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Happy New Year everyone!! And we thought our first post of 2022 would be an update on our Queen Victoria. We have a lovely Happy Yappy Everafter story…

Do you remember Queen Victoria? I thought I’d post her happy ever after story. We took her on as a foster in December 19 following a heartfelt post from Diana about 2 long termers. QV was one of those dogs, an 11 year old black dog who was leish positive who needed a special home as she was so timid, she’d been stuck in kennels for 2 years waiting for the right family to come along. We really weren’t looking for another dog but after reading Diana’s post I thought as an experienced, quiet home we could offer some respite from kennels till the right family came forward. I really had no intention of keeping her, as given the amount of dog shows and stay overs we do during the summer I didn’t think we were right for her. As the months went by I watched her slowly grow in confidence and she was starting to integrate well with the other dogs. Then COVID hit and I knew we wouldn’t be going anywhere anytime soon..I started thinking maybe just maybe we could keep her? 2 years later this sweet, kind soul has blossomed into the most full on, in your face cuddle monster and master toast scrounger, who defies her age by zooming around at every opportunity! Though she will never be a dog that would cope with a busy environment, with careful management she’s coped brilliantly with coming to competitions and the occasional stay over. I think she does get a lot of confidence from the other dogs who are both extroverts in those kind of situations. Honestly looking back at the old posts about her life, living in the ravine in Spain and watching that video of her hiding behind her bed at the perrera it’s amazing how well she has come on. I really hope she now has the life was would have chosen for herself. She is a truly beautiful soul and we are so lucky to have her as part of our family. Thank you TSOS for rescuing her and letting us keep her.

We love a happy ending and Queen Victoria was a dog that was due to be euthanised – so glad we could be part of her story and make sure she got the happy ending she deserved.

The Journey of Sir Galahad

What is rescue? Rescue is work, it is about the love of dogs, but understanding that these dogs have had difficult starts to life. There are no easy fixes, no over night cures. Just time, patience, work, dedication – and time (did we mention that?)

This is an update on Sir Galahad – our dear sweet boy. Sir G was abandoned and lived in a alleyway in Spain – our volunteer got him and he got to kennels. He then developed Leishmania and had a lot of treatment. We almost lost him. He became well and he is now in the UK. But that isn’t where our work ends.

We help the dogs that need help – but we only get sent a photo – and based on that we take a leap into the unknown. Sir G was not wanted, he was dumped and we cannot imagine what horrors he has faced. He has developed several behavioural issues based on fear. Fear that has kept him alive and when times got rough, Sir G survived. Now Sir G needs to learn that the world is not going to hurt him anymore, he needs to learn to trust people and rather than hide in his safe place, we want him to come into the wider world and feel the sun on his face, feel the love of a human hand, to know that he can’t give up because there is a place he will call home. We are not giving up on Sir G but we know that his road is long, and it will cost us funds, man hours, emotion, miles, and lots of time.

Sir G is wary of anything new – people, places, things, dogs. So every time we need to do something we need a lot of time to help him adjust at his pace and then allow him to retreat to his safe place and process the change. So we thought we would tell you what our Norfolk volunteer did recently for him.

Sir G needs regular blood tests to ensure the Leish is under control, but he is terrified of the Vet (understandable considering what he has been through) and he doesn’t like the car. So the volunteer has been spending time with him – gaining his trust. Building on that, she slowly worked with him to get in the car, this is a slow process and can take 30 minutes or an hour. He will eventually get in the car and he will then be fine in there for the journey – but then getting him from the safety of the car to the Vets is another slow process. The Vet understands and we have got them to also come to the car and let him know he is safe. But this process takes the time it takes. Sir G is given time and patience, nothing rushed. Slowly he comes out. He shakes, he stiffens, but taking things slowly we were able to get bloods. Then the process starts again to get back in the car. When he returns to kennels he gets out easily as he knows where he is, and he runs to his kennel and his safe place. Sir G wasn’t suppose to go to the Vet on Friday -but the wonderful people at the kennels noticed a small sore on his shoulder. So our volunteer went, last minute appointment made for Vets, blood tests taken to make sure not related to any underlying problem. She started at 130 pm and wasnt home til 6 pm. She will repeat this next week as Sir G needs a groom. So repeat process above. This means she puts her own personal life on hold, her own dogs, and she does this for the love of Sir G.

Please note that our volunteers spend time weekly/daily with the kennel dogs. We get them groomed, seen by the Vet, bring them for days out, we play with them, give them activities to break the boredom of kennel life. We spend a lot of time away from our lives and families – to give our dogs a sense of human kindness and attention. This is all done at our expense – we only ask the rescue to cover vet bills.

We organised a Behaviourist for Sir G as well – we have an initial assessment and a plan in place for him. We would have any potential family work with the Behaviourist, and also work closely with our volunteer.

Sir G should be in a foster home, he should be in a nice quiet family, that will allow him to slowly come out of his shell and learn to love life. We are putting the building blocks, but kennels have their limits no matter how much you try and do. But we can’t let him go to someone that doesn’t understand or LISTEN. Most people want easy dogs. They want easy fixes, they want easy solutions. We have none of that.

We know that Sir G has a long road ahead, and we will walk by his side for his journey. He is a wanted dog, he is a loved dog. He will know the meaning of love and he will know that people don’t give up on their friends.

Sir G has a lot of associated costs – Behaviourist, Groomer, Vet, Kennels – would you like to be a sponsor? Would you be interested?  Then please consider making a donation via PayPal towards his costs:



                                                      

 

Don’t give up on Sir G – we are proud of who he is – we have looked into his eyes and we have seen a broken and bruised soul – but we have seen love and we have seen hope. Help us, help him

 

Project “Black Dog”

We work closely with volunteers (thank you, volunteers!) at several perreras in Spain.  They always let us know of terriers in need – and help organise the start of their journey to the UK. Here is the story of Queen Victoria:
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Well – we were told about this poor girl – she was abandoned and began living in a ravine.  She has lived in that ravine for years – the people of the nearby village were never able to catch her.  They said she lived there for 4/5 years – eventually they did manage to catch her – she had many litters over the years – she is very shy, she has had little contact with people -and her faith and trust in people was shaken – we have no idea what horrors she has seen and we know she is a smart dog for having survived so long out there.
But she is a black dog (remember our Black Dog Friday campaign?), she is shy of people, and she was just hiding behind her bed…this is not the most adoptable dog.  The perrera has a fixed number of kennels -and they basically allow the dogs to live as long as they have a kennel for them. But kennels were filling, and Victoria had been there the longest.  So she was next
 
The volunteer was desperate and no one showed any interest in this dog – we are a small rescue and we have so few people willing to work with dogs that need a bit more TLC.  But they asked if we could give her a chance, they told us how they would leave treats at the front of the kennel, and when they left she would take them…but after visiting several times – she started waiting for them at the front of the kennel…

This story saddened us, it made our heart sink, surely we should try?  So with the Help of the volunteers – we decided to save this girl.  She will start her rehabilitation in Spain and we will keep the group updated, but we need your support, and we need you to help us share her story, because of her past and the fact she is an older black dog – she will not be the most popular – but all dogs do matter and we know that this girl will blossom and show us the Queen she is…
You can watch her youtube video here.

Black Dog Friday!

An international shopping sensation sweeps the world after Thanksgiving – Black Friday – where shoppers in their hordes descend onto the shops (and online!) to grab a bargain or two. Here at Terrier SOS, this Friday is Black DOG Friday!  It’s an interesting fact that black dogs are overlooked in shelters and rehoming centres, and often it’s the same here too.  It’s a phenomena known as BBDS (Big Black Dog Syndrome).

We want to change that!  At Terrier SOS, our black dogs aren’t BBDs; they’re TDHs (Tall, Dark and Handsome) and on Black Dog Friday, we are sharing their stories with you. Let’s make their Black Friday a date to remember – let’s give our black dogs a loving home!

Take a look at our top 3 luscious Tall, Dark and Handsomes:

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Podenco Cross Olly, 18 months old and a bundle of fun! e loves cuddles and will make a wonderful companion.  He is quite a calm dog and as long as life is taken at a slow pace he is perfectly happy.  Olly will get there – but his family will need to take things at his pace – he is a perfect lap dog and we are sure with the right encouragement he will lose his timidness and show the world the beautiful boy he is.

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Princess Georgina, the most dainty of our current terriers available for adoption.  A yorkie cross with gorgeous manners, Georgina is currently in foster in Spain, awaiting travel to the UK and a proper health assessment.

 

 

 

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Mr Darcy! Our dashing Spanish Lurcher mix.  An athletic young man, looking for life time companionship with his future loving family.  He is Airedale-sized, and has everything to learn, but is fun and sweet and will make a great companion.   Need we say any more?

 

Complete a TerrierSOSQuestionnaireMay2015 now to helpone of these three gorgeous black dogs find their forever home on Black Dog Friday.

Remember: Children: 10+, no cats or small furries. Dogs for adoption will be neutered, passported, vaccinated.

 

‘I am alive because someone fostered me’

If our terriers could speak, they’d all tell you a similar story.  Our work wouldn’t be possible without the incredible work of our small network of foster homes.

These families take on our rescued terriers and give them a temporary place to call home; warmth, care and attention are top of their list!  Our wealth of rehomed dogs wouldn’t be where they are today without these foster homes – and they have a few words of thanks to share:

WE NEED YOU. We recently have taken in several dogs that require a very SPECIAL foster home, one that will be calm, compassionate and help the dog learn to trust again.

We are looking for foster homes in the South East – that will work with us to help some very hurt dogs become whole again.

We will have support in place and also have the family work with a Trainer – but these must be homes that understand that the dog will need extra TLC and understanding. Get in touch if you think you may be able to help. You can read more about the foster role and download the application form here.

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