Thursday 31 March 2011

Letter from Suzie & family

Hi Paul, Raymond and Sarah,
Suzie has settled in well she lies on the sofa in the day time (spoilt) she love dad and he adores her she ask to go out  gets on well with the cat and my grand daughter.  
She is lovely,
thank you so much 
Kathy

Letter from Mandy & family

Dear Paul and Sarah,

Hi! I am settling in very well now and really enjoy my new walks and looking out of the gate. I am not afraid of jumping into the back of the car now as it means we go for a walk along the riverside or to the park. I like the walk through the woods too. I sleep in my crate at night in the kitchen and mum is very pleased because I wag my tail at her when she comes down in the morning. I have a corner in the lounge and a special mat where I like to lie. I am very clever, learning to sit at the roadside. I am a very happy dog. I will write again soon.

Love from Mandy  
Tony and Stephanie of Reading

Letter from Shay & family

Hi Paul and Sarah

Just to say thank you for your help today and giving us the lovely Shay!

He was wonderful on the trip home and made himself right at home when he arrived.

He is now fast asleep and dreaming (lips and legs flapping) on his new bed, while Flo is fast asleep on the sofa!

Shay and Flo have had a sniff of each other when they thought we weren’t looking!

Thank you once again and we will let you know his progress.

Best wishes

Sue Craig and Flo

Wednesday 16 March 2011

Letter from Taff & family

Hi Sarah and Paul
This is for the updates on adopted dogs page.

Hope you can use it.
Deborah


We are just coming up to the SIXTH anniversary of Taff coming to live with us. From a timid, jumpy, bundle of nerves he has transformed into a dog who loves everyone. He is calm and friendly and makes new best friends of complete strangers when out for his walks in the country.

He is the gentlest, most loving doggy soul, loves his fuss and attention, enjoys life to the full and is totally adored by the whole family.

His only fault is that he hates bikes and tears after them, snapping at wheels and heels. Some cyclists take it better than others...!
Six years ago we were wondering what on earth we had taken on, but lots of love, attention, patience plus support and advice from our good friend Aunty Sue have worked miracles (or is that because he is a vicarage dog?) He even enjoys going to the vet!! It was a proud day when he won the Best Rescue class in the local dog show.

Thank you so much Wiccs for letting us have Taff, he has brought us so much  fun, love, loyalty and laughter. (David, aka Taff's Dad, adds: and worry, expense, early morning wake-up calls, walks in the rain) Don't take any notice, David is as besotted as any of us!


Thursday 10 March 2011

Letter from Dexter & family

Dear Paul and Sarah,
 
Quick update on our beautiful young man.  Week 1 was the visit to the vet at Animal House for quick check up and micro-chip. All went very well - they reckon he is between 3 and 4 years old. He was as good as gold having his stitches removed.
The cats are slowly recovering from their shock and one of them is completely tolerant of him and slept in the snug with him last night!!!!  Three out of the four have worked out that if they don't run he won't chase!
Dexter is certainly keeping us fit and we have explored lots of lovely wooded areas, fields and walks around Rugby.   He is a delightful, rather soppy chap .  We start obedience classes Thursday!  Few pics attached of the last couple of weeks - he does like a rabbit hole!!
 
Kind regards
 
Helen, Mark and Beth
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Letter from Micky Blue Eyes & family

Dear All at Wiccaweys

About 5 years ago we gave a home to ‘Mickey Blue Eyes’ who’s name we changed to Blue because of his beautiful pair of glass blue eyes. 

This is just a quick email to let you know that he is doing very well.  Still very much with us.  Love him dearly, and he rules the roost. 

Kindest regards
Blue, Andy & Lynda plus Blue’s 4 x Cats...

Letter from Milo & family

Hya Sarah and Paul,
 
A quick update from Milo.  He's doing so well - it's like we've always had him.  He's even started barking when someone comes to the door - or if there's a door bell on the radio!!  He loves being in the fields behind us and will bring the ball back, well sometimes he doesn't want to drop it though.  Loves the ponds for the wildlife, goes paddling.  His legs and white part of the face are completely black by the time he comes home but he doesn't care.  Just one thing - he's scared stiff of other dogs.  He had a visit from a 12 week old basset hound and was totally scared out of his wits.  We never have to worry if there are other dogs on his walks, he just ignores them ;-).  Such a wus but we love him to pieces.
 
Hope all are well - glad to see some of the oldies have been rehomed.  Keep up the good work.
 
Our love to you all,
Keith, Margaret, Guy, Rachel and .................. oh of course, Milo
 
xox

Letter from Buster (now Barney)

Hi Paul & Sarah
 
Barney (Buster) is continuing to progress and has achieved a lot so far.  His behaviour inside the house is excellent, he never damages anything and loves to be close, he throws (yes throws) his toys to us for play and enjoys a cuddle with us on the sofa.  A real treat for him is a good brushing and he rolls over from one side to another and then on to his back so we can reach all of his coat.
 
He has a big soft basket big enough for a Great Dane so can really stretch out at night and sleeps soundly.  When we unpack the weekly shop he knows immediately if we pull a new toy out of the bag and behaves like it's Christmas.  He is rather fickle with his toys, the first ones we gave him hardly get a look in now, he only likes the most recent which will be ditched as soon as he gets something else.
 
He has made a lot of friends but did get into a bit of a punch up with a rather excitable Staffy that pushed its luck.  No harm was done to either dog and he allowed me to pull him off and sat still when told to, allowing the Staffy owner to get her dog under control.  On first meeting, he is initially rather boisterous and some dogs like this, others don't, but he needs to establish his social skills with minimal interference from us and this seems to be working. He is rather cocky with other dogs and thinks he's Jack the Lad on a Saturday night and will steal their ball and tease them with it - but he will bring it to me so I can give it back.  
 
He still pulls on the lead for 50% of the time (at first it was all of the time) but can, when he wants to, do a perfect heel. He has a tendency to lunge at cars with their lights on and I have found that by placing his ball throwing stick between him and the car, it seems to act as a psychological barrier and the problem is occurring less often now.  His training is slowly progressing with "here" and "No" but he is sometimes on his own agenda.  Treats and the ball work for a little while but after that he gets bored with the lesson, so we just do short stints at a time.
 
 He can be rather aggressive around food or if we approach when he is eating his dinner, but he is just going to have to pack that in, as he eats in the kitchen which is the most used room in the house.  He once me a small nip when I bent down to refill his water bowl as he was eating.  I would like to get him to the point where I can take anything out of his mouth, just in case there may be a time when I need to remove a rotting animal (plenty of them around here, rabbits, bits of deer - lots of shooters, sadly),  I am dealing with this by keeping hold of his bowl for a few seconds when passing him his food and telling him he is a good boy if he doesn't growl and allowing him to eat while I am still holding the bowl.  If after a 5 or 6 seconds he has not growled, I put it on the floor and leave him to it.
 
He has a lot of tartar on his back teeth, I have managed to dislodge the biggest bit with my fingernail while he was playing tug of war with his ball.  He has been given dentisticks and hide chews to remove it and I will try to find a raw marrowbone for him.  If this doesn't work, then he going to have to have his teeth cleaned under anaesthetic and in his eyes, vets are the biggest baddies of all and he makes his feelings perfectly clear with threats to the poor vet, so hopefully we can avoid that.
 
He no longer has any problem whatsoever with men and has greeted them on walks and is well behaved with visitors to the house.  However, he does pick up on bad vibes from people and will warn me if he thinks a baddy is getting too close, there is one person in the village he sees as a threat, but we just keep away from him.  My old dog used to do this as well, he would let me know if he thought anyone was a threat, and generally, he was right, so I listen.
 
He suffers a little from stiff joints after sleeping, and although he looks really young, and once he has warmed up moves like **** off a shovel, I think he is considerably older that we first thought.  This does not matter to us, although I will have to watch this joint stiffness.  Perhaps I am over, exercising him, although he never tires of chasing a ball or a stick, especially if there is another dog around to play with.
 
He is currently averaging around three hours per day in walks (a great deal of this will be spent running)  and a fair bit of play at home.
 
I have attached some pictures for you to see.
 
With best wishes
 
Carole & Peter
 











Nice toy but far too clean, now lets see how we can make it smelly.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Don't wake me, this is a very good dream.
















 
Ok, we are by the front door, take the hint - walkies, I mean it's not rocket science to
understand what we want is it Angus.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
Pick the ball up Mum
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Go on, throw the damn ball!

Letter from Kane & Mum

Hi Paul and Sarah
 
Just to let you know Kane is well and happy - he's a great favourite with everyone as he has such a lovely nature.  He's also great with other dogs - though is still learning they can't play when they're on a lead - and has lots of new friends, including a 9 month springer/collie cross called Monty.  Now his broken leg is fully healed and he's tearing around, he is known as the muddiest dog in Finsbury Park!  I've never had a dog with so much white hair - but he's worth it. 
 
He's had one private session with the local dog trainer and I must get round to booking another to help with his lead walking.  His recall is really pretty good, even when he knows he's going on his lead.
 
Photos will follow when I get round to uploading them - and thanks for letting me adopt him.
 
Sheila

Letter from Blondie

Hi Paul and Sarah

We thought you would be interested in how our little star Blondie is settling into her new life. She really has been a fantastic addition to our family and has given us so much pleasure. She is such a beautiful dog, I know all parents say that about their own, but she knows it and laps up all the attention that she gets wherever she goes. Being such an unusual colour for a collie is a great starting point for conversation and walks take much longer than normal as we have to stop and talk to people about her. She loves the country walks that we have around here and responded really well to being let off the lead. She is constantly checking where her ‘flock’ is and will return straight to our sides when called. 

We are now training her to respond to the whistle and in typical Blondie fashion she grabbed the principals of it in about 15 minutes! She attended her first puppy training classes last week and once again seems to excel at everything that is put in front of her. The trainer was very impressed and thought that she would make an excellent agility dog when she is a little older. 

On your advice we purchased a cage for her and she now accepts this as her space. It is in the kitchen/diner area of the house and she contentedly lays there watching everything that goes on and playing with her toys.  At night she will often take herself off to bed when she wants to and is happy and secure in there.  She has adapted well to travelling in the car and comes out with me on a regular basis to the art classes that I teach. She is a very popular member of the class, greets everybody when they arrive and then lays under the table while they paint, although she does like removing and shredding tissues from any unattended bags. She has also attended some of the art societies where I demonstrate and is a valuable member of the sales team; we seem to sell more cards and accessories when she is there!
A couple of weekends ago we took her to the Norfolk coast and she experienced the seaside for the first time. It was cold and windy but we had some lovely walks along the near deserted beaches. When she first set foot on the sand she responded in typical Blondie fashion. She sat, cocked her head to one side and took everything in. Then realising that all was well, she took off, running round and round in circles just enjoying being a puppy. She discovered that sea water is salty, experienced her first pub lunch in front of a log fire (a perfect way to relax after a walk), met lots of other dogs and of course, her adoring public! This week we are off to the New Forest for a couple of days and have found a lovely hotel that has a couple of dog friendly rooms so will hopefully post some more pictures of her there.

David, Amanda and Blondie

Thank you both for all the wonderful work you do and in introducing us to our perfect companion. 

 

Letter from DIngo (now Amber)

Amber (previously Dingo!)

We have had Amber 2 weeks today and already we couldn't imagine not having her in our lives and home!

She has been absolutely brilliant, very relaxed in the home (unless there is a dog barking on tv!!) and very good on walks.  After just 2 days with us she had learnt to wait on command......with the assistance of treat related training!  She is a very clever girl and we have a great bond with her......and she loves her new bed and bones!!  She has made some new playmates too with other dogs in our family.

When we were looking for a dog we would have never considered an Australian Kelpie like Amber....mainly because we knew nothing about them, but she has turned out to be the perfect dog for us.




Chris, George & Amber!

Wednesday 2 March 2011

Letter from Molly (now Tegan) & family

Just a quick update to let you that Tegan continues to thrive and has brought absolute joy into our lives.
She is fun and interested in everything and anything that you do, all house rules have gone out of the window i.e. not allowed on the sofa or bed, she curls up next to me in the evening on the banned sofa after a busy day and I love it, and yesterday we were both tired and had a nap so Tegan joined us snuggled upto us it was heaven (I know only doggy people understand this).  She goes everywhere with us, if we
go to the supermarket she comes with us in the car she is a darling. Thank you for letting us have
her.
 
love
Karen (and Barry)