2009 Parade of Rescue Dogs
BERYL FRY Beryl is a lovely 10-year-old yellow Labrador who was fostered in Somerset by Belinda and Terry at the same time as a Golden Retriever called Pollyanna. She, sadly, needing rehoming when her owner could no longer take care of her dogs but it was obvious that she had always been well treated and was used to being one of the family as she went straight into the house and made friends with their other dogs immediately. Belinda said “She is very happy, friendly and good natured and never stops wagging her tail, even when she came back from the vets after being spayed. Beryl is very enthusiastic about everything that is going on, loves lots of attention and tends to push her way to the front, particularly at meal times! She loves being stroked and having a fuss made of her.” As predicted, she very quickly settled into her new home, quickly making friends with all Denise and Phil Fry’s dogs. She soon managed to go up the stairs unaided and on to the bed for mornings cuddles and made herself at home on the sofa. Her nicknames range from The Flying Beryl (loves her walks), Miss Pushy (loves to get in on all the fuss that goes on) and Miss Upside Down Girl (because that's her position on the sofa 90% of the time). Beryl and her dad, Phil, did very well at the show and she won the Best Veteran Cup. MOLLY BISSETT Molly is a 7-year-old Golden Retriever who was surrendered to Sandie by her owner as an alternative to having her put to sleep. She had been incontinent all of her life but, as she had always lived outside, it had never really been a problem for her owner until when he was having to change her bedding (probably straw) every 3-4 days!!! Molly was very timid when she first arrived and her condition was not helped by the fact that she was full of fleas. When she lay on the tiled floor she would be wet up to her shoulders because of the leaking urine. Basically, her left urethra doesn't go into the bladder and it has two holes in it and the bladder walls are inflamed so she needed an urgent operation at the Veterinary College which was paid for by kind donations from her sponsors. We knew it wouldn’t be a cure but rather that it should improve her situation and make her more comfortable. Post operation, Molly continues to receive bi-weekly acupuncture treatment from her kind vet, Gary Creegan. Molly quickly proved to be a very outgoing little lady who just wanted to have fun. She got on well with all Sandie’s dogs. Molly was such a joy to have around that her incontinence wasn’t too much of a problem for Sandie as, fortunately, she has a tiled floor throughout her house so just needed to always have a bucket and mop at hand. Molly soon got used to her baths, so they ceased to be a struggle and she quickly began to love her home comforts which included sleeping on the sofa, always cuddled up to another dog. Sandie says “ Molly is a gorgeous girl who has adapted easily to her new life here and gets on really well with my other dogs. She is very obedient and loving and it would be hard to imagine life without her. The rewards of seeing her so happy far outweigh the hard work that her care involves.” Everyone was delighted to meet her in the flesh looking so well and happy. GEORGE TOLHURST George was about 18 months old when he was picked up as a stray, in a very poor condition with his coat in a terrible state. George was fostered by Andy and Val in the West Midlands at the same time as Woody who became his very good friend. After a few weeks of their special brand of TLC, Andy took George to the vet's and was delighted to find he had put on about 1 stone in weight since they have had him and his coat was now really soft and well-groomed. Wendy, his new mum said “George is an absolutely gorgeous dog and has settled in with us really well. He is great with the children and with Shadow, our German Shepherd and loves being out with us on walks. Whilst Shadow tends to stay very close to us when out, George tends to follow a scent but is now very good at coming when called.” Due to his lack of socialization and understandable fears, George has had a few issues but the family are working on them with the help of a behaviourist and trainer and are confident that, with time and patience, they can be overcome. They all absolutely love him to bits. HARLEY EDWARDS Harley is a young Golden Retriever who was neutered in Ireland and was found to get on well with other dogs, was clean in the house and very affectionate. Harley went to his forever home with his new family straight after the 2008 Reunion but, unfortunately this home didn't work out so he went into foster with Claire and family in Scotland who fell for his charms and decided to keep him. Harley was doing great and they described him as a wonderful dog. He adored the children and all Claire’s other animals. He liked to play fetch and loved swimming and playing in the surf. Claire said “ I will admit I am more of a Mastiff girl but when Harley looks at me I just want to melt into his chocolate eyes. When my eight year old son was poorly, Harley lay with him all day, he is there for us all the time. He is a good boy, who is great on and off the lead. He loves other dogs and loves my cats. He is the most wonderful dog I have ever met! I love him so much.” Sadly, a change in family circumstances meant that Claire could no longer keep him so, with a heavy heart, she handed over to Pauline for fostering. He very nearly became Jefferey dog number 7 but Owen and Sandra fell in love with him as soon as they met him and decided they would like to adopt him. As they could give him a much more exciting life (doing agility etc) he has spent time getting to know them all so he could go home with them after the Reunion. His new brother Brian was also one of Pauline’s foster dogs. OSCAR BYRNE Oscar is a lovely young Golden Retriever whose previous owner, sadly, had to give him up because of work commitments and did not enough time for him. He had quite clearly been well loved as he was neutered, was great on the lead, his recall was good and he was also happy to travel in the car. Once in the UK, he went into foster with Jo and family in Wiltshire and they, like many fosterers before them, failed at the first hurdle and fell totally in love with him. Luckily for us, as he is such an adorable dog, they are still willing and able to foster for us. HARVEY WHITE Harvey is a neutered Golden Retriever who is approximately two year's old and he was fostered by Jane and her family in the Midlands. He gets on really well with their dog, Tess, with them enjoying a rough and tumble in the garden and he very rarely bothers with their two cats, except to pinch their food! He is a larger than life character and is a ‘nearly perfect gentleman’. His one major fault was his lead-walking which was extremely bad and needed a lot of hard work by Jane and Malcolm. He was always very strong on the lead but improved after using a Halti. For more free running they used a long line but he often used to get side tracked and would just bolt. Being so strong, there was no way he could be held back if he had a mind to go. He would eventually come back when he was ready so, despite being absolutely perfect in the house, outside was a work in progress. STELLA McAVOY Stella is an 8 year old lady who went to Belinda and Terry for fostering with her daughter, Honey and her kennel sister Holly. She was the smallest of the three and just wanted to follow her fosterers around and lie at their feet. She walked very well on the lead and she proved to be a very gentle, though quite nervous dog. She loved to greet them in the morning with anything she could pick up, making little whimpering noises as she took it to them. One morning she picked a rose and gave it to them. She got on really well with all the other dogs and was very gentle with children. She was fascinated by the cat and used to stand and stare at her. The other two dogs went off to their wonderful new forever homes but Belinda and Terry had totally fallen for Stella so yet again have become failed fosterers. Stella is now part of the family and enjoys her daily walks with the others. She gets bouncier every day and her coat, which was very thin, is thickening up. They say she is an absolutely delightful, gentle little dog and they love her to bits. Stella went to her first Dog Show back recently and was looking so good and thoroughly enjoyed her time in the ring so much that she won the Senior Citizens Class. DANCER with AMY HYDE Dancer is a lovely young Retriever x Collie who is in foster with Amy who says “ I have just had Dancer off lead in the field near my home....she was an angel! so very attentive, she would make a great obedience dog some day although a lot of work would need to be done on the stay as she will not want "mum/dad" to leave her.” Her only problem seems to be that she makes attachments very, very easily and is not too keen on other dogs coming for affection when out walking, even the dogs she knows. Amy recommends that, when she goes to her new home, the "dad" does most of the work: feeding, walking etc to help her build up confidence and prevent her from over-bonding with mum which could cause a lot of problems in the future. Not in the parade but at the show were:-
LEVI Levi is a Labrador cross aged about 2 years old who was fostered by Nicky. He is a full on live wire who adores everybody. He is constantly looking for human attention and his tail never stops wagging. Levi is exceptionally strong and due to his enthusiasm he tends to lunge at items of interest; to curb this he was introduced to a halti to make him more controllable on walks. He has an unusual habit of trying to jump at cars as if he thinks he should be getting in them He went to his forever home but it didn’t work out because he was very naughty with the cats so he returned to Nicky and they decided to adopt him. He can still be very vocal and strong on the lead but they are working hard with him and are beginning to succeed with the help of clicker training and the use of a long line. He is obsessed by his ball so, as long as his human has 2 balls to throw for him, he will give 110% attention. LUCY Lucy is a beautiful young looking 8-year-old Golden Retriever. Her previous owner was unable to properly exercise and care for her and give her the love and attention that she needed so she was handed into the care of IRR and was originally fostered by Maria and Martin in Cheshire . It was here, when she went for spaying, that we learnt the true severity of her condition and it was decided she would need a total hip replacement. Lucy won the Pudsey Memorial Award for her bravery. FREDDIE Freddie was advertised in a Free Ad publication for 80 euro. When Sandie spoke to the owner she asked the usual questions “is he house trained? good with kids?cats? good on the lead?” and she was told that he had had no training whatsoever and that he was wild. Fortunately, Sandie still decided to help him as she immediately found he had very severe entropion and he needed surgery at the Veterinary College to try to help the condition. He must have been in a huge amount of discomfort but his amazing good temperament still shone through. Sandie kept him and cared for him in her home whilst he recovered from his operation and Monty was sent to Simon’s, in the Midlands, for fostering to give Freddie the peace and quiet that he needed but the two dogs were swapped over as Sandie made her way down from Holyhead on her way to the reunion so Simon and family took over as Freddie’s fosterers. BEN Ben is 9 years old who was surrendered to Sandie by a family who no longer had any interest in him. He had been left to his own devices living in the garden and was never taken for a walk. When he arrived, Ben had a bald patch on either side of his hips which was Cheyletiella (walking dandruff ). The poor boy was alive with these mites. Ben proved to have a great temperament, allowing Jan and Sandie to bath him three times to get rid of the awful smell and later grooming him, cutting away some very matted hair. It was only the next day when he was taken to the vet for neutering that his actual condition was diagnosed. He went to a home in Ireland but it didn’t work out as he hated cats and found the young dog a little bit too much for him so he came back into IRR’s care and went for foster to Andy & Val. He has some possession issues and needs a very experienced owner so, sadly, he is still waiting for his perfect home to come along. BEAVEN Beaven is a lovely young dog who is, we think, probably three quarters Golden Retriever. He was surrendered to Sandie just before the reunion and came over to the UK with her. He is in foster with Jo and family in Wiltshire and he has proved to be great with other dogs, good with children and is even fine with cats so he has a lovely forever home ready and waiting for him. Jo says Beaven is wearing Oscar out with playing, with their tug of wars lasting 15-20 minutes and with them managing to move around the house and garden without letting go. BIANCA Bianca is an 18 month old small sized crossbreed girl with a beautiful temperament. She is one of our 4 lovely little Romanian dogs and is a sister to Peppy and Sacha. Bianca first went into in foster with Jo and family in Wiltshire. She was very timid and shy, as Peppy was, but with the help of her Jo's dogs, cats and children, she began to come out of herself already. She is currently in foster with Hayley in Somerset where her 3 dogs have worked miracles and Bianca's personality has really started to come out. We feel she will need to be rehomed with other dogs and symoathetic owners to continue this process of rehabilitation.
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