If you read this and are moved by the story then please consider your breed rescue

Last week we had a call from the stray kennels to say a black lab male was in and if we didnt take him he would be PTS that afternoon well we took him and here is a series of emails thought you may like to read:

Dear Kathryn,

Whilst I am E-Mailing you, I still have red rimmed eyes...My beautiful black labbie Tom had to be put to sleep this afternoon and the whole family are heartbroken.

Tom was 12, although we only adopted him 3 years ago from Rose Tree Farm in Warrington, he had been abandoned and we fell in love with him instantly and couldn't wait to take him home following a home check by a lady called Kathryn..(could this have been you...I don't recall the surname).

As soon as we adopted him we realised he had very bad arthtitis and has been on Metacam medicine as well as glucosamine etc for his joints for the past 3 years.....We all loved Tom dearly and gave him the best home he could have wished for for his final days.

Up until 2 weeks ago he was still pottering about on his spaghetti legs...but hadn't quite been himself for the past week. The vet first thought it was the recent heatwave putting him off his food, but this morning the poor lad could barely lift his head off his bed. So we whisked him straight back to the vets.

Our vet Steve Hancox diagnosed a stomach tumor which had bled out. Although we were devastated we all agreed the kindest option for Tom was to put him to sleep - Steve did not think he was well enough to survive surgery. We were cuddling him when he died.

Before we lost Tom we had decided to adopt another labbie as well - if any were available. And although its very soon after losing Tom - we think the best compliment we can pay to him is to give another orphan a good home.

I would really appreciate any assistance you could give us.....Is there any kind of adoption match proforma we can fill in to give all our details in the hope that you can find us another beautiful boy or girl....?
..............................................................
I rang her to say we had the stray dog safe in our care
..........................................................................
Glenys,

Just thought I would drop you a line to say a big THANK YOU for helping us adopt "Jake" at the weekend and to give you an update on how he is settling in.

He really is a big softie and we could not have wished for a dog with a lovlier nature.....!

He is settling in well and as you saw at your house at the weekend - insists on having 3 toys in his mouth at all times.....!!!! And he loves to torment people with them...He has a real sense of humour...but lovely manners...!!!

He loves the garden and the children and is responding to his new name already...

We love him to bits and are receiving the love back from him ten fold....He's a real mummy's boy already

We don't have a digital camera....but will send you some snaps as soon as we get some developed (hopefully we can also then have a go at E-Mailing some to you as our local developer gives us back the negatives on disc as well).

We will definately keep in touch....And if I can sweet talk John around.....would love to adopt another ...!!!

Thanks again.....Pauline and the the gang....

............................................................
Kathryn

Just thought you might like a quick update regarding the lovely boy we
adopted at the weekend thanks to all at Labrador Rescue.

When Glenys called me on Friday night to tell me about him...I just could
not believe my good fortune...

He is such a lovely boy and we have named him Jake. He has a lovely
character....sweet natured but with a keen sense of humour..!! I would love
10 just like him....!!!

We will keep in touch and hope to bring him to one of your dog shows that
Glenys told us about.... I will certainly be logging onto your web site
often.

Thanks to your help and Jake's presence we can now all smile and remember
the happy times with good old Tom....Jake is so like him in some things yet
so different in others....!!! He is a real tonic.

Thanks again for your kind message and your support....

Pauline

Rescue is important dogs like jake need a chance.help us keep our work going it could have been so different for jake.

Yes.

Your right it did bring tears to my eyes and a lump to my throat too. A lovley story an a happy ending, it seemed like fate didn't it they were meant to be together, Pauline and her family and Jake :)

It reminds me why I homecheck for a rescue and homecheck for Stafford rescue too.

Karen

well done keep up the support we need people like you

Thank heavens for rescue. reading this just brings home how important rescue homes are, even if you chose not to have a rescue dog, there are homes all over the country that need our support to keep going. have a long and happy life Jake, Tom is watching over you. sllep well Tom.
carol

I couldn't agree more!! Half a year ago I was contacted by a SPCA volunteer who told be about this dog which was due to be pts'd as the staff there was too afraid to go near him. I agreed to take the dog and all I had to do was to re-condition him as the *eejits* there had conditioned him to play tug-of-war with a sleeve which got out of hand once he was fully grown. He was with me for 6 months and the SPCA never once inquired how he was. BUT he was homed yesterday to a lovely lady in Scotland (HC'd by a friend of mine) who came all the way over to Ireland to collect him :) :). She had lost her beloved Staffie only a while ago. To see them drive off into the sunset was worth all the time put in :) :).

Sarah

well done to all you rescuers, you do a great job,

Thankyou for the kind words im getting worried about the amout of pedigree dogs turning up in rescue not to say a pedigree dog is any more precious than any other in my eyes but that we are in a throw away society money no object :(

I think a lot of people associate rescues with cross breeds, the amount of people that have said to me ' what, you got your lab from a rescue centre, thought it was only mongrals that ended up in them places' :(
Mattie has had 101 labs in her rescue this year and its only July :(
and she has found them all loving homes.
All you rescuers out there keep up the fantastic work, where would these dogs be without you.
carol

I think the rescue problem in the popular, and highly exploited breeds is just soul destroying.

In my breed probably around 20 dogs go through rescue, as breeders take their own back, or make financial provision for them if for some reason they can't.

Our biggest problem is those sold with dog Lovers Registration, originally originating from Northern Irelan, but now some being encouraged by the wholesaler to breed their bitches here!

When a problem occurs, such as the most recent one of a much loved 8 year old male, whose elderly owner is going into sheltered housing that won't allow a big dog, then there is no breeder to take responsibility.

If all the casula and commercial breeders took responsibility for every dog they bred and sold, then I wouldn't have too much of a problem over them breeding to make money.

I bet there are many breeders out there who don't even know where there puppies are now, but responsible breeders like you say brainless will always offer to take the dogs back, no matter what age.
carol

What happens if they're given not choice about it? If an owner decides not to return the dog to the breeder for whatever reason, does that make them unreputable or what how do the rescue centers view these breeders?

I help with my breed rescue and we find it very difficult being piggy in the middle when dogs are returned to us but only if we don't tell the breeder - generally someone we know well being such a small breed it can be very difficult when these same breeders express concern about their dogs in what has turned out to be an unsuitable home.

Hi Mattie, is there some sort of procedure for the rescue dogs to go through?, as if they have been abandoned or abused this may change there personality towards people. Also is it possible to visit any of the rescue centres. The reason i ask is we are waiting on a litter at the moment but if the pregnancy doesn't happen, i would like to look into the rescue centres. We thought about this before but i was unsure as you would not know what the dog has been through.

Hi charlie24, not all dogs are in rescue because they have been ill treated, many have been put there because there owners can no longer look after them, maybe due to change in home circumstances, or there own illness. I am sure mattie (glenys) will be along to answer you in more detail, also you could look here.
www.helpalabrador.co.uk
carol

Thankyou we were actually looking at golden retrievers as i have been brought up with this breed.

Hi.

I had to reply when I first owned a Stafford back in 78 ( I know I don't look that old :) ) the number of dogs through rescue would mostly be through change of circumstances of owner ie death divorce something along those lines. The rescue would have enough homes usually via contacts who had lost an old Stafford. Then the breed became "Popular worse thing that ever happened" Stafford could be seen everywhere and some dogs that claimed to be Staffs but weren't. Rescue never had a chance to recover. Althought they do there best some people breed seeing £££££££ in front of there eyes not 14+ years of the pups life. Staffords as a breed is leveling out but other have become popular now like Corso Mastiffs large breeds and I feel sorry for the genuine people breeding and the poor person who tries to buy from a reputable breeder. Do you get what you pay for?????? Or do you pay through the nose for an "image."

Rescue is part of the answer but until the KC come up with stiff penalties for "over" breeding I don't think it will get any better and now you have other Reg sytems. It's all double dutch to the average peron who just wants a happy/well adjusted puppy/dog.

Karen

I am so glad to read about Jake getting a loving new home. I am also sad though for the following reason. My husband and I decided that we would like to get a rescue dog having given it considerable thought and waiting for the right time for us to be in a position to look after one. We filled in the questionnaire for Lab Rescue making sure that we answered all the questions thoroughly. After a couple of days we had a call from a gentleman who told us that our application would not be successful. On asking why I was told it was because we lived in an appartment. My response to this was - yes it is true we live in an appartment, but we are surrounded by huge parks and country walks less than 2 mins away from us and we also have a medium sized balcony. Whilst living overseas we fostered a puppy for a rescue centre who had been very ill with parvo virus and we did this whilst living in an appartment! The gentleman who called said that is was the requirement of the rescue that all rehomers have a house with a garden. I understand this but would like to know how somebody can pre-judge our situation without coming to have a look, assess, and see the size of our appartment, the size of the balcony, the close proximity to the parks and heath land etc.
Surely when giving a home to a rescue dog of any breed it is imperative first and foremost that the new home it goes to is a loving, warm, caring one where the new owners can give a dog all the time, care and affection it needs. The fact that I work from home all day and the dog would have a constant companion and plenty of exercise as required did not seem to make any difference at all.
I think it is a pity that we are now getting our Lab from a breeder when we would far rather have given a rescue lab of any age - trained or untrained a chance to have a good new home with us be it a home and garden or a nice size appartment with balcony and gardens round the side!
Van

On the subject of rescue, I never quite know what to say to people when they tell me that taking on a rescue dog is 'much better than leaving it languishing in kennels', regardless of the sort of life they can offer the dog within their own circumstances.

As an example I have just heard of a couple (in their ealry twenties) who are currently looking around rescue centres for a young border collie. They plan to keep the dog outside (in a small garden), they both work long hours and they both have busy social lives. To me this is far from ideal. But IS it better than leaving a dog in rescue ?

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts/views on this :)

Hi Joyce,
I think that re-homers should be judged on their circumstances, what they can offer, where they live, whether they are at home or not etc the dog that is rehomed should be one that can adapt to the lifestyle the people lead and vice versa ie high, low, medium, average in maintenance if not there could be problems all over again. A home check is a good way to do a lot of this. We have not even had a home check!!!!! If the young couple you mention work all day, have a small garden, busy social lives, when will they have the time to give a border collie everything it needs. I think that the border collie would not be the right breed for them to pick especially as they can get destructive if left and need heaps and heaps of exercise but I am sure that there is no reason why they could not be offered another rescue dog that is more suited to them or even the option if one comes in of an older collie that is perhaps happier to take things easy. If the border collie is left in the rescue I would imagine it will be rehomed pretty quickly to people who can suit it's needs.
Our situation is different in that I work from home all day, every day, I have my own schedule and can take our dog out whenever she needs it. My husband and I are avid "fresh airers" there will be plenty of long walks, runs and trips out and about! Labradors (my great aunt has always had them) love company and don't like to be left alone. No matter what age the lab we rescued might have been the fact that we live in an appartment should not be a factor. After all they manage it in New York, Singapore, Hong Kong. We didn't even mind if the lab was on its last legs we simply wanted to open our appartment and give a loving home.
Best Wishes
Van

Yes, Van, I think you're right - everything needs to be taken into account. From what you have said about your circumstances, it sounds as if you could have given a rescue lab a really good home.
Although home checks are a useful way for checking out conditions and facilities etc I suppose it must be really hard to judge whether the would-be rescuer will sustain the level of responsibility and care that they say they will. For instance you could re-home a dog to a family with a large garden with someone at home all day but it could turn out that when the novelty wears off all the promises of regular walks, training and interaction quickly fizzle out and the dog is left outside to its own devices with little human contact. On the other hand, as say in your circumstances, the dog may not have a garden right outside the door but will get plenty of attention and company and be taken out on lots of good walks to a variety of places.

Not easy for those who are trying to find the right homes - they either need a sixth sense or a crystal ball :)

Yup I agree with you Joyce
I think when dogs are a given new homes follow up visits are definitely in order. I am not sure how often these take place but when we fostered our little mongrel overseas for a rescue home we were in touch with them every week to report her progress. Once she was well and fully recovered we began the process, together with the centre, of finding her a permanent home we would have loved to have kept her but were returning to London after a 3 year stay. A home was found with a lovely American lady and we visit every time we return to see how (Daisy) is getting on. She has grown up into a wonderful character, very big and loving and she still stays in touch with the rescue home. The home also keeps a list of people who have tried to apply to rehome dogs but are not suitable and they also have a list of people who have treated their animals badly in order to stop them trying to apply to home an animal. I think that this is the way it should be.
I am not going to beg Labrador Rescue to come and check our appartment. I know that it is suitable and large enough. It is just ashame.
Van

Van,I know for a fact that it isnt our rescue you dealt with and im sorry you were pre:judged.

Just because people have a big house and garden doesnt make them ideal candidates to have a dog we have in the past rehomed dogs in ground floor apartments as long as its a secure garden,but an example to make you all think as in fact I did is this.

Some years ago we started caravanning going on rallies and camp sites,farm grounds etc.. when you caravan you dont have the same space as at home your dogs have to be taken out every day for toliet etc.and sometimes in the night our dogs went from massive garden to run in to having to be on a screw in the floor on long lead in the day and walked everywhere on the leads but it was amazing how they adapted most weekends camping we have taken our pups with us as well who adapted well.Most caravanners own at leats one dog and ive never seen a unhappy camping dog quite the contrary they get madly excited when the signs of iminent camping weekend preparations are being made :)
This proves that a dog can adapt to any loving environment garden or no garden as long as the new owner is responsible that is the key,so we would not as a rescue deny anyone the joy of owning a dog mearly because of where they live.

Dear Mattie
Thank you so much for your email. It is reassuring to see how well a dog can adapt even to a caravan! It sounds like they have heaps of fun when they go travelling with you :-) The rescue we contacted was the Labrador Rescue South East & Central. I did not know that there was any other and really apologise if this is not your rescue. I am glad that your rescue is open minded to rehoming a dog in different places. Could you possibly let me know how to get in touch with them? I have tried clicking on the website link but the page does not come up.
Thanks
Van

Hi Again due to terms of service I am not allowed to post the link but if you click on my name above you will get my page on here and all will be revealed :)

sorry charlie didnt see this post.
Some dogs are abused but most labradors being the way they are learn to trust again in these cases the prospective adopters are told there is not a lot of genuine background to be had but generaly as caz says they are here because of families circumstances changing ,unless like now (holiday) and Christmas it becomes dump a dog as the dogs become inconvenient.

Hi Mattie, Is it possible to visit the rescue centres so you can see what the people are like and how the dogs are treated, also do you know of a golden retriever rescue?

Hi,

I'm not Mattie, but if you go here there are some links to Golden Retriever rescues.

HTH,

Sarah

Thanks Sarah just about to have a look.

Thankyou for the link have spoke to other half and he is convinced, he had know idea the dogs were put down if a home wasn't found, so we will ring the rescue nearest to us and see what happens. I had no idea they had rescues for all different breeds, this shows my ignorence, i just thought there was the r.s.p.c.a. We have been looking for a dog for over a year and thought we had found a breeder but have had no feed back, so this could be the perfect solution for us and a dog from the golden retriever rescue. Have to say we would miss the puppy stage because they remind me of little children when they are puppies, but they all have to grow up anyway. I'm scared of going though because i will probably want to bring them all home!!!

Chelsea, our 5.5 year old whippet mix, was a rescue from a small private rescue. We got her at 12 weeks and she'd already had 3 homes before she went to the rescue place where here mum and littermates had been handed in (the day after she'd been given to 'a friend'). She was sick and full of worms when handed into rescue which is why no one wanted her. When we called them to see if they had any smooth small/medium dogs they said they had this pup, but probably wasn't what we wanted. We went to view her 2 days later and came home with her. We fell totally in love and she is one of the best dogs I have ever owned! We dropped a note to them 6 months later to say she was doing well and to make a donation.

We lost touch and we moved, but I did a search on the internet a few months back and managed to find their headquarters. I emailed them and asked if the people we got her from were still involved and I got a reply that they were. I sent all the info about Chelsea to them, and some pictures which included our whippet which we got as a result of falling in love with the whippet part of Chelsea's personality. I got an email back from the society who said the person we'd got Chels from had been in and had printed off the pictures and was in tears she was so happy that things had turned out so well for this little sick pup they had taken in a few years ago.

It was SOOOO worth getting back in touch with them. And we are so grateful to them for letting us have her!

Wendy