Bobby and Max
our Dogs of the Week!

If you have adopted a dog from us and would like to send in your Happy Ending please send it to me Louise tizmelou@hotmail.com

Thanks!

I am trying to write this while I have 2 totally manic, smitten, best pal dogs playing on my lap, the settee, floor, kitchen, garden etc – Lewis Hamiltons lap records are nothing compared to Ben and Oscars!

Oscar was our first foster dog and having been a dog owner for 35+ years I passed a very quick and nieve judgement on Oscar and went too early by human emotion. 

Ben, our 2 year old patterdale x is a total muppet and absolutely gorgeous and through my redundancy at the farm we thought he might need a companion (no sheep dog to play with) and along came Oscar a foster dog (currently chewing my cotton reel) a 9 month old JRT x Pom who is not totally housetrained, his recall depends on the batteries in his hearing aid, our killer sheep Daisy was a one off introduction – sheep worrying sorted!!  Weeing in his crate and in the car, well we are down draft of that so we decided he was not the dog for us.  We were VERY wrong and made a snap decision.

To his credit, the list is endless.  He is the most adorable companion for Ben, he is affectionate to the hilt. A good guard dog (unlike Ben), great down the pub, so sociable he’d go home with anyone.  He’s sociable with any other dog too, good with children, very chilled out – the only fault was mine!!

I didn’t give him time to settle and get used to a new life style and said he wasn’t suited to us.  All I can say as a foster or adopter is BE PATIENT.  BE there as a guide and time giver it may well work out in the end.  Do not make a negative decision until the dog has had time to settle – if he had been adopted by someone else when we thought he wasn’t for us we would have missed out on such joy!!! Sue Mettler

We have had Branham for about a month now. Our previous dog Shamus had to be put to sleep due to being ill with cancer. My husband wasn’t sure about taking on a dog so soon as he thought it would be disrespectful to Shamus. I saw Branham on the web site and we visited him the following day. He was underweight but was obviously a lovely dog. We arranged with the (lovely) John to have a home visit the following week and due to the distance John bought Branham done with him and he has stayed ever since..

He loves other dogs and wants to be friends with everyone.  We were asked by dogs friends, because of the reputation of Rotweillers to try and make him an ambassador for his breed, he does that all by himself . A neighbour came over recently and said she wanted to meet our new dog, she apparently didn’t like big dogs, but was brave enough to come over and was rewarded by a big slobbery cuddle. He is an absolute joy and has won Rod over. He shares our home with Molly our rabbit, he finds her fascinating but being left alone is not an option.  Branham has put weight back on thanks to an extra meal a day of rice and chicken and now has a beautiful shiny coat. 

Just a big thank you, to all of you at DogsFriends. Vinnie is so happy with Gypsy, and I think Gypsy has realised Vinnie is a 'soft touch' and is enjoying her new home right from the start.

I have recently adopted a German Spitz puppy from you, she is now 9 weeks old and called 'Tiki'. She's a fantastic little dog! As I sadly had to have my 17yr old Pappilion P.T.S early last year, its been so much fun having such a big character around! Tiki is a very quick learner, she is already pretty much house trained, and know's her basic obedience commands. She is great with kids (loves babies), cats, chickens, and other dogs. She is also toy obsessed which is great as I cant wait to get started at agility and maybe some flyball, as tennis balls are her favourite. I'm also excited to see what she is going to turn out like as she looks so different from her two sisters. She doesn't look a lot like any pictures of spitz puppies that I have researched either. It would be great to see some photos of her sisters in a month or so. Maybe she had a different father? Who knows? Watch this space.... I run a photography studio with my partner, which is great as it allows me to take her to work also Tiki gets to sit in on some sessions which she loves! Here is a recent picture of her taken at 'Studio Gwendraeth'.

Keep up the good work at Dogs Friends..

Harvey (was Rusty) came into our lives in September 2008, we collected him from his foster family and from the moment we took him home we knew he was a special dog.  What a wonderful little boy he is and very special in our lives. 

After only 5 days of owning Harvey he had a fit, it was very scary and very upsetting to watch.  We were assured from the previous owners that he had never had a fit before, so the vets think it is something he has developed after being hit by a car just before he came to live with us, he is now on medication, it has not stopped him from having fits completely but lessened them, but he is being monitored by our vet. On the 6^th day of having Harvey he was attacked by a golden Labrador, he picked Harvey up, shook him and spat him out.  Poor Harvey, he was very traumatised as were we, and unfortunately he now is not very keen on big dogs and has a right go at them …. I’m sure he looks into the mirror in a morning and sees a Rottwieler looking back not a Jack Russell crossed with a Westie!  But he is getting better.

It took Harvey a very short time to adjust to his new surroundings and his new family, once he had settled in it was as if he had been with us forever! He is such a funny character and the joy and laughter he has brought to us is just immense.  Harvey is totally spoilt and has the most amazing life for a little dog, he is very well travelled, he goes everywhere with us, Wales, Birmingham, Shropshire, London, Kent and even France! He is very rarely left on his own. 

Harvey’s favourite thing in the whole wide world is walkies! I think he would actually leave food to go for a walk.  When we had Harvey, he had no discipline what so ever, trying to get him to sit was a real task even if you tried to push his bottom down he would resist.  But after many many weeks of training and lots of patience Harvey now sits on command when crossing the road and when he is given a treat! 

He loves to be near you, he would much rather sit in the house with you than sit outside in the garden on his own.  He is very inquisitive, and loves nothing better than to sit on your knee in the garden while he sniffs the air and watches the birds, its magic!  

The only negative is that Harvey hates cats and goes totally nuts if he sees one, he is not keen on squirrels and rabbits either! Apart from that he is the perfect dog and we cannot believe he has only been in our lives for less than a year.  We are very grateful to have him in our lives! A big thank you to all at dogsfriends for allowing us to take care of Harvey.

I fell in love with Blackie the first time I saw her!  She found herself at dogsfriends due to the death of her previous owner.  She went to the pound in Wales, fat, unfit, and unsocilalised and had several fosterers until she came to me.  She has turned into a shy and nervous girl who was scared of her collar and lead and was too shy to eat on her own, to a confident girl who loves walkies, swimming in the sea, cuddles and sitting on my lap and we really are best buddies!  It bought tears to my eyes when dogsfriends said we could keep her, and when she won second prize for 'best rescue' at Hanham Dog show'.  I was so proud.

She is now also acting as grandmother to Billy Elliott, who we were fostering but decided to keep.  She keeps him in check and they love a cuddle together.  We are hoping her quiet nature will influence Billy who is very, very bouncy, but thats another story.  Here is a picture of us all cuddled upon the sofa together.

If anyone is thinking about adopting from dogsfriends, they are an excellent choice as they really care about their dogs, they have nursed some terrible cases back to health and believe all dogs deserve a second chance.  Also as most are fostered in homes their temperaments are tried and tested meaning a suitable dog can be found for you."

Thank you dogsfriends, especially all her fosterers, for giving Blackie a second chance and me a best friend!

I have attached an up to date pic of daisy may, she is very happy, when I adopted her from Dogs Friends 2 years ago , she was 32 kilos and very unfit, now she is 22 kilos and a bouncy happy good girl, am so pleased I got her!

Hi,We adopted Kit (now Gus) at the beginning of the year. What a character he is, fits in very well with our other 3 dogs. He was very nervous to start but now is really relaxed and happy. He particularly gets on with our other 3 yr old Lab. (Duke)

He’s out all day with Duke as we are fortunate to live on a farm. He’s a very cheeky chap and will try to get down to the bedrooms if you leave the door open!

 Many thanks for the opportunity to offer him a loving home

We adopted Vincent  ( Vinnie) last Dec when he was 14 weeks old. Having just lost our previous rescue dog, who was 16, it was a bit of an energy jump to take on Vinnie. But we have now rediscovered some of the lovely country walks that we did years ago, when our previous dogs were young. Vinnie is a lovely Collie / Husky cross, and for an 8 months old pup he is a fairly big chap (25ins to the shoulder). He is a brilliant member of our family. He is Collie in temperament and looks, but his size and his light blue / green eyes are all Husky. He is a lovely kind and intelligent fellow. We take him to training classes, where he meets a lot of friends, and  has just got his first puppy training certificate. A big thank you to everyone at Dogsfriends for saving such a fantastic dog and letting us adopt him. For anyone contemplating adopting a rescue dog, the way that Dogsfriends works allows you to see the dog in a relaxed home environment. Unless you know dogs well it is much easier to find the right dog for you when they are with somebody who knows them well and in a house they are used to.  A big thank you to all at Dogsfriends.

I was one of the Mills and Boon puppies and here I am in my new home with my friend Tilly. I am now eleven weeks old and tomorrow will be going out on the lead for the first time, which is very exciting. My owner says Paulette did a really good job of bringing me up, because I am such a happy puppy, loving my food, games with Tilly and, of course, my new owners! Will send another photo when I get bigger!

Dear Happy Endings

Margaret Neagle

Here is Millie who used to be Tina, little girl found alongside a dead pup, who later gave birth to Mills & Boon two lovely pups by caesarean.  Millie is a delight loved very much by both of us, and our other little dog Max, she’s full of mischief and very loving likes to settle down for a cuddle every evening.  She now goes to dog training every Thursday, and doing well and becoming very obedient.

We couldnt be happier that we have Georgia, she has settled in quickly and is very affectionate! She's very excitable with everyone she meets and loves a lot of attention.  She's great with our cat, Ember, although Ember still not confident enough to come downstairs unless Georgia's asleep! She enjoys a lot of long walks and walks better off the lead than on it! The only thing we have to worry about is leaving shoes downstairs as she loves to chew everything!  A very happy addition to the family!
Thanks

Sarah, Paul, Ember and Georgia

This is Alfie, one of the whippet cross bunch who we adopted in Jan 2008.
We have now had Alfie for a year and wouldn't be without him. He is my constant companion and is two steps behind me, apart from when we go out for walks and he is let off for a run, then he lives up to his whippet name and is off for a run with any dog who will oblige! He likes to take things from the house to the garden to make you run after him and loves to play catch and to chase the ball. This picture was taken in the recent snow, he loved it!

Lexie came in with very very bad skin condition and infection in her ears, she had lost a lot of her hair around her chest stomach and legs. Dogsfriends got it under control and then she was adopted by John and julia. She is a very pretty little girl, people stop to look at her she has a great character and is adored by her owners.

We adopted Sammy in July 08, not the smallish terrier girl we set out to adopt - but Sammy has won our hearts instead!  He is a handful, one year old approx and full of fun and heaps of energy.  He adores our GSD and they play well together.  Our other 3 dogs - all senior citizens- tolerate his mad ways and he's settled in well with the gang.  Despite being the naughtiest dog in the world he is proving to be a quick learner; he quickly learned not to chase our chickens and has been amazingly good with them.  He was known for escaping and jumping over gates and fences, we had some early 'incidents' but now he seems to have learned his boundaries and doesn't want to vanish across the fields and would rather stick around with his new family.  Sammy joins me out on my training runs and is a good running companion - with an awful lot of stamina.  Photo of Sammy on holiday in N Devon with our elderly terrier Ernie.

Mobey has found a new home. Initially Mobey have some problems with fear aggression with people, however he was introduced to all of Carolines dog-walking chums in Weston woods and he has more or less "got over" it now with help from Alison and Sarah at Waggytails Dog Traing Club and about a month ago he acheived his bronze kennel club good citizen award.

This is a piccy of him in the garden with the whole crew.

Hello All,
Just wanted to show you how lovely Sonny is. When he came to us he was called Jim so he is now known as Sonny Jim!!

Sonny has settled very well and has enriched all that we do as a family. He is learning quickly and likes nothing more than to chew and chase! He has tried to make friends with our cat but she is having none of it so he has a lot of work to do to gain her trust!! Sonny is a kind hearted boy who only wants to please and make friends with everyone around him. I can't imagine life without him now so Thank you Dogsfriends for rescuing him and giving him another shot at happy times!!
Maybe see you at another dog show!
Love Lisa and Lucy

Hi,this is Levi and our other dog Candi.He is settling in great and always making us laugh!

Dear dogfriends,
                We have had hector for about 1 year now but if you look at the pics does he look settled?
His favourite thing to do is chase squirrels and search for mice when he goes for his walks in weston wood.we have sometimes taken the risk of letting him off the lead, which he's getting better at doing because he used to run off.hector is so funny because when we wake up in the morning he will go on one of our beds for a lie-in.he is so friendly and cute and cheeky
that we all love him to pieces.he loves it here.he said for you to say
'hello harry love u' to brother harry.                      
                                                            Love from
hannah (9) sophie (11)
                                                              Brendan sally
and hector xx