi has not had the best of starts but despite her early experiences she is an absolute cracker of a cross-breed pup aged 5 1/2 months old. Heidi was discovered by an RSPCA inspector living in a tiny crate that was deep in faeces. Heidi absolutely stunk and was (and still is) considerably underweight, so you can imagine how keen we are to find her a forever home soon. Heidi is going be a big dog. We suspect she is a GSD cross Collie.

Heidi is a wonderful little girl with bags of beautiful energy and love to give. She is only 5 and half months old and has had very little socialisation or training but in the short time she has been with us she has already learnt a few basic commands like sit and down and she gets along well with the other dogs.

Heidi is genuinely happy to meet everyone and even loves going to the vets; her tail was wagging so much that it made the consult table rock! She travels well in the car and she is slowly getting used to walking down busy roads with traffic.

Because she has spent most of her life in a cramped cage Heidi will experience separation anxiety and until such time she is fully settled and adjusted she will not be able to be left for more than two hours at a time. Heidi will need an experienced dog owner to house-train her, socialise her and work through all her puppy training needs. You will need to be a very patient but firm owner and in return you will see this little lady come along in leaps and bounds. Heidi can be quite destructive when left alone so please be aware that requires considerable commitment from a new owner.

Heidi is a really sweet and affection little thing who loves ear rubs and belly tickles. She enjoys going on walks and will stop to get fusses off all passers bye. She is very gentle and generally calm so we would be happy to re-home Heidi with older children. With lots of love and attention Heidi will be a smashing dog: she is very bright and focused and we know that with the right training it won’t take her long to blossom.

Sadie – 1-3 year old female Staffordshire Bull Terrier

Sadie is smashing young girl with a tremendous amount of love to give. She is a real cutie who just wants to be hugged and have her belly tickled all day long! She is a one year old Stafford Bull terrier who is happy and excited to meet everyone. She came into our care because her owner was no longer capable of looking after. Sadie prefers walks and a cuddle to playing but we think playing with toys and balls is something she will become more interested in as she settles into her new home. She walks well on a lead and harness but can pull occasionally if she sees something particularly interesting! She already knows ‘sit’ and ‘paw’ and is very focused on you during training so we know she will be a quick learner.

Sadie seems happy with other dogs but does enjoy being centre of attention. When out walking, if another dog is leading our group, she can get a bit jealous and bark until the focus is back on her! Again, this is something that can be helped with training, but because of this we would only re-home either on her own or with an older, laid back dog that is happy to let Sadie rule the roost. Sadie is a real joy to have a round; she has a beautiful smile that lights up your day and such a loving nature that it’s impossible not to love her back.

Whoever adopts Sadie must be aware that she cannot be left for more than a couple of hours a day, as she does suffer from separation anxiety. You will also need to be firm but fair in your approach to her and willing to take her to training classes as she does still act like a puppy at times. She will make a great family pet and a fabulous companion animal but because Sadie likes to jump up to meet people and give them kisses we feel it best that any children in the home are 8 years and over.

Oscar – 3 year old male Cross-Breed

Oscar’s story is extremely upsetting and moving; his first owner was a man who used to beat him and allow him to roam the streets. He was rescued by a family who did their best to look after him but they struggled to cope and relinquished him to our care. Oscar carries the physical scars from his past. He has a slight bump in the middle of his forehead and scarring on his face/body. He has another larger lump on his back that is a ‘fluid bursar’, which is typically seen in dogs that have laid on their elbows on hard flooring for long periods.

Quite how Oscar came to get one on his back and so large, is a mystery and could be related to his beatings but it is not causing him any discomfort nor should it cause future health problems. We have also had his back legs X-rays to make sure there are no underlining issues caused by his original owner. It is truly remarkable just what a trusting and loving dog he is towards humans.

Oscar loves to jump up to give you kisses when he greets you and loves being around people and playing all day long. He is obsessed with toys, especially the tennis ball, and you will get bored of playing fetch long before he does! Oscar even puts his toys back in the toy-box once he’s finished playing with them and then picks another one out to play with!

Oscar maybe three years old but he is essentially an overgrown puppy who hasn’t had sufficient, positive training and so we are looking for an experienced rescue dog owner to take him on who will work on any issues that arise.

For example, Oscar walks well using a lead and harness but he does at times finding walking stressful, particularly if he isn’t at front of the group when we walk the dogs together. Oscar may well have some sort of hound breed in him as he loves sniffing and his nose is often on the ground searching for new smells! His may also explain wanting to take the lead with the other dogs he walks with!

Similarly, he can take umbrage at passing dogs and strain and bark at them. What we cannot be certain of is whether this is a desire to play or fear from lack of socialisation but to be safe we will only re-home him to live alone without any other animals. What we have discovered, having got to know Oscar, is that he hides his intelligence! This could be because the previous two owners’ first language was not English but it could also be because he has taken a while to settle in and feel safe and secure.

Either way, Oscar is a bright dog who would benefit from training classes. We have already taught him the basic commands but because his attention span can be quite short it would be best to take him to a professional class where he can learn and socialise with other people and dogs. Due to his barking, jumping up and the fact he hates being restrained (which would include cuddling), we will not rehome Oscar to a home with children (teenage fine).

His new owners need to be active and able to give him the physical and mental stimulation he desires. Ideally his new owners will live locally as Oscar does have a tendency to be travel sick in the car, although this can be helped with tablets and medication in the future.

Oscar came into our considerably underweight. The stress of the kennelling experience has worsened this (you can see in his photos) and we are absolutely desperate to find this special boy and special new home.

Roxy – 1 year old female Rottweiler Cross

Roxy is a one year old rotti cross who has been dealt a pretty raw deal in life and really needs that lucky break of the forever home she truly deserves. Roxy was removed from her owner because she was being kept outdoors without adequate care or shelter. This home was not her first and had only been with this owner for 4 months. It really is amazing then, that Roxy is the most people-orientated and loving companion animal you could wish to meet.

There isn’t a single person that Roxy doesn’t love and who doesn’t love Roxy! She just adores human company, meeting new people and making new friends; she even loves going to the vets! And Roxy is stunningly beautiful too. She definitely has rotti in her but she is considerably smaller, more slender and has a huge fluffy, curled tail that she just loves to wag with happiness.

Roxy loves to be hugged and is so easy going that if it weren’t for her size and her desire to jump up for attention we would not hesitate to rehome her with young children, but instead we are saying 8 years or over. She would really enjoy a family environment simply so there are all the more people around her for giving her lots of fuss and cuddles.

Roxy walks well on the lead, although she does enjoy going off rooting and sniffing and because she is a strong girl she’ll take you with her when she has mind set on going somewhere, but generally she is great and needs little training.

Roxy has a very sad congenital birth defect; her right back femur is significantly shorter than it should be and it causes her to stick it out when she sits. As a result she has mild signs of arthritis in it and is on glucosamine and chondroitin for life. In later life the arthritis will likely develop further so any potential adopter will be looking at paying for her to receive anti-inflammatory pain relief at some point. If this wasn’t enough, an x-ray has also revealed that she has mild hip dysplasia in her left leg but the vet has stressed this is not of concern.

Roxy really has so much going for her that it deeply saddens us that her leg problems will affect her chances of being rehomed. We are keeping everything crossed that someone out there will be willing to take this on and in doing so will reap the rewards of having the love and adoration of such a brilliant dog.

Jake – 18 month old male Labrador

Jake is a black Labrador approx. 18 months old. He can be summed quite simply as a ‘typical Labrador puppy’. He is an adept food thief and suffers with separation anxiety and so it is for these 3 reasons that we are looking for an experienced Labrador owner with an iron-will who will be equipped to work through his ‘terrible twos’.

Jake originally came into our care at around 6 months age because the owners had underestimated what was involved with a Labrador puppy and he had become unmanageable and developed severe separation anxiety. A spell in foster care and input from a trainer saw him successfully crate trained and much improved and subsequently rehomed.

Unfortunately Jake was returned this month because his owners were at the end of their tether with food liberation (he was kept in the kitchen at night etc) and felt he needed to be with someone who is at home a lot more. Jake is not coping at all in kennels and is not going to settle until he is in a home once more.

Jake has been well trained by his last owners and walks beautifully on a lead. He is very clever, knows his commands and demonstrates them both in the paddock and out on walks. He isn’t overly toy focused but does enjoy playing.

Jake is a sensitive dog by nature, for example on walks he looks for reassurance/eye contact. If you ignore him he sometimes whines and tries to bite at the lead. This is typical Lab behaviour as they are very ‘mouth focused’ by nature and express distress/anxiety by mouthing/chewing, which also links into his food thieving.

Jake has previously lived with two other dogs, and since being back with us we have found he approaches other dogs confidently. He loves playing with them but he can be a little boisterous so if you already have a dog they must either be a very tolerant dog or an equally playful one. Either way we do think he would benefit from being homed with another dog both for the company and additional security.

Jake is a working-style lab and we don’t think he has finished filling out just yet. At the moment he’s just so confused and upset and it’s really sad to see. Please only get in touch if you really have the necessary skills and experience to home him for life, we want him to find a home for good this time. Homes with children under 10 will not be considered.