NDD.

octatonic

New Dog Day.... well sort of.
I said I was going to have a year off having a dog after Scarlett died on 17th March.
Well, that wasn't going to happen.

I was casually browsing through the RSPCA site yesterday and this gorgeous girl caught my eye.
She is a 2 year old Labrador/Staff cross, we think she has some Bulldog in there too, although how much is anyone's guess.
She was in a bad way when they got her but she was nursed back to health over the last year she has been in kennels.
It took a year for the court case to go through (because the previous owners who abused her didn't give her up voluntarily) and she had just come up for adoption.
Her name is Brienne, or Beans for short.

She has such a lovely nature- considering everything she has been through it is incredible how well mannered she is.
Lovely, loyal and gentle, although she does need a lot of exercise, which suits us just fine.

We can't take her home yet because of some home checks etc.
We have it penciled in to pick her up on the 16th August, which will mean we did 5 months without a dog.

Here she is:

sinbaadi

Nice.  She looks like she's on the mend and good on you for giving a rescue dog the opportunity to have a great life with you.  

SRich

Attagirl Beans....now see what great owners will do for you!

octatonic

Thanks chaps.
This is the photo that got me.



and here is Scarlett at the same age:

RiftAmps

Rescued a dog? Hero.

jonnyburgo

Can't beat a rescue dog! Beauty.

octatonic

Credit goes to Mrs Oct for that one.
I was worried about ending up with 'a bad one' but was talked around.
She (Brienne, not Mrs Oct) might need a bit more patience than other dogs but I've come to realise there is no such thing as a bad dog, just a dog that grew up under bad circumstances.
We have the space in our lives to accommodate that so that is what we are doing.

octatonic

Update.
Went back to Nottingham today to spend some time with Bree.
I am totally smitten now.

Spoke to her main handler who was not there yesterday.
This woman has known her for the entire year she has been in there.
She rejected her being part Staffy- she doesn't bark or cry like a Staffy does and quite rightly she said she is too large.
She thinks she is something like a Mastiff/American Bulldog/Boxer/Lab mix but it is still a bit of a guess.
We will get her DNA profile done to find out for sure, not that it matters, she is perfect as she is.

I definitely see the Mastiff and the Boxer now, especially in this picture.
She has the mastiff muzzle and chest colours and the boxer paws, she also runs like a boxer (all legs, like a mad dancing spider).



We spent the day doing some remedial training, some playing and lots of cuddles.
They are so busy at the rescue centre that they can only do so much, so today we walked very small distances without her jerking on the lead.
She is bright as a button and quickly realised that pulling meant no treats and being hugely motivated by food she started to slow down (a bit).
We have a long, long way to go but I am pretty positive.

Nitefly

Well, I'm not a dog man by any stretch, but I have to say she looks really relaxed with you in that pic - I take my hat off to you for rescuing her.  

I simply don't understand why anyone would want to mistreat any animal.

octatonic

Went up again today.
She is turning into a completely different dog.
She has been a bit jittery the first few days.
Now she is really getting used to me, is much better walking on the lead without pulling and is starting to trust me.

She is very treat oriented so that will make it easier.
A bit sick of all the driving (it is 100 miles/2 hours each way), might need a day off from it soon but it has been worth doing it up until now.

octatonic

She is here.

I am totally smitten.

Nikko

Ahh, she looks beautiful. Giving a rescue dog a new permanent home is a great thing to be able to do. Congratulations, and HNDD. 

stickyfiddle

Rescues are so often the best pets. Brilliant news

joneve

YAYYYYYY! She is a proper cutie. 

We hope to be able to get a rescue for our next dog, but with a baby on the way, literally every single rescue we see is "not suitable for a household with children" - which is understandable, but we are hoping to find one that's fine with kids eventually! 

I'm not against having a dog from a puppy, because you can mould them to your lifestyle and train them from scratch, and this was the right decision for us for our first dog, but rescue dogs deserve homes as well, and it's definitely something we'll look at for our second. 

duotone

Congratulations, she looks amazing.  Bet she loves that bed!

oaf

Nice pic! You're going to have a lot of fun together.
Congratulations

octatonic

Thanks folks.
We are having a ball.
She is a complete sweetheart.

She needs a lot of exercise.
A lot.

Axe_meister

I bet she is loving every second you give her and has a new zest for life.

Drew_TNBD

My baby is better than urs.

Sporky

octatonic said: 

She needs a lot of exercise.
A lot.

Sounds like she needs to meet Sprocket.

Sprocket once exhausted 22 other dogs on one walk, and still wanted to play kickyball when she got home.

octatonic

Drew_TNBD said:

My baby is better than urs.

At least mine has the decency to shit outside.