Sad Saturday

It’s so sad as we have had to take Tess back to the RSPCA.

When we first saw Tess the RSPCA told us she had shown no interest in other dogs or cats. That was very important to us as we have a 10 year old rescue cat called Tamsin. In an earlier post I commented that straight away tess was 'excited' by seeing the cat. This turned into aggression on every occasion we tried to bring them together. Tamsin did her bit - being in the room trying not to react to the dog, but as Tess got more comfortable in the house she got more aggressive towards the cat. We did not give in straight away. we took advice from a behavioural specialist and tried all week to manage the interactions between Tamsin and Tess.

Last night however Tess started to show her instinct and whilst outwardly showing no interest all of a sudden lunged for the cat. We had to have her on a harness top stop her and it was a good job otherwise I think Tamsin might have got injured, something we just could not let happen. So it was with a very heavy heart we had to take her back today. At least the RSPCA know a lot more about her. We have written a note to them and hopefully her new owners so they know what she likes and more importantly what she does not like. She is a smashing little dog, who will make a fantastic companion to any family - just no cats.

I hope they rehome her soon :-(

And now the good news

In a earlier post I blogged about adopting another dog. I commented that since we had to have our last rescue dog put down, we have both not wanted to go through the hurt we suffered after Cindy's passing. We discussed it and decided it was basically a selfish response - especially when there were so many rescue dogs needing a home. Alongside this the pleasure of ownership will completely outstrip the eventual pain of loosing a pet.


So we went to 'have a look' at the local RSPCA today. I know - completely impossible to look especially if you see a dog that you know you could help. One such dog was there today.

Her name is Tess and we have offered her a home. She is a lovely little 8 year old terrier, who it seems has not had the best of chances to date. Her 'story and description' from the RSPCA is as follows;-

Tess
Tess is a female, 8 years old dog, who was brought to us on the 31st of December 2007.

Tess is an 8-year-old black-and-white crossbreed terrier. She was brought to Derby RSPCA Centre when her last owners were no longer capable of coping with dog ownership. She is by nature a friendly dog, but has been rather shaken up by her recent experiences (less care from her owners, then losing her owners and her home altogether) and is understandably rather wary, nervous and jittery at present.

Because she is so unsettled at the moment and preoccupied with her circumstances, she doesn’t seem to interact very much with the world around her. She currently shows no interest in other dogs and even ignores cats and small furry animals altogether (though this might well change if she found herself living under more relaxing circumstances). She can even seem completely indifferent to people sometimes, no matter how friendly and well-intentioned they are. She is strokeable, but always tense.

Tess needs a calm and very loving new home where her owners will allow her the time and space to adjust to a new environment and a whole new life. Gentleness, understanding, patience and compassion are what Tess needs to be shown, so she can relax and wind back down at her own speed without feeling at all pressured.

She would be suitable to live in a household where any children are aged 15+ and are kindly and sympathetic. She will of course need plenty of exercise. Tess is at heart a friendly little dog who simply needs a warm and caring ‘forever’ home now where she can gradually turn back into the happy and relaxed little terrier she should be.

She shows not interest in cats which is good as Tamsin our rescue cat needs to be considered. So we have an appointment with the centre next weekend when the whole family has to meet Tess. If that's OK then its a home visit - I think the RSPCA do it right - plenty of focus on our suitability for Tess.

It may be a couple of weeks before Tess is with us. I'll keep you posted.

I think dogs and boats go together so well. Last year and the year before we had Prince, our friends John and Carrie's dog on our shared ownership boat - he loved it. I think dogs are a natural introduction and get people talking.

Nev