BEN, SADLY, NEEDED A NEW HOME

Ben’s owners are heartbroken at having made the decision to part with him but realise that he needs a quieter home and one without cats. This is what they have said:

“We’ve made the extremely hard decision to try to place Ben in a better situation for him than ours appears to be. To be honest we think he is the sweetest, most patient, loving dog but perhaps our hectic household is a little too much for him. I think he would be happier living with an older dog or dogs as he loves to play for hours. Perhaps not an overly playful puppy though.
ABSOLUTELY NO CATS!!!

Perhaps a person who is home more during the day and can continue to work with him. He has learnt a lot with us but could be brought a lot further along.

Perhaps no young children around until he is happier in himself. He loves his walks and is very good at recall and stays pretty close to you – best to keep an eye on him with some other dogs though.

Most of the time he is very happy to lie at our feet and sleep so he’s not very disruptive or destructive in any way. He is totally housetrained, neutered and micro chipped.

We decided that it would be best for Ben to be placed in a less stressful situation and have the best chance of a happy healthy life rather than have someone else complain about him (or lose a cat) and Ben suffering for it.

My gut feeling with Ben is that overall he is as gentle as they come but has been through the wars and is still trying to find his place. However, with two owners (who have different levels of experience with dogs so signals may get confusing for him), a puppy who plagues him (albeit in a loving way) and 3 cats he feels he has to guard against, perhaps the odds were always against him settling in properly with us.

I do think there is a wonderful home out there for Ben where he will be happier and more content, one that will allow his true wonderful character to shine through. Otherwise I couldn’t even contemplate letting him go. His happiness and wellbeing is our main concern and although it really upsets us, we have to do what is best for Ben to give him the best chance of a happy long life. Ben is the only one that matters in all this as far as we’re concerned.

Anyway, I just want to say that having had Ben for the past few months, and his gentleness and patience with all the vet visits and varying degrees of poking and prodding and eyedrops etc etc, I would in no way class him as an aggressive dog. He really is gorgeous and adorable and playful and loving and everything a retriever should be.”

UPDATE JULY 09

Ben is currently being fostered by Andy in the West Midlands.

Andy says. "Ben has been with us nearly 3 weeks now, and has been a pleasure to have around. He was a little apprehensive at first, but soon relaxed and started to enjoy himself. He's perfectly house trained, walks really well on the lead, and loves going in the car. He's fine to be left on his own, and never causes any damage. Ben loves meeting people, especially children, and is turning into a proper fusspot.

BEN’S STORY

Ben is 9 years old and 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 never taken for a walk. When he arrived Ben had a bald patch on either side of his hips which was Cheyletiella or walking dandruff as it is better known. The poor little thing 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 condition was diagnosed.

Ben has been rehomed in Ireland to a lovely couple, Lorna and Brian who have a puppy springer Eve and a couple of cats. Here's what Lorna has to say about Ben:

“Eve is still a little feisty brat so we end up walking separately because she just wants to jump on Ben's head all the time. Towards the end of the walk (when some of her energy has burned off) she was happier to walk more quietly beside him without launching herself at him (in play) every 3 seconds.




Ben is quite interested in the cats, will bark madly and launch himself at the wall or them if he spots one. Poor cats’ nerves are frazzled. We’re trying to get him to rein this in a bit by distracting him when he spots one. Funnily enough he doesn’t seem to mind them too much in the house…only out in the garden, maybe he just wants to play! Hopefully that will all settle down eventually and he’ll share the territory. In the meantime they are kept well separated. He doesn’t appear to be overly aggressive towards them as his tail is wagging as he gives chase but I still wouldn’t like to leave him alone with one any time soon.




In general he is in great form. Great company, very placid and loving. Loves to be petted and drools very contentedly on your knee. Very fond of food with a special interest in whatever we’re eating, has a slight tendency to piddle when very excited, even indoors, but I feel that as he gets more used to the
constant company and being with us, and regular meals and treats that should all settle down.