Flora was with us for about 7 months and let us say had 'attitude', though when you got to know her properly she could be very affectionate - on her own terms. But success, she now has a lovely home! Read her full story in the next edition of RAIN News.
Gracie, an older grey lurcher bitch, came to RAIN as a local authority stray in an extremely emaciated state. She weighed less than 14kg (she now weighs 24kg!) and had obviously been living rough for a long time. A freak accident resulted in a broken neck from which she has now fully recovered. She has twice has mammary tumours removed which in both cases proved benign. Despite all she has been through, she is an extremely contented dog with a loving nature and lives very happily with her four canine friends. Needless to say she does get spoiled a bit but then truly she is Amazing Grace!
Chilli, Maisie's only son, is nothing but a bundle of fun - and stunning to look at too!. He keeps canine companion Sky on her toes as he always wants to play. Sky has changed since Chilli came home. She is much more outgoing and is protective of Chilli. Their best play is running round in mad circles at top speed in the garden and rolling each other over and over (if they can get away with it). Chilli has also had an impact on the humans in his household. Son Daniel adores him for cuddles and his owner's partner has hanged from a 'dogs are ok' guy to a real doggy daddy who likes to tuck them in at night just so!
Milly - an Australian cattle dog - came to RAIN following a change in her owners circumstances which meant she was being left for longer periods on her own in the house. With loads of unchannelled energy she was being destructive and had developed a water fetish. She has now found a very special home on a farm. Her excess energy has a terrific outlet walking the farm with her owners and playing endlessly in the huge garden with terrier companion Arnie (and any human they can persuade to throw balls for them). Her water fetish is a thing of the past now and Milly just glows with health and happiness.
Mango came to live with her owner in the same village as her mum Maisie. Maisie visits and plays when Mango wants company. The play is always quite manic and usually one or other of them limps for a few days afterwards. The garden has also taken a battering! Mango senses when Maisie is around when out walking and usually finds her. The result is always two very muddy dogs! Mango has gone grey and looks so much like her mum now - just beautiful. As with all the pups she is fearless and extremely sociable with all other dogs - a great tribute to the fabulous start she was given by all at Barn Owl Kennels coupled with the ongoing care from her besotted owner!
Pickle, another of Maisie's daughters, is described by her owners as adorable, not scared to approach ANY dog, big or small, and loves to play chasing madly around woods or fields. She is good on her training sessions and tries very hard to work out what is expected of her. Fraser and Harvey - the two youngsters in the family- absolutely love her as do all their friends. She is truly a happy, well loved girl.
Tikka is another of Maisie's pups who is leading a wonderful life. Tikka's mum is a child minder and Tikka was very quickly an integral part of the children's lives. Lots of play with the children coupled with very regular walks by all members of the family means she is a very happy girl. She was recently spayed and, to prevent her scratching her stitches, her owner displayed great ingenuity in adapting a babygrow!! Tikka is very proud of her new outfit and takes great pleasure in sitting on the shelf in the sitting room window showing off to all passers by! Isn't she beautiful?
Lucia - a beautiful big and very loving lurcher really landed on her paws when she moved in with her new family last year. Although young son Daniel enjoys walking her round in the living room, Lucia possibly prefers her walks with Mum and Dad. Chasing squirrels and birds up the rec is great fun but she is equally contented to walk through town sniffing out left over takeaways! She is very partial to onions, kebabs and chow mein! When not indulging in her other favourite pastimes - sleeping and sunbathing - she does enjoy cuddles and kisses from all the family but especially with Lauren.
Jeffrey - (full name Jeffrey Bubbles Bonbon!) the poodle was picked up as a stray aged around 6 months. He was in very poor condition generally and obviously had some brain impairment which caused him to spin in circles. Jeffrey moved into the house at the kennels and received loads of care from both the human and canine occupants. His general condition improved enormously.Although his eyesight remained poor, his spinning slowly lessened which confirmed the vet's view that this was caused by a blow to the head . Last autumn Jeffrey found a very special permanent home. Once his new mum settled in her new home in Portsmouth he moved in with his two canine companions Spike and Ellie and has a wonderful life. This photo was taken on a recent visit to the kennels where we were all thrilled to see just how well he was looking. He will still spin when excited but is obviously a very happy, healthy and confident little dog who thoroughly enjoys life. A very special thankyou to everyone who helped make this possible.
You can tell by just looking at her picture that Evie is another of Maisie's daughters. As well as looks, she shares many of the same characteristics being sweet, gentle and confident -loving all other dogs. Evie adores chasing seagulls in the local park, and is often seen in the garden just looking longingly up at the birds. The garden was in pristine condition before Evie arrived but now has a race track marked all around it! Evie adores the two younger members of the family and loves nothing better than dashing upstairs to leap on their beds for a cuddle. She is also good at hoovering up any food spills by the children although she did look funny when she helped clear up a spilled box of sugar puffs - sugar puffs stuck all over her nose and beard!
Molly - a 2 year old chocolate lab- recently rehomed by RAIN is another lovely dog who has definitely fallen on her feet. Molly has gone to live in a small village with a young family who include four children. Two long walks in the country every day, a garden in which to play ball with the children, a mum and dad who love her - to say nothing of the huge amounts of TLC she receives from the children! No wonder she looks so happy and relaxed. Her new family describe her as the Mary Poppins of the canine world - practically perfect! Molly is a very lucky girl.
All our dogs are special but every now and again one comes along in such sad circumstances as to make them very special. Dodger the terrier is one of these. When he was picked up as a local authority stray he in an appalling state - he was black, covered in nasty dog bite injuries - some old and some new, looked a very old man and was extremely wary of human beings. Once his physical injuries had been treated and he was bathed, a tan and white terrier aged about 3 years emerged. The next step was to try and get Dodger to trust the human race again. He quickly became a firm favourite with all the kennel staff and it was amazing how well and how quickly he responded to large doses of tlc. Within a couple of months the search was on to find him a special home where he could continue his rehabilitation. Such a home appeared very quickly and, fully briefed, his new owners welcomed Dodger into their home. In their care Dodger continued to blossom and within a surprisingly short time it was difficult to believe he had had such an awful start in life. He is safe and loved, has a warm cosy bed to sleep in, a garden to play in, gets regular meals, walks and large doses of tlc. In return he charges around happily playing with his toys and greets all comers with great affection but none more so than his new family. Many, many thanks to all those people who have played a part in making this possible.
A local authority stray, Maisie is a very young beddlington terrier cross whippet bitch. She was underweight and pregnant when picked up. She was well looked after at the kennels and quickly picked up condition. This ensured she was able to look after her six healthy pups very well. Once the pups were homed Maisie joined her new family which includes four other rescued lurchers. She settled in very quickly and has now put on quite a bit of weight. Maisie is enjoying a belated and well deserved puppyhood herself now. She loves her walks and regularly disappears into the thickets to see what she can find. Luckily she is extremely obedient and shoots back to her owner immediately she is called! Returning home tired and muddy she enjoys nothing better than curling up in bed with her special friend Bertie!