NWESSR

Breeze is a 10 year old male Springer who is going to need a special foster home. He has always lived out but is house trained. Approx 5 years is ago his owner left the family home leaving Breeze behind in the shed. His wife claims that Breeze would never go for a walk with her, he has therefore (except for the odd visit from his Dad) been in the shed ever since ! She finally decided to get rid of Breeze who came to us. On arrival we found that he was in a very poor state and had testicular cancer which was quite advanced. We checked with his Vet and he had not seen Breeze for 6 years. Our Vet is operating as he feels there is a chance that if the operation is successful Breeze may have a few more years left. 

Provided all goes well he will need a very special person to care for him. He is used to children and has been living with another dog who belongs to the wife and is an indoor family pet. We don’t know how he would be with cats but we understand he used to be a working dog so he should be ok with livestock and have good basic commands. His operation is booked for later this week and if all goes according to plan he will be looking for a foster home in the near future. We know that he is not going to live to a ripe old age but we desperately need someone who can make the time he has left special and make up as best we can for the misery he has been forced to endure over the last few years. Breeze will be on our fostering scheme and we will of course pay for any treatment he needs. If ever a dog needed some love and kindness in his last years it must be this poor boy.  

Update 26/01/12: Breeze has now had his surgery and all went well. He is beginning to put on weight and enjoying playing in the paddock with the other dogs. Our Vet is confident that he can now look forward to a full and happy life so all he needs is that special person to offer him a loving Foster home.

Belle is an 8 year old Liver and White female Springer who will be vaccinated, spayed and micro-chipped before she leaves us. Belle’s owner keeps and working Springers who all live outside side but Belle has never worked and has always been the family pet and house dog although she has been used for breeding. She is used to children of all ages and is very loving and affectionate. She is house trained and good on the lead and her recall is fine. Belle mixes well with other dogs and is used to birds but is an unknown quantity with cats and livestock. She travels well in the car and loves to play ball and go on long playful family walks and is generally a great dog to have around but sadly for her the children have now grown up and moved away so there is no role for Belle to play so she is living outside and is being left for around 5 hours a day. 

Tinker is a 6 year old Liver and White working type Springer who is vaccinated, micro-chipped and house trained.  When Tinker came to us she had been treated for 2 years since producing her last litter of pups for phantom pregnancies and urine infections and was described as full of milk; she certainly had a lump the size of a Cantaloupe melon hanging down which you can just see through the hair in her photo. Further examination at our Vets revealed that this had been misdiagnosed by the previous vet and was in fact a bladder hernia where the bladder had come through the inner wall and was hanging down below her.  What was supposed to be milk was in fact urine no wonder she was being treated for having blood in her urine. Poor little girl must have been in such pain for 2 years. She had immediate surgery to cure the problem, fix the bladder in place and repair the internal damage and at the same time was spayed. It was a big operation but she is bouncing back and thank goodness is now a normal happy Springer and no longer dragging this huge sack of fluid around below her.

She is used to sharing her home with another male Springer and she is fine with children, cats and other dogs in their old household but hasn’t met many strange dogs.  We feel she has not had much exercise. Tinker lives inside and is used to being left for reasonable periods in the dinning kitchen. She pulls a bit at the beginning of a walk but she soon settles down though this may change now she is feeling well and able to walk properly; she also loves to play ball and her recall is quite good as long as you have a ball to tempt her with. She is not very good with other dogs. Our feeling is that she is unused to mixing with other dogs or being walked and has been primarily been kept for breeding so she will need to start from the beginning with socialisation. Tinker will play with toys in the garden and will retrieve Tinker particularly likes to have something to carry round in her mouth. Her owners say that they do not have time for her because they both work full time. 

Frankie is a 5 year old Liver and White neutered male Springer who is vaccinated, house trained and used to children of all ages from the age of 3 months upwards. He has been in his present home all his life and has always been the only dog but is sociable with other dogs when out but would be an unknown quantity with cats and livestock. He is used to being left with the run of the kitchen and lounge when his owners are out and at night and never cause any problem. He is rarely walked on the lead and when he is he pulls like a train so we suggest a GenCon for him. He is generally fine with other dogs but he did once bite another dog which came at him growling and threatening be he certainly didn’t start it and didn’t do much damage. He travels well in the car but does prefer to be on the back seat rather than in the boot and will climb over if he gets the chance. He loves to have something to carry round and if there is nothing to hand he will pinch something to greet it up for a swop. 

Frankie’s biggest sin is that he believes that if he can get it in his mouth it is food and if he can’t it is food that just needs more chewing. He is a fearful thief and will raid visitors handbags and pockets when they call and steal from the kitchen bin. To date he has had surgery to remove some oil cloth which got stuck in his bowel and caused a blockage; he has also had 3 cobs of corn removed from his stomach. He does seem to be constantly hungry and it may be worth checking this out with a vet but he may also just be one of those dogs. He can also be accident prone and jumped down a steep bank into the river and caught himself on a large stone badly bruising his side. Anyone taking Frankie on would be well advised to get him insured. Frankie is great fun and is just full of life and wants to live it to the full.  His owners are only looking for a home for him because they now have two young children and he is stealing their food and toys. We feel an organised home with an experienced couple who can make sure there is not so much stuff around for him to pinch and have time to supervise him properly would be the ideal for him. He really is a lovely comical boy you can just see the mischief in those eyes but he does need the right home to try and correct some of this shambolic behaviour.

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Ziggy is a 7 year old Liver and White female Springer who is vaccinated, micro-chipped and house trained and will be spayed before she leaves us. She shares her home with Amber who is a 6 year old Liver Sprocker. Amber is also vaccinated, micro-chipped and house trained and she is also spayed. They are used to children from tiny babies upwards and get on well with other dogs besides being accustomed to livestock but neither has lived with cats or are they used to poultry. They are fine with being left for reasonable periods in the kitchen which is also where they sleep. Initially they pull a bit on the lead but once the excitement has worn off they walk nicely side by side and their recall is good they always come back when called. 

They very much enjoy their walks, Amber loves water and swimming whilst Ziggy is not so keen on getting wet. They both love to play with their toys and Ziggy has a favourite toy pheasant which she carries everywhere. Amber just likes to retrieve and will carry on all day if you let her. They are both very loving and affectionate and Ziggy loves tummy tickles and belly rubs. These are two lovely girls who are great family dogs and we really do need a home for them together because they are very bonded. They are very easy dogs to live with who will bring years of fun and affection to their new family and are only looking for a new home because their current owner’s relationship has broken down and neither have the time or facilities to look after them.

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Buddy and Bongo are 5 year old Liver and White male Springers who are vaccinated, house trained and micro-chipped. They have been together all their lives and ideally we would like to home them together but we could part them provided they were going to a home where they had the company of another dog. They are used to children from 2 years upwards and get on well with other dogs but are an unknown quantity with cats, birds and livestock. Sometimes they play fight together but they are great friends although Bongo is the dominant one. They both enjoy walks and a good race round and although they pull bit on the lead their recall is ok. 

They travel well in the car and are accustomed to being left for reasonable periods in the kitchen which is where they sleep. Their owners are working increasingly long hours and have decided that this is not fair to the dogs because not only are they being left for a long time they are getting nowhere near the exercise and company they are used to. These are two very loving affectionate boys who like nothing better than to spend their time messing about with their people and having walks, cuddles and tummy tickles. They are loads of fun to own and are very loving, affectionate family dogs.

Lady is a 2 year old Liver and White female Springer who is vaccinated, house trained and micro-chipped. She will be spayed before she leaves us. She came to us as an emergency. Her elderly owner had bought her to amuse her granddaughter and had fallen over and knocked herself out, the family phoned us and said if we didn’t take her that night they were going to put her on the street, so she is currently with one of our foster carers. She is fine with children but because she has been pulled around a bit by a youngster we would not place her with young children and feel she would be better off with sensible older ones who know how to treat a dog.

She initially got on fine with her Foster Mum’s dogs and cats but once she had her feet under the table and felt more secure she started to bully the other dogs to the point that she was making their lives a misery and has had to come into kennels. She is one bossy lady who wants to be top dog so we feel she would be best in a home where she is the only dog. Outside she is fine it is just in the house. Unfortunately we don’t know about birds or livestock. She is clean in the house over night but has been shut out all day. She needs to be taken out regularly to establish a routine during the day because she doesn’t seem to know how to ask. She has never been left alone in the house and at first she was quite noisy - this needs working - she simply hasn’t learned because she has been outside all day. Lady travels well in the car and basic good basic training on and off the lead. We think she has been teased by the young kids because if she gets hold of something she is possessive and won’t give it up and she will nip if pushed. The best way to deal with the issue is to walk away and find something more interesting so she can’t bear to be left behind. She is a bit of a Jeckyl and Hyde with this and it's not advisable to try and force the issue because she will have a sharp nip - what is needed is retraining to get over the effects of being tormented by the kids. She has obviously been used to sleeping on her owners bed but is now sleeping in a dog bed in her Foster Mum’s bedroom.

Lady is potentially a lovely girl but she was bought for the wrong reasons by the wrong person and through no fault of her own has learnt unacceptable behaviour and is highly possessive with anything she can get hold. She will need an experienced family who have the time and experience to work with her on this.