Hope is Looking for a New Home

Poppy and Todd as well as Valdi previously mentioned on this blog have found good homes, they were all special dogs and have found happiness with the right owners. This is greyhound who is looking for a home in the North East after being rescued from severe cruelty.

'My name is Hope and I am an ex-racing greyhound. After a very bad start to my life, I am now looking for a special home. My doggie companions are great as they have helped me on the road to recovery. I am looking for a new home in the North East'

PLEASE READ HOPE'S STORY.

On Friday 6th April 2007, a motorist was driving in Dalton Piercy and thought she saw a dead fox lying at the side of the road. She stopped to investigate and found that it was not a fox but a brindle female Greyhound who was still alive, but had collapsed in a heap. The lady took the dog straight to a local vets. Our rescue received a call the following day to ask if we could take her in as she was due to go to the local dog pound that day. What a shock we got! This dog was skin and bone and she could hardly lift her head up. We took her straight to Steven Duncan (head of our Rescue), who told us that she had 95% wastage to her body, covered in fleas and she could have possible liver and kidney damage. Steven then took the dog to his vet where they administered a drip to try and re-hydrate her. At the time of writing this article, she is still at the vets getting treatment. She has been tested for kidney and liver damage and we are waiting for the results. She has also put on a little weight but still needs to be hooked up on a drip for a few more days. The Greyhound who was given the name of HOPE weighed only 15 kilo�s and her perfect weight is 30+ as she is a big female, so she has a long way to go before she is 100%. This is the worst case of cruelty that we have ever seen at our rescue. If she had not have been found that day�well who knows what might have happened. There is a ongoing investigation with the R.S.P.C.A and hopefully the owner will be prosecuted, and banned from keeping dogs. Even though Hope was in a bad condition that night when we picked her up from the vets, she lifted her head and even managed to give a slight wag of her tail, this giving us as a rescuer, HOPE that she will survive.

If you think you can give Hope or another greyhound a home contact info@greyhoundrescue.net

Can you offer a home to a very nervous dog? Essex Greyhound rescue have a dog called Magic who is shy and timid and would like a home, possibly with other greyhounds, where he can come out of his shell. As you can see my Lily was an extremely nervous dog but we managed to bond in days and despite hating men, has become a real Daddy's girl and very cuddly. Patience is required but setting a routine the dog can trust and being careful about introducing new situations can bring the gretest rewards. Contact me if you are interested in meeting Magic with a view to rehoming him.

Dehydration, Copraphagia, Agoraphobia

Dizzy was ill with diarrhoea, then he ate it to clean it up, and started vomiting. Anyway, we found two useful tips to help us out. Diarolyte given in a dogs water bowl, mixed up as for a child, quickly helps to stabilise any electrolyte inbalance. And, eating their own poo, copraphagia as it is medically known, is quite a common greyhound trait. We think thay Dizzy did this either because he was losing weight due to diarrhoea following penicillin treatment and was lacking in nutrients OR it was a guilty attempt to clean up because he kept having little accidents indoors Well, giving a dog either fresh pineapple or pineapple juice breaks down to a foul tasting element in their poo which quickly discourages them from continuing that habit.

Lily is doing well with her desensitising programme but seems to have a real block in the pet shop where she quivers and shakes like a jelly whilst digging her claws in to the ground. Strangely, she does not have this reaction at the vets where we would expect it. Also, it is sad but Lily does not really enjoy going on walks outside the house at all. She has become so happy and comfortable here that she either pulls to drag us back to the house or turns into a statue before she leaves the house and lies down on her bed. We take her regardless and try to make it as enjoyable an experience as possible but she would really rather not go. One of the things that makes her unwilling to continue a walk, is that due to her nervousness she won't pee anywhere except our own garden. Taking her on holiday will be interesting, she will have to go then.