Great Start to the New Year

07/01/2012 by admin.

I just thought I would post a quick up date.  It’s only the 7th January and so far so good.  The charity shop is doing amazingly well.  We made £70 in one day this week which really is a fantastic amount!

Basil has been reserved and will be formally adopted in the next few weeks and Ella has been reserved.  She will be sepending the next few weeks as a foster but will then, if all goes well, be adopted.

Mia was also formally adopted just before Christmas so in total that will be 16 dogs rehomed since October 2010.

We have a 40 mile sponsored walk planned for 5th May so keep checking back reguarly for updates on that.

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Charity Update (December)

06/12/2011 by admin.

It has been a very busy couple of weeks at the Charity.  We are very pleased to announce that we have just opened up our new Charity Shop!  We received the keys a few weeks ago and since then we have managed to redecorate it and stock it.  The shop is now open!  We are located at 44 Derwent Road, Athersley South, Barnsley, S71 3QT and will be open Tuesday to Friday 9.15am to 4pm and Saturday 10am to 2pm.  Why not pop along and see what we have for sale? Also last wee we got a call from the pound to say they were full to bursting again.  This time it was particularly distressing.  As usual Staffy after Staffy after Staffy and 4 huge Akita’s.  One was a poor old lad who looked mean!  He was stood with his big Akita head hanging to the floor.  I knelt down by his cage and as I spoke to him he raised his head and then put a giant paw through the bars and rested it on my leg.  I stroked his nose but had to leave as he had me in tears.  The situation is only going to get worse now that Christmas is upon us.  I just dread to think of all of those abandoned ‘Christmas Presents’ that will be thrown into the system in the New Year.

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Daisy – Rescue No. 19

06/12/2011 by admin.

On 30^th November we had a frantic call from the pound to see if it was possible for us to take just 1 dog as they were full to bursting yet again.  After walking around the kennels 3 times, and still being unsure as to which the lucky one would be, I saw her.  A crossbreed constantly being bullied by the dog it was sharing with.  She was the one. We called her Daisy and brought her out.  She was suffering badly with Kennel Cough but travelled really well in the van.  She went straight into a foster home where she was brilliant with the other dogs and showed very little interest in the cats.  The Kennel Cough was really bad and Daisy just couldn’t keep water down.  We contacted the pound to advise them of the Kennel Cough as the dog she was sharing with was reserved by a family and would be picked up at the weekend.  The staff at the pound advised us to bring her back so that she could be treated there.  Reluctantly we took her back and again she travelled well in the van.  When we returned to the van Daisy stuck to me like glue.  She even curled her body around my legs when the staff came to take her.  So sad!  We just take comfort in the fact that once she is better she will be into our care like a shot and fingers crossed will be into a home not long after.

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Stan – Rescue No. 18

06/12/2011 by admin.

Stan, a 10 week old staffy x pup came to us via our vets.  We received the call to see if we had any availability, if not the pup would be heading for the pound which currently had Parvo.  This, as we all know, is a death sentence for a 10 week old puppy. The girls at the vets were desperate for this not to happen. What could we say? We didn’t have any foster homes free and we are paying for 2 kennels already and no real funds coming in.  So we said yes of course! We had no idea what we were going to do with this pup.
Whilst taking the dogs for a quick walk Julie bumped into a man called Steve, who is the caretaker at the local school.  Missy (Julie’s dog) and Ollie (Steve’s staffy cross) always have a good run around.  This particular morning Julie bumped into Steve as normal but said she was only having a quick walk today and told him all about the pup. Steve said that they’d been on about another dog for Ollie and he’d ring his wife and let me know if they were interested in trying the pup with Ollie, HOW LUCKY WAS THIS!

Anyway to cut a long story short Steve rang before Julie even got to the vets to say that they’d like to give it a go so that evening Julie took Stan around to Steve’s.  They stayed for an hour and everything was going fine.  Stan didn’t have a clue about Ollie’s body language which leads us to think he was another pup sold too young when he should have still been with his mum. Things were going well, so Julie left them with a cage, some bedding and the mountain of stuff the fantastic girls at vets sent.

After an update from Steve and Sue things with Stan are going really well.  In fact it looks as though he will be adopted!  Lets face it – Stan and Ollie are always going to be a perfect match.  After all, they are named after the legends of Laurel and Hardy!
 

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Mia - Rescue 14 is reserved

01/11/2011 by admin.

I hope this isn’t a little too premature but Mia has gone into a new foster home with the intention of being adopted (if all goes well).

The story started on the 7th June 2011 when Mia was rescued from the pound.  When she first came to Willow she was in a dreadful state.  She was crawling in fleas, and was going bald due to her flea allergy.  Mia was nervous.  She would stand and shake at absolutely nothing. Mia went straight into a home with the view of being adopted and all was going well until she bit one of the teenagers there.  This is a definate no no and she had to be moved from that household.  Although the dogs are everything to us - people, and especially children, must come first.

It was not all bad news though, from this we knew that Mia could certainly not go to a home with children.  We also found out that Mia is not fantastic with other dogs and will lunge and bite them if they also come too close.  Again, more knowledge.

Mia was placed into a different foster home with no other dogs and no children (except a grandchild who visited a couple of hours a week).  During that time Mia was in her cage (which she considers her safe area), so that everyone was safe.

Further developments were made and we found that Mia had certain possession issues.  If she was allowed on the sofa and someone came near she would lung for them.  Not the best of behaviour but again, this all gives us knowledge and allows us to develop an action plan to deal with it.

The problem with rescue dogs is you never know where they have come from or what has happened to them, so its a little bit like trying to see a picture from a broke up jigsaw puzzle.

After spending time in her foster home Mia has come on in leaps and bounds.  Her nervous shaking almost disappeared and although she still ’smiles’ she is much more relaxed in herself.  She does, however still have these possession issue which can be worked on - given a little time and patience.  However, the problem was finding a home that was so restricted with no other dogs and no children.

We knew there was a home out there for Mia but not knowing when it would be found was difficult.  Then, a few weeks ago, a lovely lady called Mary enquired about Mia. She had always had rescue dogs and wanted to give a home to another after losing her last dog.  We told Mary Mia’s full story and hid nothing from her.  There is no point not disclosing everything you know because that does no good whatsoever.  Its only a matter of time before the new owners experience the bad behaviours for themselves and then will more than likely send the dog back.  This does nobody any good, especially the dog!

After finding out everything about Mia and having a good think about it Mary decided to trial Mia out on a foster.  She would have accepted her straight away but Mary lives with her brother whom she cares for so it wouldn’t only affect her.  We said she could take Mia on a temporary foster for about 1 month as this would give Mia time to get her feet under the table and come out of her shell a little bit.

It has so far been only 4 days in but so far so good.  There has been one little incident of possession (which wasn’t that major) but with the training Im sure this will work itself out.

Keep a look out for more updates on how Mia gets on in her foster home.  We’ve all got our fingers crossed for her.

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Suzie - Rescue no. 11 (update)

23/10/2011 by admin.

As you may already know, Suzie came to Willow Dog Rescue in March 2011.  Mark and Ange, a couple from Leeds decided they wanted to give her a home but there was one problem….Suzie didn’t like cats and Mark and Ange had 5 of them!! They started her on temporary foster over the bank holiday and an action plan on how to combat the cat training began.

Over the following weeks Suzie made good progress to the point that Mark and Ange decided to adopt her. We have just been sent a picture from Mark which basically shows how well Suzie has come along.

It just goes to show what a little bit of hard work, patience and training can do.  Well done to Mark and Ange for perseverance and also to Suzie.  Another successful rehome

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Halloween Safety

21/10/2011 by admin.

Halloween is fun for the family but it can be scary for some dogs.  Here are some tips to keep your dog happy and safe at this time:

 

*Some dogs are frightened by people in costumes so it is best to walk your dog before trick-or-treaters start.

 

* Find a secure place in your home to prevent your dog from bolting whilst handing out treats to the kids.

 

*Its always good to be prepared so ensure your dog is wearing and up to date ID tag or even better – get him/her micro chipped just in case they do manage to escape.

 

* If your dog has a habit of excessive barking, place him in a quiet room as far away from your front door as possible at least a half-hour before trick-or-treaters arrive.

 

* Consider popping your dog in a crate.  This can help him/her feel more secure as well as greatly reducing the chance of accidentally escapes.  Ensure you provide chew toys, a favourite blanket, toy or whatever comforts him/her.

 

* If you want to have your dog near the door to greet the trick-or-treaters, keep him/her on the lead. Dogs can become stressed and unwelcome interruptions to their routine. Remember that a nervous dog might feel threatened and growl, lunge or bite.

 

* Keep dogs indoors. It’s a bad idea to leave dogs out in the yard or garden.  There have been reports of taunting, poisonings and pet thefts. Plus they’re likely to bark and howl at the constant flow of treat or treaters.

 

* Do not leave dogs in cars.

 

* Keep dogs out of the treat bowl and throw away sweet wrappers before your pets get chance to get to them.  The wrappers can cause choking or intestinal obstruction.

 

*Remember that chocolate contains theobromine, which can cause nerve damage and even death in dogs. The darker the chocolate, the more concentrated it is — and the smaller the lethal dose. Some symptoms of chocolate poisoning include:

 

Excessive drooling
Excessive urination
Pupil dilation
Rapid heartbeat
Vomiting and diarrhea
Hyperactivity
Muscle tremors and seizures
Coma

 

Seek veterinary advise straight away if you dog starts to exhibit any of these symptoms after eating chocolate.

 

* Make sure pets can’t reach candles, jack-o-lanterns, decorations or ornaments.

Halloween costumes can annoy animals and pose safety and health hazards…so think twice before dressing up the dog. Make sure the dog can breathe, see and hear, and that the costume is flame retardant. Remove any small or dangling accessories that could be chewed and swallowed. Avoid rubber bands, which can cut off the animal’s circulation or, if accidentally left on, can burrow and cut into the animal’s skin.

Most importantly stay safe and HAVE FUN!

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Toby - Rescue no. 17

11/10/2011 by admin.

On the morning of Monday 3^rd October 2011 Willow Dog Rescue received a call from a lady who didnt know what to do with her mum’s dog. Her mum had had 2 heart attacks a fortnight ago and was in no fit state to look after her dog, a 10 month old Yorkshire Terrier. Although we don’t usually take dogs from people’s homes this lady had tried several rescues in the area and as far away as Birmingham, because Toby is only 10 months old we knew he’d be fine in one of our foster home.

Sarah and Julie set off and collected Toby, the Lady was indeed ill and hadn’t been paying much attention to Toby.  He was badly matted and smelt terrible. Toby went home with Julie who gave him a good bath.  When they were finished the water was like pure sludge.  He still wasn’t sparkling but he certainly looked and smelt better and he must have felt tonnes better too. For such a young dog he’s had a very poor start originally belonging to another family, he was shut in a room on his own for hours on end while the family worked from 8 weeks to 4 months. This is when the lady bought him.  Her bungalow was open plan gardens so he didn’t have a garden to play in and as her health deteriorated so did his walks and exercise.  When Sarah and Julie got there today he was practically bouncing off the walls and ceiling!

In the meantime Sarah posted Toby’s photo on facebook and 12 minutes after it was posted we received a text asking about him.  As Julie wasn’t going out the ‘people’ went to see him and loved him.  He is now at home with them and little Billy!  Yes Carol & Debbie, who adopted little Billy from us, has taken him under their wing.Toby and Billy pretty much hit it off straight way and have played non-stop since he went with Carol and Debbie.  He has already had a week away on holiday in Mablethorpe and had a fantastic time there running up the beach and playing with Billy.

Toby’s future is certainly looking very bright.

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October Dog Walk

03/10/2011 by admin.

Yesterday was yet another of our social dog walks.  The weather was nice and warm, not what we expected for October, and everyone had a great time as always.  This time we had Bruce and Basil with us, both Willow dogs looking for a new home.  There was also Jasper, Billy and Beth all dogs that Willow have successfully rehomed, and finally Nancy, Missy, Coco, Fletcher and Tilly.

We meet on the first Sunday of every month for a walk around Manvers Lake in South Yorkshire.   It really is great fun but we must look strange as there is about 8 owners and just as many dogs all running around having a great time.  There are a mixture of breeds. This time, Billy a little crossbreed was the smallest (about the size of a Yorkshire Terrier) right up to Tilly the Rottweiler.

We have popped some videos on our Facebook page for you all to take a look. (http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Willow-Dog-Rescue/139834869366415).

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Charlie Update

01/10/2011 by admin.

Charlie is coming along great in Snowdonia.   Anne says he’s a proper hunting dog and she has already made such a difference to his pulling.  He has settled well and is now on their website (http://www.snowdoniaanimalsanctuary.com/CharlieLabx.html).  There have already been two enquiries about him but unfortunately both all involved homes with  livestock which is unsuitable for Charlie….At the moment, but who knows in the future!!

Charlie doesnt spend much time in the run as the cats totally wind him up so he gets 3 walks a day same as ALL the other dogs but slightly longer ones.

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