Bonnie - 8 year old female Labrador Cross

April 22nd, 2008

Bonnie (ref. 67d) is a shy but very lovable 8 year old smooth-coated female Black Labrador cross. She arrived at Derby RSPCA Centre when her last owner, who owned a very large number of dogs, found herself no longer able to cope with so many animals.

When she first arrived, she was very nervous indeed and would even run away if people tried to stroke her, but her confidence has grown enormously since then and she is now a much more relaxed dog, though still a tiny bit timid when faced with new experiences. She simply needs to gain a little more confidence.

Bonnie is only just learning about going for walks, so she needs to do it gently and quietly so that she doesn’t get alarmed. She finds heavy traffic and sudden sharp noises a bit unsettling at present and can sometimes look a little worried when she’s out and about, but she is already so much more confident and intrepid than she was and should adjust very quickly as long as she gets plenty of walks.

Bonnie would be suitable for a calm, gentle and loving household where she would be allowed plenty of time to adjust to life and where her new owners have experience and understanding of dogs.

She will require plenty of exercise, so an active but non-rowdy home would be the right place for Bonnie. Any children living in the household would need to be aged 10+ and very kind to animals. Bonnie needs to live somewhere where no-one will grab at her and pull her about like a toy, because that kind of thing scares her.

She is used to living with dogs but is very nervous of cats. She has had precious little training, but is a pleasant and intelligent dog who should be reasonably swift to learn. Bonnie is a very, very likeable dog who deserves a long and happy life in a loving new home surrounded by patient, loving, caring, dog-friendly people.