Our Rescue

In the above picture is mine and my partner's dog, Hope. Doesn't she look happy? Would you think by looking at her that she was abused her whole life until the rescue saved her? I wouldn't either.

Over the summer I was trying to convince my boyfriend to get a dog. He was not keen but I however was determined that I was getting a dog and that this dog would be a rescue. One day in June I decided that we would take a walk out to our local rescue (ARC). It took an hour to get out to the rescue centre but when we got there it was worth it. After speaking to the manager we found that they had a staffy within the rescue. This was good because my boyfriend loves these kind of dogs and he had previously owned two. I also loved Staffies, unlike judging this breed of dog, I absolutely adored them (I pretty much adore all dogs). Staffies get a bad name for being violent and dangerous dogs; while this can be correct for some it is not correct for the whole breed. Like all dogs they can be violent and even dangerous, but every dog has this within them. Staffies get judged because they are usually bred for being fighting dogs; this is not in the dog's nature and is however the making of a human being.

Moving on, on this day we heard Hope's story. For most of her life (six years) she had been kept in a small cramped cage and had only been let out of that cage to go to the toilet and straight back in she went. During this time in her life she was also abused and it is believed this abuse was committed by a man as she has a fear of men. The staff didn't know the extent of the abuse and so we do not know how badly she was treated. Then came the moment to eventually meet Hope. She wouldn't come out until one of the rescuers called on her, even then she was apprehensive and scared. She barked and growled and had her tail between her legs the whole time. Our hearts immediately went out to her, it was then we decided that she was our dog.

After that day we went up to the rescue 1-2 times a week to visit Hope and play with her so that she would get used to us before coming home with us. During this time she was like a different dog. At first she didn't let us pet her or be around her without someone she knew being present. After a few weeks this completely changed. She let us clap her and play with her and she was happy when we arrived to see her. On the third of August we were able to take Hope home. When she came through the front door she couldn't stop smiling and her tail was going crazy, we were happy to have here there too! I must admit she is pretty spoiled. We got her a new bed, new toys, new leads, the best food, everything a dog could wish for. But even then it wasn't easy going, although she saw us as her new owners and people she could trust, she was still very wary around people she didn't know and going outside for walks. Because she had never been walked before she wouldn't go walking for more than five minutes at a time. This was something we worked hard to get her to do. Every day, three times a day we took her out, we encouraged her to walk if she stopped dead on the street and over time she gained confidence and began walking a little further every day.

We have now had Hope for two and a half months and she has come on leaps and bounds. She is walking for up to 45 minutes and is a very happy dog. She still doesn't like new people and is very protective whenever someone enters the house, but after a while of being in their company she begins to come out of her shell and sometimes will even let them clap her (if a treat is involved).