Friday 30 December 2011

Letter from Coonagh (now Swift) & family

Hello Swift here.  Well I have finally got my Personal Assistant (Mum) to send you some recent photos.  I have been here 18 months now and am thrilled to bits with my new owners.  It seems like a long time ago that I arrived here looking like an Irish tramp.  Now I am handsome and sleek.  Mam brushes me every day.  I lie on my side with my eyes shut when she brushes me.  Mam says I am a big soft lump!!!  I have a friend Henry who I meet most days in the woods and we tear around together.  Dad says I can't half shift for a dog who had two broken legs!  'Swift' seems a strange choice of name for a dog who had both back legs broken, but for some reason it never occcured to them at the time!  It was not meant to be ironic!  Hope you like the photos.  We see that little George still has not found a home.  Mam adores him!  love and licks Swifty xxx
 


 

Letter from Ronnie (pics)


Letter from Rosie (now Bessie) & family

Happy Christmas Paul, Sarah and eveyone at Wiccaweys from Christine and Frank Holley and Bessie who was Rosie. Getting on great love to know how her two sisters are and thank you once again for letting us adopt her.  Special greetings to Julia for giving us a good home visit.

Letter from Sally (now Molly) & family

Hi, its been about 2 years since we collected Molly aka Sally from you and we thought it was about time we let you know how she is getting on. The attached picture says it all.
Best wishes
Peter, Lynn and of course Molly.

Friday 18 November 2011

Letter from Milo & family

Greetings Sarah and Paul,
 
Well we've had Milo one full year now and wouldn't be without him.  My daughter and her boyfriend took him to the seaside at the weekend - thought I'd let you see what he looked like when he arrived home.  Straight in the bath, looks beautiful now though.
 
Best wishes to you all,
 
Margaret
 
 
 

Letter from Kerry (now Indy) & family

Hi Paul & Sarah.
 
We have had Indy for just over a year now,and thought it was a good time to give you an update.
 
From a very timid dog who wouldn't leave my side around the house and whilst out walking, he now is very confident and will happily run on ahead, but always checks to make sure he knows where I am! He loves to chase squirrels and goes on squirrel patrol every day during his walk around the park, this is about the only time he barks!
 
Unfortunately he had a shoulder injury in August and had to have an operation, but thankfully he is now fully recovered and getting his fitness back. The vet is very impressed with his recovery. It was hard giving him restricted walks for a few weeks though.
 
His personality is now coming to the fore and he such a character always amazing us with his antics and his loving nature, he is certainly one of the family now, and couldn't imagine life without him.
 
Our old retriever Molly sadly died earlier this year, so Indy is now top dog and seems content to be on his own. When the time is right we will very likely paying you a visit to get him a companion, but for now it's just us and Indy and we love him to bits!
 
I have attached a photo of him that we took on a day out in Dartmoor.
 
Best wishes
Kevin & Sara Moon
 
 

Letter from Millie & family

Dear Paul and Sarah,

We just wanted to give some news on Millie.  She has been an absolute star and is the sweetest dog we have ever met.  She has been quite timid and scared of cars and people on our walks but is getting braver by the second.  We just got back from a long walk and she is snoring on her blanket as we speak.  She has mastered the stairs and came up to our bedroom at 6.45 this morning to let us know that it was time to get up.  She is eating and drinking well and has put next door's dog in his place.  She is fine with him while we are out on a walk but she will let him know who owns this house if he is taking liberties :)  She has had a bath, which she did not enjoy but she is all lovely and fluffy now.

Thanks for letting us adopt her, we just love her to bits!  We will keep you posted on her progress.

all the best

Thordis, Joseph and Asa

ps.  Joseph says hello to Ernie, Merlin and of course Jack.

Wednesday 9 November 2011

Letter from Donna (now Mitts) and family

Hi Sarah and Paul

Just thought I'd drop a quick line to let you know how Mitts is doing, I will send some photo's separately as it doesn't seem to want to send with attachments. 
We are really enjoying Mitts, she is a lovely dog with a really cute and Querky personality. We call her our 'little Princess'. She is a proper lady and it shows when we are out and about with her buddy Sox. He's the 'proper boy' rough and tumble, over the top etc, Mitts puts him in his place though. The two of them love playing together but she is the gentler one when out, she likes to skinny dip whilst he 'bomb dives', she likes to pitter patter along whilst he charges by !! A lovely combination.
Mitts has learnt her recall very quickly by whistle and also knows her name, she was kept on the long lead for walks for about 4 weeks but we are now confident that she isn't going anywhere. She's still on the lead for some outings involving trips to the Peak District as she has an extremely powerful herding instinct. Mitts tries to round up anything that moves and often circles us on walks. She is still very noise sensitive and quite nervous but this is gradually improving as we give her lots of reassurance.
We are really pleased to have Mitts, we and the kids love her to bits and she is a real pleasure to have in the family.

With best wishes 
the Shipleys

Letter from Rosie & family

Hello paul and sarah, just to let you know that rosie has settled in really well and has gained a lot of confindence we still have a little way to go but i am sure we will do it.Thank you so much for letting us adopt her she has bought sunshine back into our lives after losing our beloved megan she keeps on kissing bruce but he doesnt seem to mind, glad to hear that blackie has been adopted hope you are well.

Letter from Buster (now Barney) & Mum


Thought you might like to see this montage of one of your rescues, and how he lives now, Barney (ex Buster) .
 
Best wishes
 
Carole Leigh
 
 

Letter from Bracken & family

Hi Sarah and Paul
 
Some more pictures of Bracken with her new brother! They have really bonded, it's a joy to see them together. Bracken is proving to be a quick learner as well as a good footballer, if she was a boy I'd be tempted to call her Beckham!!
 
Yet again many, many thanks.
 
Kathx
 



 
 

Tuesday 8 November 2011

Letter from Dan & family

Hi Sarah, Hi Paul,

My names Dan and I was adopted back in October 2009 to a family in Soutill, Bedfordshire.
I thought you would be pleased to hear that I'm living life to the full and am particularly enjoying my flyball career [Mum says i'm a bit of an addict!!]
I compete with a team called HighFlyers, there are about 5 Wiccaweys adoptees in our club and we have a great time at tournaments, camping and socialising!

Yesterday, I qualified for Crufts 2012 and thought you would like to see me with my pretty rosette!    Unfortunately the Kennel Club wouldn't let me have the name Wiccaweys DannyBoy - so my registered name is Diddy DannyBoy, perhaps you can look out for me in March at Crufts?

Licks and Wags to you both
Danny

Letter from Gillian (now Maisie) & family

Dear  Paul and Sarah,
Maisie (formerly Gillian) has settled very happily in her new home; she gets on famously with Jamie, whom she continues to energise and sometimes even surprise him.

Maisie has three window ledges in the house, from which she can survey the village and guard us. She gets very excited when the Oxford or Banbury bus goes past ............... and the tractors and lorries. Passing villagers are now getting used to seeing her in her ‘vantage point’ and this morning she certainly brightened up a lady’s day, judging from the smile on her face.

Maisy sallies forth into the neighbouring fields every day and has discovered the pleasure of pheasants in the hedges and open fields, thanks to Jamie’s mentoring. After the initial excitement of setting out, she is walking well, enjoying plenty of sniffing and the occasional attempt to freshen herself up with some fragrant eau de fox or badger.

She likes to start the day with a cuddle and a little chat from her mum or dad : she is a veritable bundle of joy and a lovely addition to the whole family.
 
Hope you can use this and any of the attached pics
 
Best wishes
Neil and Jane
 

 

Letter from Teeka & Tara (now Pippa) & family

Dear Paul and Sarah,
Thought I'd give you a quick update on Teeka and Tara (renamed Pippa). They are both in very good form, Pippa has put on 4 kilos and has grown enormously, she's now about the same height as Teeka!   They love their 2xday walks on the beach,, and are ball mad. Pippa loves the sea and has even been swimming and retrieving the ball!- she is totally fearless !!   Teeka is a bit more wary but does paddle. Apart from kennel cough we've had no problems and my older two got it the worst.   I'm just about to start agility with Teeka and am already doing obedience with Pip. She is a totally different dog away from the others, very subdued, which she isn't at all at home, infact as soon as
she felt better a yip appeared!!!   I thought it would be good to get her confidence up on her own.  All the dogs get on really well, and Teeka and Tara are brilliant with the chickens and cat and are now fully house trained.

In fact we are still delighted with them!!


Thanks for the invite to the fun day - I would have loved to come but Pip is still car sick on longish journeys so thought it would be too far for her - hopefully you'll have another one in the future that we can come to.
Best wishes Julia Brown.

Letter from Meryl & Dad

Dear Sarah and Paul,
                            
It is six weeks since I collected Meryl
from Wiccaweys. She really is a lovely,friendly dog. I have had minor poblems with her, such as digging up my lawn, but she will grow out of this. She is good on the lead,and I can now let her off the lead in the fields. She will only go around 30 yards away from me,and will come back immediately when called. She is very,very fast.
                             
She is very friendly with people and
other dogs. Everyone who sees her wants her. One lady said to me the other day 'your dog smiled at me yesterday' ,and no doubt she
did, because she is such a happy dog. I only have to look at her and she wags her tail.
                              
I can only think that she was a failed
farm collie,because no-one in their right mind would part with such a lovely dog as Meryl.
                             
I cannot thank you enough for this
lovely lovely dog.
Please keep up the excellent work that you are
doing, making both dogs and people happy. In mine and Meryl's case very, very happy.

Des & Meryl


























































































Letter from Trixie (now Poppy) & family

Hi Paul & Sarah,

Poppy has settled in well. We’re talking long walks every day, exploring the various parks, with my dad and his dog Jessie. The two dogs get on well, and Poppy is well behaved off lead ranging a short distance ahead with Jessie. Poppy especially likes walks through woodland. It is a pleasure to see her bouncy and uninhibited as she bounds through the woods, as she is cautious verging on timid much of the time. The circle of people she trusts is gradually expanding to include the wider family. We’ve been practicing sit and down, and Poppy has discovered the joy of chasing after a ball. We’re having a lot of fun.

Hope you’re well,
Caroline


She’s coming out of her shell, and is now perfectly happy trotting out of the house into the garden. Each day I’ve been introducing new experiences, yesterday’s biggie was a walk round the block, today was the vets. On the walk yesterday she met the postman, and two neighbours who made a fuss of her. She was happy in the vets although there was a little stretch of busy road we had to walk along to get there, which she wasn’t so happy about. I gave her some time to sit, listen and watch the traffic, then she was ok. My dad’s border collie, Jessie, has come to stay with us for a while. Jessie has shown Poppy where the best couch grass grows in my garden, and has demo’d some of the toys that Poppy didn’t know what to do with. Poppy is learning fast.

All the best,
Caroline



Hi Paul & Sarah,

I was just about to call you and let you know how day 1 with Trixie has been, when I realised I’d missed your office hours, so I thought I’d email instead since we’ve had such a great day today.

I’ve decided to call her Poppy, since she wasn’t responding to Trixie, but was listening when I did the pup-pup-pup-puppy call. Puppy, Poppy, Puppy, Poppy. It’s working and she’s responding to her name J

Poppy was very timid when we got home and we had a couple of accidents in the house which I’ve cleaned up without a fuss. She’s least comfortable in the garden and refuses to step outside (so I’ve been carrying her over the threshold). Anyway we’ve been out in the garden lots of times today, and each time she’s been braver, done more sniffing and isn’t sticking so close to me. This afternoon she even relaxed enough to do her business in the garden, which I’m particularly happy about J Little breakthrough this evening was that after coming indoors, having had a fun time in the garden, I turned around and went straight back out again and she followed me over the threshold without hesitation. I think carrying her outside will be a thing of the past very soon.

In the house she’s very relaxed unless she has to move. She’s identified lots of chairs/sofas/etc around the house which are safe havens and if she has to move (because I’ve moved to another room in the house) she does it in a dash. This too is becoming less of a thing as she gains confidence.

This morning my dad and his dog Jessie came to visit, which was a great success. She charmed my dad in much the same way as she charmed me. I’ve attached a photo taken this morning after dad’s visit.

I’ll be on the phone straight away if we have any problems, otherwise I’ll drop you another email in a week to let you know how we’re doing.

All the best,
Caroline

Letter from Darcy & family

Hi Paul and Sarah

As promised, please find attached photos of Darcy

Regards,

Phil and Jackie





Letter from Ziggy & family

Hello Sarah & Paul,
 
Thankyou so much for our darling boy Ziggy he is an absolutely beauty,  we arrived at the vet and you would have thought he had been with us forever, he was so good.
 
We then came home and let him wonder all over the garden etc, before his first bath.
I have enclosed some photos for you and as you can see he isn't phased by anything at all, in fact I think he likes his new home what do you think ?
 
Many thanks for all your help.  He has just gone for his evening stroll with Mick and grandaughter Grace.
 
We will keep in touch with you as promised.
 
Thanks again
 
Sheila & Michael Haines. 
 



 

Letter from Buddy & family

Paul and Sarah,

He is doing well and has really settled in, he has formed a good frienship with Flynn mainly but we found him curled up in bed with Murphy one morning.  He and Flynn play a lot, tug of war is a favourite.
We are walking him off lead throught he fields already, his recall is very good and he is learning the whistle command from the others.  His stamina is low so we are taking it easy, building slowly, he should be getting to 35 minutes at his age but cannot manage that yet, as soon as he looks to be tiring we pop him on the lead.  He is eating well and is converted to Oscar's as Flynn is but we give Buddy a half an feed extra at lunchtime.  His appetite is very strong.  We will try the csj food next time, looks good from the website.
He is a great character and is part of the household now, he did his first obedience training on Wednesday and was good for a first effort.
My guess would be that he was raised alone by a woman, his first instinct is to go to Imelda or women but he is not afraid of men so has not been mistreated.  He loves his cuddles and I am spending more time with him over the weekend so he is more used to me, having said that he lays with me in the evening happily. 
Attached are a couple more pics for you.


Regards

David


Letter from Buddy & family

hi,

As you will see he loves playing with his new brother.

Cheers
 


 

Letter from Buddy & family

Hi,

He has had quite a day, been out in the car with his new brothers, watched Flynn at Flyball (barked encouragement), went to his new Grandad's (my father) and played in his large garden.  Then a trip to Jollye's to be kitted with new collar, lead, harness and ID tag (the loan collar will be on its way back to you tomorrow, many thanks) then back home to watch me add a rail to the bottom of our 2 gates (he showed an ability to limbo dance last night, now he can't!!).  He has had a very short run in the fields late this afternoon, all in all he has settled in very quickly indeed, my father was amazed at him.

He is very affectionate to men and shows no symptoms of mis treatment, he bonded with my Dad instantly (he is our normal dog sitter, if needed).  He is a real character and the bond with Flynn is already very strong, they play and rest well together, last night all 3 dogs settled down cuddled up.  He is an accomplished thief when it comes to food stuff, we need to have our wits about us, this is no issue to us, is quite amusing, we will adapt to minimise his opportunities.

Attached are a few quick snaps of him today.

Thanks so much for bringing him in to our lives.

Regards
David





Letter from Buddy & family

Hi,

The first night passed peacefully, all 3 together, and Buddy was clean except for a liitle leak on teh way to the door first thing.  Flynn and Buddy have been playing for over an hour now, think they are bonding really well, Murph is enjoying a peaceful lay in watching. 

So far so good the play is hysterical to watch, Buddy does not let Flynn's size put him off!! He launches his whole body at him!!

Buddy will be coming to watch his brother do flyball shortly, he wont be partaking until the obedience training is well under way

Our obedience trainers rushed over to see him last night and were amazed that he was soon stretched out upside down at our feet.  No doubt it will not all be plain sailing but all in all a perfect start from the young chap.

Will keep you posted!!

David

Letter from Blackie (now Peggy) & family

Dear Paul and Sarah,
Just to let you know that Peggy has settled very well and is a delightful little lady who gets on well with everyone she meets including our two grand-daughters aged 6yrs and 15mths, who have been staying over half term. As you can see from the attached photos she has made herself at home! She is now finally, able to be introduced to the local neighbourhood dogs having at last got rid of her persisitant kennel cough, we were sorry to miss the sponsored walk because of this.
Our only hurdle now is to get over car sickness which is making poor Peggy not enjoy any trips out even if there are great walks and nice people at the other end.  Any tips would be welcome.

We hope to visit you and return the collar Peggy had from you as soon as I am quite sure she is completely over the cough.
Thank you again for your help in finding such a lovely little girl.
With best wishes from
Angela Williams and Peggy





Sunday 23 October 2011

Letter from Darcy & family

Hi Paul and Sarah,

I thought you might be interested to know how I am getting on in my new family home in Hampshire.  I have been here for 4 weeks now and my how the time has flown. I think Phil and Jackie would say I settled down very quickly and I have been on my best behaviour except for the odd shoe or slipper that I have taken a fancy to. I can still see them but they seem to be very high up!

I loved my warm and comfy crate from the beginning and I sleep so well there, even sneak off sometimes for a bit of peace and quiet. I have lots of toys and just love to play, especially with my ball and all my chewy things. Phil and Jackie play quite well and think its so funny when I race around the garden at top speed. I am being very inquisitive - there so many things that take my fancy - dogs, cats, squirrels and birds oh and falling leaves.

I love to go socialising and training with lots of other puppies and Phil and Jackie would agree that I knock spots off them and generally I am doing very well. I've made loads of friends and they all love me, but I am so adorable and turn on the charm for everyone. The children come quite often and want to be my playmates, but Jackie makes sure I am calm around them as they can be a bit scary! 


Meal times are great and interesting sometimes in my bowl or kong, which I love and sometimes around the garden, but I am clever enough to find it and never leave a scrap. All in all life is pretty good and certainly interesting and I think Phil and Jackie would agree.

Thank you for finding me a lovely new home.

Darcy

Pictures to follow

Wednesday 12 October 2011

Letter from Laurel & family

I thought I would update all those interested on the summer that has just gone. Laurel and the family have been on our travels unfortunately it has coincided with a rapid increase in the pain from Arthritis in my knee which has slowed me down a fair bit and meant we have not been to walk the dogs at Wiccs as much as I would have liked but I won't lie and my focus has been on Laurel as he's my buddy and makes me happy.

It's been a great year with him and we have been off travelling the UK, the year started badly with a big bout of depression (long term sufferer) knocking me for six but Loz was there for me, he forced me through it by motivating me to get out and about although sometimes in a daze. This was great and we did a lot of exploring locally (Northampton) and found some wonderful quiet little spots to let our hair down.

Then we visited the New Forest for the first time, what a place stunning for dog walking and as it was March not too busy and a lovely hotel that accepts dogs, after discovering the New Forest well we were to be there as often as we could, Easter we camped, July August we caravanned and late August we camped again. We just loved the walks and just the whol;e atmosphere (not too remote/ not too busy).

The walks were fantastic and Laurel loves water so he was happy in the sea in the morning and the rivers/ponds in the afternoon.

Another trip camping to Leicester and another wonderful night, Laurel becoming a big camping fan now that he has worked out that we are actually in something and not in the middle of a field as he did the first time when bouncing off the tent walls.

Then a trip down to Bath for another camping weekend and more water and walks, lovely camp site, plenty round about to see and do.

A stay in Weymouth with my parents allowed Laurel more time at the seaside.

Finally we have just got back from a hotel in the Cotswolds where again Laurel found a lovely stream to splash along  in the lovely village of Lower Slaughter.

So all in all a very busy summer (skint now) Laurel has been wonderful throughout, he's a very independent dog but does like to know where his flock is and keep us in order, if we are lucky we get a nice lean but if we step out of line he does get all upset and gruffy.

With the two kids finishing school and sixth form early it did mean that Laurel had a summer of company so he was not best pleased when the kids went off to college and university, fortunately they are both local so he's not alone for long and with my wife working on the estate he is only alone for a few hours at max but a Kong soon see's him happy when we leave and to be honest he doesn't notice whilst he is distracted. Like his owners he loves his food but is very polite with it although strange noises emminate from his throat out of a love of the food.

He has managed to stay well apart from one brief injury which typically occurred on the change over day of insurance so immediately we changed back to M&S just in case although that was £30 a month more than the new company (thanks Laurel).

Laurel has now settled with other dogs and actively seeks them out when he can, fortunately over the summer he really has improved his recall skills well I say recall I mean focus, he still has the occasional selective hearing when he is desperate to go seek another dog but as long as the dog is quiet we can sneak past sometimes without him knowing.

We are all still amazed at how he copes and it really is fascinating to watch him deal with things, to watch him map out a new place in a couple of minutes is stunning and how he copes with small bridges etc is just fantastic. People are always amazed at how he copes and watches with his ears, the amount of people that are shocked when we explain that he is blind is staggering, the only reason they ask is becuase of that infamous blue sheen across hs eyes, certainly nothing about his behaviour gives his disability away.

He is a natural at running by the side of the bike when  we go for a ride, not once have we had a problem with him running into the bike, I swear someone has already trained him on that as he stays the same distance away all the way (apart from stopping to sniff).

He has mastered catch with his rope and a few other toys and knows the rooms around the house by voice, which helps when he can't find a specific toy as we can tell him what room to go and look in.

Real credit goes to my daughter, Becky who has spent a lot of time with him this summer and has really helped him settle and learn things.

We have picked up a few tricks to try and stop this nipping of visitirs when they come round some of the information Paul shared with us on the Knowing Your Collie course has really helped us understand why Loz is behaving like he is  at times, for instance NEVER all stand up at the same time, panic sets in that his flock is out of control and that we need calming down, that's when the barking and nipping starts.

All in all what a wonderful summer and what a wonderful dog he is, he is doing really well and we are so pleased we got over our shallow humand view about his blindness and adopted him, he might not be the loving dog that people dream of and is mister independent but he gives you a stand up cuddle when invited and is my best friend.

All he asks for is routine, a river to swim in a good walk and most importantly food on time. It's such a great sight to see when he walks himself home 40 yards from home, past three houses and straight down the path past the cars and if it's morning his breakfast better be ready :-)

Thanks all for listening I hope it was of interest and really demonstrates to us the value of Wiccs, what would have happened to him 15 years ago I hate to think,

Kenn

Wednesday 5 October 2011

Letter from Chip 'Chipolata-Trouble-Starter' (now Jasper) & family

Hi Paul, Sarah and Julia

Jasper says a big hello to you all, and hopes you are all well.

Well it has been two and a half weeks since we have had Jasper, and every day brings something new.

Last night he had his first cup of tea from Chris, this is something he always used to do with Tessi and Chris has been trying Jasper but he has been scared of the mug.  Last night he actually tried it and loved it.  Chris wasn’t expecting him to drink so he offered him a full mug, wrong move on Chris’ part as Jasper drank the whole mug.  Later on he tried a bit of Chris’ fresh orange juice too.

I have a poorly knee at the moment which meant I couldn’t get back to sleep this morning when Chris went to work at 4.00 a.m.  Tedi took his usual place in bed, on his back, feet in air and I called Jasper (who has now claimed the bottom of the bed) and he wriggled up the bed like a worm, squashed between Tedi and me, put his head on Tedi’s belly and we all had a big cuddle.

Jasper is now loving cuddles and belly rubs, up until Monday you could only stroke him if he came to you, now we can go up to him and he loves the cuddles.  We have yet to have licks and kisses, or hear him bark but am looking forward to those things happening.

Jasper late last week decided he didn’t like the look of our sofas whilst we were at work, and promptly shredded them!!!  Chris came home to a winter wonderland in the living room, with sofa stuffing resembling snow!!!!  Luckily we are insured.  Tedi and Jasper now stay in the kitchen and hall when we are at work, firstly with Tessi’s fabric cushion (now with holes in and stuffing out but mendable) and now with hard plastic beds and vet bedding in them so it is nice and warm.  Plus tons of toys and chews.

Jasper is coming on outside as well.  On our walk last night he saw bikes, but these are no longer bicyle monsters but just things to be weary of.  All in all good progress all around.  I have lost a little bit of weight with all the extra walks and Tedi is firming up too.

I am taking lots of photos and when I get them developed will send you some.

Rest assured we are looking after him, and we adore him, as does Tedi.  We are off to the seaside this weekend with a very very very long lead so he can run on the beach.

Hope all the Wicceways dogs are doing well.

Take care

Margaret, Chris, Tedi and Jasper (always Chip to you all)

xxxxx