Letter from Ralphie (now Alfie) & family

Dear Paul/Sarah,

I am sorry I have not been in touch with you since MAY 18 last, but I thought you would like to know ralphie is doing very well he is obedient and he loves people I call him Alfie now much easier to remember I have only just gone on computer so I will be able to keep in contact with you, I was wondering, do you know any of his previous history because if he sees a moped or a small motor scooter he goes balistic when they drive past yet when I start up my classic m/bike he is ok.                                                                                                                                                                                    He has 2 walks a day weather permitting he also gets on with all the dogs over the field, so I feel what you have done for me I am eternally grateful, hopefully when I have learnt how to transfer photographs into my pc I will be able to send them to you 

thank you again      

R G ANDREW 

Letter from Ollie & family

Hi Sarah & Paul

Hope you are well, just thought I would drop you a line to say hello on Oliver’s 8^th birthday.  I’m sure you’ve seen lots of dogs since Ollie but you’ll remember that when he arrived with you, he was in many ways a typical 2 year old collie, all energy and no focus.  He had come from a strange background and we still can’t believe that no one wanted him.    

I can’t believe that he is 8 already as the last 6 years since we got him have just flown by.  I attach a whole bunch of photos from the last year or two to show you how much he’s grown up and how he’s turned from a ball of energy into a settled and sometimes grumpy (especially in the evenings) middle aged dog.  He can still chase deer and squirrels with the best of them but at heart he’s just a one man dog who wants to do his own thing.

His life is set now for more adventure as his adopted Dad has just had a mid life crisis/career change and we are off to Switzerland in November.  I expect that he’ll be very happy now that he’s going to have marmotts, Swiss dogs and lots of strange new Swiss smells.

Anyway, keep up the good work – it’s a good thing you are doing.

Kind regards

David & Terri Burrows

Letter from Charlie Minstrel Pup & family

To my first family, Sarah, Paul and Eleanor

It has been 7 weeks since I left your care, to start my new life with my new family and it has been a hectic time.  My family tried to think of a new name for me all the way home, but they thought "Charlie" suited me so I kept my name.

My journey home was uneventful, and I managed to travel the whole 11/2 hours without any accidents!  I have cried at night as I missed my brothers and sisters but now I am used to sleeping alone. Thanks to you, I came to my new home practically house trained (apart from a couple of wees when it's raining, I don't like the rain!)

I visited the vets for my jabs and chip, which really hurt, I did cry very loud! But I got lots of cuddles from my mummy, and when we left I had a new toy, a chewy tiger! The vet thought that I might be a border collie x with a spaniel, but owners of spaniels don't think so! We will see!!

On the second week I got stung by a wasp which gave me a funny smile and a swelling under my chin, mummy phone the vet and she said a 1/2 a piriton tablet would help, and I felt much better.

I love chewing shoes so they are now hidden away!

There are 2 cats in my new home but they don't like me! They live upstairs and won't play and I do so want to make friends!! One of them did come to meet me at last tonight, he didn't growl at me! So hopefully he will be my friend soon!

I meet lots of new doggy friends on my walks, and all have been friendly so far!  I met a giant a big friendly St Bernard dog, but I wasn't scared, as I am a brave boy.

Love Charlie (minstrel puppy)

Message from mum

Charlie has settled in well, and is a relatively easy puppy, he has fitted in well, but does wake early! He is proving very intelligent, he does his poos in the garden, and rarely goes in public, waiting until he gets home! 

He has learnt that if he finds a dead mouse in the garden, I give him a treat in exchange for the mouse! So lots of mice! 

I have been recommending Wiccaweys to all that ask where we got him, and I have used your link to "VetUK" so hopefully you will get your reward points, and will continue to as they are comparable to pets at home! 

Thank you so much for our special boy!
I am sending your puppy collar in the post. 

Regards
Jane

Letter from Danny & family

Oh Danny Boy.....

 

Hello Paul and Sarah,

 

We all enjoyed our visit to you both yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed spending time getting to know Danny and all the other wonderful dogs and volunteers at Wiccaweys.

 

What can I say ... Danny is so amazing in every way, he has located the bin, the fridge! stuck his head inside the washing machine and had a good sniff, navigated his way around the house brilliantly including 'drum roll please ... the stairs both up and down'.

 

He has a warm cosy bed in the kitchen, another in the living room including a settee or two and has taken a particular liking to our bed.

 

Danny loves Joseph and Daisy's bedrooms, he's getting plenty of love and cuddles and giving them to everyone in return.

 

We have visited Leigh's parents today to introduce Danny to their dogs Toby (chocolate Labrador) aka Toby Jug and Syler (black and white jack russell) who I affectionately called drumstick or stumpy.

 

All dogs have got on brilliantly both around the field and in the garden and all have been taking turns to water the pots and plants in the garden. 

 

Danny has been running around in his own garden today exploring all the smells and feeling his way round perfectly.

 

Tail is wagging constantly and held high and proud.  He is wonderful and we love him sooooo much.

 

We have missed having another dog around the place and our family and home nows feels complete again by a wonderful wagging tail, wet nose and lick and a paw or two from 'Danny Boy'.

 

Thank you again for everything.

 

Will post photo's as soon as possible and keep in touch to let you know how Danny is getting on.

 

Much love and best wishes,

 

Lisa, Leigh, Joseph, Daisy and Danny Rockley xxxxxxx

Letter from Rufus & family

A short update of Rufus' adventures so far - the pictures tell the story.

We did a camping weekend at a folk festival (although we did "camp" in a van rather than a tent!)  I liked the airbed better than my dogbed and they didn't seem to mind me sharing, I even managed to lay my head on a pillow for a while.  I quite enjoyed the camping and didn't mind the music and all the other people there, but it was a bit hot so I was glad when we went into town so that I could go for a dip in the river to cool down a bit.  

She's sorted the photos in the wrong order so now we go back a few weeks for my first big adventure - walking the South Downs Way.  It was planned for a week in May before the weather got too hot for long walks, so what did we get? A HEATWAVE!  So we only walked for the first 3 days then carried on by public transport to the accomodation already booked (I like this bed & breakfast lark).  I didn't mind the buses but would have preferred it if they had let me sit on a seat as there wasn't much room on the floor, the trains had much more room for me.  Maybe we will go back and finish the walk sometime.

 

Then they had 2 weekend events with family & friends "back home" in Notts./Derbys. so we filled in the week inbetween with a few days on a narrowboat on coffee-coloured water which I wasn't allowed to go in and then stayed bed & breakfast in a pub/hotel and did some walking up a big hill and back along a lovely clean river (which I was allowed to go in - stop me if you can!).  

 

 I don't think they've got anything else planned for me yet, but we will probably all go for a nice "bigger than normal" walk together along the beach this weekend as John's not at work - Hurrah!!!!

Letter from Coonagh (now Swift) & family

Hello Everyone, my name is Swift . I’m a red and white border collie and I’ve just come to live in Notts at the house where Anya, Morag and Romany Ree used to live. Let me tell you a bit about myself . . . .   I was born in Ireland near Limerick around about February 2009. I don’t remember much about my life there except that people were not nice to me. I may have been a farm dog. Then around about Easter time I was hit by a car. I was just left by the road badly injured, with both my back legs broken. It seemed like the end for me, but somehow there was hope. I found myself in a rescue centre where the kind people there saw that I got the vet treatment that I needed. Nobody ever came forward to claim me. I was at the vets and the rescue centre for a long time, but eventually, after much care, I was declared fit and ready for a new home!   Well things aren’t very good for us collies in Ireland. Apparently we are very difficult to re-home as no-one wants us! But the Limerick rescue centre have links with a wonderful place in Northants called Wiccaweys, where Sarah and Paul and all the helpers work tirelessly to rescue and re-home border collies and sheepdogs, and they take on a lot of us girls and boys from Ireland. So I was bundled into a crate and shipped off to England!   On Saturday 12 June, two people came from Nottingham to see me. They showed Sarah and Paul some pictures of the other collies they had owned, Anya, Morag and Romany Ree, and said how sad they had been. They then took me for a walk and then I lay down beside them while they had coffee and sandwiches. Then after a while they said something about ‘sleeping on it’ and got in the car and went home! But the next morning, they were back! And they had a dog crate in the car! We went for another walk together then they signed some papers and paid some money and I went off back to Nottingham with them in the car. They were mine!   They decided to call me Swift. (I was ‘Coonagh’ at the rescue centre). Romany Ree had a white marking like a swallow or swift’s tail on the back of her head, and I have a similar little marking on my brow. I feel happy and think that the future is bright from now on.   It is now 4 months since I came to my new home. Inevitably there were a few ‘settling in’ issues. I adored my new Mam from the very start, but I wasn’t at all sure about my new Daddy, as I am very apprehensive of men. But they worked very hard and he soon won me over. My separation issues are just about sorted out. When they go out and leave me I go in my crate. Then I am quite happy and just go to sleep. But if I’m left loose in the house when I’m home alone, then things tend to get damaged - ooops! (There was the infamous ‘bedroom-trashing’ incident where computer cables got chewed and pillows shredded, but we won’t go into that!) I didn’t like being left downstairs to sleep at first either. Why couldn’t I go upstairs with my beloved Mam? There was a lot of yowling went on! But I soon learnt that Mam and Dad were still close by and that there was nothing to fuss about.   Everything is much more settled now. Mam and Dad adore me and say I am a joy to own. I go for lots of lovely walks in the countryside where we live. I can be off my lead almost the whole time as I just tag on with Mam and Dad and always come when I am called. They just can not understand why anyone would not want me. I am happy to be just about anywhere as long as Mam and Dad are there. I have turned out not to be a red and white collie at all! I am black and white - WITH SPOTS! Once my old scruffy coat was brushed out, my true colours came shining through. I am handsome and sleek!   Mam and Dad would like to thank Sarah and Paul for the wonderful work they do at Wiccaweys. Needless to say, so do I!!!   Love Swift xxx

Letter from Jemima (now Jamima) & family

Dear Sarah, Paul, Julia and Eleanor,
Thank you all so very very much for making our house a home again   Jamima has settled in very well and has picked her spot in front of the fire (maybe she is expecting a cold snap).

It was touch and go for a short while, she was nearly returned after 5 minutes in the car, (just kidding) as we were on our way home she passed wind, and oh boy was it a prize winner,
we laughed it off with the windows wound down, but no sooner than the windows were closed she let rip again, and man alive we suffered, ha ha ha, how can such a smell come from such a butter wouldn't melt face.
Once we got home she found our last dogs bed and after a marathon sniffing session she settled down for a well earned kip.   Once she was awake and a little play session was over she tucked into her dinner, no problems but for one little accident on the carpet, i picked her up carried her outside and she finished off quite happy, a little later i heard her whimper and looked to see her going round in circles, i called her and walked to the back door, she followed me out and done her business on the grass, she was rewarded with a little treat, and off she went for another little kip. 
After the sad loss of our beloved Dancer, the house seemed empty and incomplete, now however after only a few hours we have found ourselves a soul mate again, and our house is a home once again. 

So a big big thank you to all of you, and for the wonderful work you do with the dog's. 
We all feel very privileged we passed your home visit, and were able to offer Jamima a home,
i know there will be ups and downs to come as she grows up, however i feel the end results will pay dividends and well worth the effort involved.
thank you all again so very much
 
Graham Natalie Kara and Skye