Candy RIP

It is with heavy hearts that we must tell you of the passing of our beautiful girl Candy.

Candy was one of the saddest cases we have ever come across, she was found lying in the middle of the road, the volunteer thought she was hit by a car and left to die , but when she saw her , Candy lifted up her little head and looked at her – hoping this time someone would help her. She was covered in ticks, was in an emaciated state and in a very poor condition. She tested positive for Leishmania and it had started to affect her organs. Although her luck had changed that day – it did not go smoothly for her…she was moved to a foster home and while the foster was at work, one of her other dogs attacked Candy so bad that she almost died. She amazingly recovered from this and was moved to the rescue, whereupon she was bitten by an enormous venomous snake. But in true terrier style, she overcame this…the thing about Candy was she knew that things had to get better, she had hope and faith they would…and they did.

Lindsay and her family , like us , saw Candy, and knew she had to have a chance at a life of love. So Terrier SOS put those wheels in motion and Candy left Spain and went North! She was loved from Day One, received cuddles by the boatload, love and care. She maintained her feisty personality and blossomed – off lead running with her pals Fred and Rita, lounging on the sofa, getting up to mischief and mayhem whenever possible.

Candy is a special dog for her family, but also for all in rescue. Candy was hope, she fought every day because she knew that tomorrow could be the day that changes everything – she is a symbol to the beauty of life – to enjoy the present, not live in the past, and never lose the ability to love again.

Our thoughts and sympathies go to her family, we have posted some photos of Candy in her good life, as we want her to be remembered this way. We want to thank Lindsay and David for opening their hearts and home to this little girl, and giving her the love she deserved.

RIP Sweet Fozzy

It is with a heavy heart that we must tell you that our beloved long term foster, Fozzy, has gone to the Rainbow Bridge. Our beloved Fozzy battled so many ills and neglect in her life – we were told she would not have long, but they did not know the true terrier spirit. With all the love and care, Violeta and her family gave her a home and Fozzy was with them for 19 months – much longer than expected. Our thoughts are with her foster family – and to a little dog that defied the odds and inspired all of us.

our dear Milou – Memorial

When we first adopted Milou in February 2013 he was a quiet boy who was a little wary of us. After a few months he realised he was staying with us and started coming out of his shell, blossoming into a real character.

He was a joy to be around – gentle with children, patient with elderly people, affectionnate and playful. Everybody that came into contact with him fell in love with his cheeky spirit. He spent half his life sleeping on his back with his legs in the air – on buses, trains, in pubs and wherever he could find a sunny spot. He brought so much joy and pleasure into our lives and in return we gave him the best forever home to spend his twilight years. He was loved, brushed, walked, cuddled, given treats and got to play ball whenever he wanted to. It was the hardest thing in the world to say goodbye to our beloved companion but he will remain in our hearts forever. Thanks for giving us the last two years of your life, we only wish we had met many years ago. Rest in peace little one, love Dad & daddy xx

Bertie – rest in peace

Our volunteers in Valladoid, Spain contacted us about a wire fox terrier who was very poorly in the infamous Valladolid dog pound, their the people who’ve helped us get Romeo, Juliet, Eva, Monty, Carol, Tony, Archie and Duke out of the killing station. They wanted to get the sick dog out but needed our help to pay for the pound fee and the vet fees.

Of course we agreed to step in. He was taken out of the pound and a kind lady called Paola agreed to take him and care for him for as long as necessary.
He adapted well to their other two dogs, and Bertie gradually became part of the family. At one vet’s visit, we confirmed that he has cataracts, due to old age. He could see practically nothing at night.
When taken from the kill station, Bertie had a cold (the few nights he spent there were below zero temperatures) and was treated but his health started to deteriorate. He had difficulty breathing, became lethargic, his temperature fell to 35ºC.

Paola took him to the vet, but he presented a huge lung infection that had turned into pneumonia. He was dehydrated, hypothermic and also presented a liver condition and a huge heart murmur.
They managed to stabilise him at the clinic and he spent New Year’s Eve at home, returning to the clinic the next morning.

Sadly after getting better, he got worse again, no longer being able to eat. He passed away at the beginning of January 2014.

We don’t know anything about his past life and how he came to be abandoned, and ot all our rescue stories end as we would like them to – we wanted more for Bertie – but we are grateful we were able to make his final time surrounded by people that loved and cared for him. Take care sweet man, we were privileged to be part of your story

Alf

January 2014 from Diana: “I am crying as I write this, but we have very sad news about Alf. He had not been well and was in considerable pain. We have been back and forth to the Vet for tests and sadly the Vet felt he was suffering from a brain tumour or possible damage caused from the abuse he had suffered in the past and the kindest thing would be to let Alf go.

We do all in our power to save dogs, this decision has been the hardest but we cannot allow a dog to continue to suffer. It breaks my heart that we cannot repair what others have broken, but we have to try. Alf had 6 wonderful months with his foster Liz Vater. He knew Love, affection, patience and care. He lived in a house, he had the sofa to himself and cuddles when he wanted them. He was loved and he was able to live like a proper dog – even stealing cake from counters!

Alf passed away peacefully in the arms of the people he knew – he will never be forgotten, he is in the hearts of the people that loved him. I hope you appreciate this is a time of great sadness for us, we will need time to mourn.”

Alf is a delightful male deaf dog. A wire fox terrier, approximately seven years old, twelve kilos and the face of a cherub!

Alf has come a very long way since he arrived in the UK. We don’t know much about his history, but his behaviour indicates he was abused, then abandoned, ending up in solitary confinement simply due to being deaf. His frustration – and possibly some pain, which we think has been rectified since being neutered – caused him to spin and snap when upset or frustrated. In the 4 months he’s been in foster, this has gone from 20-minutes at a time, many times a day, to occasional barking at his bottom. The fact that he’s improved so dramatically gives us hope that with continued love and training, he’ll carry on relaxing, learning and chilling out.

He’s been let down so many times that he’s just ecstatic to wake up and realise that he’s still in a comfortable home with people who love him and aren’t going to hurt him. It’s been wonderful watching him learn how to be a dog again, and his puppyish antics are adorable. His tail was docked, but his whole back end wags when you come into a room, to the point that he nearly falls over.

He just wants to be with you as much as possible and is perfectly happy to lie at your feet or to help out with whatever you’re doing, whether that’s tidying up (he gently takes things back out of the bin to inspect them), cooking (he’s a very good sous chef) or gardening (either sitting in the flower beds or eating lavender).

As soon as the lights go out in the evening, he heads for the sofa and sleeps quietly for as long as you want him to. He’s fine being left on his own (he misses you but isn’t at all destructive) and is good on short trips in the car (hasn’t been on longer ones so can’t assess).

He can’t hear himself, so his little noises are very endearing, especially when you get his lead, when he chunters and yelps with excitement. He LOVES his walks and although he can get agitated when he sees other dogs, he’s learning to calm down. He loved our previous resident oldie and after some initial skirmishes (largely instigated by our territorial little terrier) they’d play happily for hours.

He’s a typical fox terrier so he can be feisty and certainly likes his own space. Because he’s deaf (and presumably because he’s been beaten before), he can snap if you suddenly invade his personal space, but is learning that a warning growl or air-snap is better behaviour than a nip. The more he trusts you, the happier and more relaxed he is and the more his personality emerges.

Alf, quite simply, just wants to be loved. He’s an adorable clumsy lummox who wins over everyone he meets. He’s a work in progress, so his forever home will need to take on continued training and be prepared for an extended settling in period. But if you’re good at stroking his lovely head, he’ll love you for ever.

He has some behavioural issues and we have enlisted the help of an animal behaviourist to determine further his requirements. We will continue this commitment to him in his new home.

Alf is a project, but the reward will be tenfold the effort. He has a valid pet passport and applications from outside the UK will be considered, although prospective adopters would have to travel to meet him in the first instance.

If you are interested in this dog, please apply by filling in our rehoming questionnaire on this website, in the first instance.

Alf likes baking and can often be found in the kitchen waiting for a nice pear tart.