10 DOG ADOPTION STORIES AND UPDATES FROM UK-GSR

Goodbye November and Hello December!!

Mirror, mirror on the oven door, who's the fairest of them all?

Thou, O Yoshi, art the fairest in the land!

Wooftastic I, am off to tell dad, Gary Norton, that I will be a Princess!!!!

Dear UK-GSR fwends please halp.

I ave been sat at my treato draw for 100 years. I’ve done every expression I know sad, happy, starved, going to rip your arse off. Now doing pressure pupper.
Thought about calling the treato pawlice.

Can someone please ring me ma, Lorraine Slack and tell her to open me treato draw now.
Lot of ruv Venu

Hi Venus, don't tell mum but....
Pop zee paw on the counter andz then open zee drawer with your teeth’s. Treat’s released

When just one dog bed isn’t enough.

Marshall soon to be starring in the canine version of the Princess and the Pea!!

Says Mum Gerry Coles

Thank you to ALL of our fundraisers, supporters and donations that helped us in November 2020, your support is always appreciated.

100 club winner Carrie Lineham who donated £100.
Wendy and Dave Timms who responded to our newsletter last month and sent us some Yumove.
Dawn Nicholls for the big box of food and treats sent after her beloved dog passed away. Such a kind thing to do at a sad time for her.
Marion Edwards and friends for raising £40 with a Strictly themed sweepstake.
The Friends of Bath Cats and Dogs Home for their very very generous donation of £2,000.
Pat Cox for the donation of a hot drinks bundle which raised £45 in a scratchcard.
Meg Evans for the lovely parcel that arrived for Linda. She was very pleased with the treats and eventually gently took the little pink pig out and hid it in her bed .
Fathead is a happy boy after opening his parcel from Saphi Jones. Suze says: Any headache tablets going please as squeaky toys are his passion!!
Karen O’Kane for the massive delivery of toys and treats.
Huge huge thankyou again to Harrington’s for the dog food. #harringtonspetfoods
Our fabulous auction team (Elaine Fox, Suzanne Syers, Myra Shuel, Joanna Hunt, Lisa Wilkins and Yvonne Shepherd) who ran our Christmas auction which raised almost £2,200. Thank you so much to all the individual donators and company/business donations and everyone that took part in raising this fantastic amount.
Thanks to all who have purchased our christmas cards and 2021 calendars.

TANYA WHEN SHE CAME INTO RESCUE IN 2018

4 yr old Tanya came into rescue after being in the same home since a puppy.

Her front feet deformed due to being kept in a tiny kitchen and slippy floors - although vet confident it is not painful, she may just suffer arthritis in those joints in later life.
Tanya's coat was a mess, she was skin & bone. Even her cheek bones protruding.

Every bit of food she ate went straight through her, as she was riddled with worms.
We finally got her tummy sorted - as she has a pancreatic deficiency and gained weight nicely.

The worst part for Tanya though was her mental state. She was never walked, never had any training, and never experienced the fun of being 'just a dog'.

TANYA WAS ADOPTED
2 years ago Tanya went to her new home: peed on the carpet and stole a bread bun.
Sadly she lost her older brother Charlie but he was there to show her the way.

TANYA NOW
As you can see she is healthy and happy.
She has enjoyed a few lovely holidays and no doubt enjoy more in the future.

A great update from Jennifer Claire about Xena and her lovely family

Beautiful Xena, was adopted at the end of July. I assessed her and knew she would be a huge challenge but with the right home, she would blossom into the relaxed and settled girl that she has now become.
Skittish round traffic, various reactivity and triggers and some odd quirks that we couldn't quite figure out. Its been 2 steps forward and 1 back, but progress all the same and they've never given up. Her family really have put in the work with her to gain her trust and give her the structure and stability that she needed so a big shout out to them
We keep in touch frequently and it's so good to see her relaxing and becoming a great addition to their family.
For anyone in the same boat, give it time, we never fully know what they've experienced behind closed doors. The only problem with Xena is, she hasn't quite worked out her bed

Well done Xena and your lovely family.

4 month adoption Pupdate:

Saffy, adopted 4 months ago, is making slow but steady progress regarding her fear of walks/the outside world. Courtney Opie has been a great help. She’s getting used to her head collar and is starting to enjoy sniffs and snoffs even outside the garden gate. She loves being in the back of my Mini especially when we park up - it is her observatory! She is learning to enjoy the dog field and gaining the courage to roam and sniff a little when we’re there. She prefers to be on a long lead rather than being let loose, which freaks her out.

It is a learning curve for all of us but the bond we’re forming because of it, is wonderful. Says Mum, Mandy Sutter.

We are currently experiencing a very very high volume of applications to adopt.
Our screener, the lovely Yvonne Shepherd, is on the phone from morning until night time working her way through your applications.
PLEASE be patient as we are ALL volunteers with our own work, family and dogs to look after as well as doing all we do for the rescue.

The equally lovely Jennifer Claire had a bit of a day recently!. Here is what happened..
What a crazy day for dog rescue! Driving down a country lane, saw an older lady lose her footing and fell down into a ditch taking her collie with her. Stopped the car, helped her up and got her and the dog into the car and took them home. Coming back home few hours later, saw a woman in the middle of the road with her Beagle dog. Thought dog had been run over at first but he was having a fit, so she administered rectal diazepam and l comforted the dog. Came round after a few minutes and was fine, poor woman was so upset. l was actually in the middle of a phone call with one of my homes at the time about a dog adoption and had to cut off the call. Crazy dog day. Think I'll stay home!

Happy Gotcha Day Tara and Rosie

Mum Nicola Hornby, tells us that:
It’s 2 years since we took a trip from Nottingham to Kent to meet Tara and Rosie. There was never really any question about whether they were coming home with us, particularly when I saw the 2 dog beds in the back of the car! It was a long journey there and back and there have been some ups and downs since. Rosie didn’t know what steps were and got stuck upstairs. We’ve lost 2 sofas and goodness knows how many blankets. I remember walking through the local woods in the pouring rain almost crying because it was so difficult to walk them.
We wouldn’t be without them now though. They love a good run chasing a squirrels and we’re often complemented on how well behaved they are.
They are our beautiful girls, living their best lives.

At some point during this month, Maverick turns 2.

The first photo is a few days after we adopted him at the age of 6 months on May 2019 and the second is from last week.

Honestly, he's not an easy dog to deal with. We are still working through his reactivity towards people and dogs. His pulling on the lead has lessened, unless he sees people/dogs/cats. We go to a secure field every week to work on loose lead walking and reactivity. He winds up his 9 year old UK GSR sister, but they get on most of the time.
Maverick makes us laugh every single day and our home wouldn't be the same without him.
Happy 2nd birthday. Love Mum, Fiona Cortese-Adams.

As frustrating as it can be to not be able to rehome from rescue and repeatedly there are comments about how annoyed, frustrated, irritated people are getting because they cannot get a rescue dog or the adoption process is so hard, we’ve copied and pasted this from another rescue as they have explained things very well and we hope this helps some people understand the reasons behind the decisions tjhat are made.

A Rescue’s perspective

"Social media is full of comments of how difficult it is to adopt from rescues. In the main, it is down to lack of suitable animals. Your level of desire to have an animal does not mean you are or are not a suitable home. A rescue does not take into account your desire to have an animal by their photos, their name, and their background story. They use their knowledge, to the best of their ability, on the animal to consider whether you have what the animal needs. Rescue’s want it to be right and the very best chance of the adoption working forever.

Taking into the account the needs of the animals is (or should be) of paramount importance. (Speaking from a rescues view point) we try to be a flexible rescue when it comes to rehoming. We do not have blanket restrictions on age, having or not having a garden, whether people are at home or not. At the very core of our rehoming is finding the right animal for the right home. Not every cat can live inside, not every cat will get on with other animals or can live with children. Not every dog can live with other dogs, not every dog can live with cats or small furries, not every dog can live with children or be left alone. It is not about whether your children are awesome with animals; it is about whether the animal is awesome with children. Some dogs will clear a 3 foot fence, some will have problems living upstairs. Rescue should be to find the right match for the right adopter. After all these animals have, often, already been let down by someone who previously really wanted them. Covid has been a nightmare for rescues, both in rehoming animals, taking animals in, coping with the huge influx of people who want animals now, 80% of which have not read the needs of the animals or the rehoming procedures of the rescue. Thinking, because they have fallen in love with the animal, have always wanted a such and such, know she is just perfect them, they have an automatic right to be first in the queue. How many applicants do you think feel the same?

Many adopters get angry and frustrated when they are not successful, often this is because they believe this is the perfect animal for them, others haven’t read the needs of the animal correctly, the particular rescues rehoming criteria or the animal just isn’t a suitable match. In some cases, for some reason, everyone wants the young Westie or French Bull dog and that is just not possible. It does not mean they are not able to offer an excellent home to an animal, but sometimes it just is not the one they have set their heart on. Some rescues (the one I am involved in) have a restricted area. It is not as simple as accepting someone’s word this is the animal for them. I dare say there are people purporting to be a rescue, who are happy to take the money and run, we pick up the no rescue back up dogs all the time. If you want a dog from someone reputable, you have to understand that comes with procedures and rules.

Repeatedly there are comments about how annoyed, frustrated, irritated people are getting because they cannot get a rescue dog or the adoption process is so hard. You cannot always have what you want, when you want it. Rescues do not hold stock, they cannot order you a certain size or colour in, and when they do get the right one in, lots of other people want it to.

Try and give rescues a bit of slack, they are trying their best, they have been hit hard in many ways by the Covid virus and negativity is never nice, try and see it from their point of view. They have seen and picked up the mess of what happens when it goes wrong."

This adorable sweetheart has gone off to her forever home recently. Her new family loved her the moment they saw her. Gabi now has a lovely new family to love her and a little brother to play with.

Gabi's future was uncertain before she came into rescue, as her owner had died and she had nowhere to go. Call out to some of our volunteers who dropped everything; hastily had their gate repaired, dug out the dog bed and stair gate, bought some food and then drove off to pick her up.
Foster gave Gabi love and security and lots of cuddles and long walks and was just what she needed, without which we don't know what could have happened to her. A few weeks later. a lovely family that had already been home checked, came to meet her and the rest as they say is history. So a big thank you to her foster mum and dad, Lisa and John Wilkins for taking such good care of her until her adoption. Be happy baby girl, wishes Myra Shuel.

Viewpoint from a Fosterer:
A lot of people say "You must be cold or hard hearted to foster as I could not let them go."
On the contrary, it's the exact opposite. You open up your heart to a foster dog and give them total love and commitment, for however long they need it. And when they go, a little bit of your heart goes with them each time. Lisa Wilkins

OUR ONLINE MERCHANDISE SHOP IS NOW OPEN

http://www.uk-gsr.co.uk/merchandise/

Here are some of our newly added items.

That snood makes a handy face covering!!

Things you can do to help...
Help us to do more - If you can help the dogs in our care by donating just £1, join our PAYDAY £1 club and make a subscription to donate £1 a month on payday. Every little helps. http://www.uk-gsr.co.uk/£1/

Do you have a birthday coming up? Did you know you can set up a Birthday Fundraiser for UK-German Shepherd Rescue on Facebook? Just set the goal, set the time frame and you're ready to raise! Happy Birthday and good luck reaching your target! #fundraiser #HappyBirthday

Well done Magz Procter!

Magz completed a 22 mile sponsored walk on the 1st November,
along with her boy Manny,
and raised a fantastic £581.50, for the dogs in our care,
in memory of her lovely Zelda.

Thank you so much Magz.

HUGE THANKYOU TO ALL WHO DONATE TO US VIA AMAZON SMILE!

Recently we received £388.98 It all helps in such tough times folks!

We are always in need of treats, wet food and chewy things for the dogs at Elswick kennels. If anybody would like to help by sending something our Amazon wish list below.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/29E5461P4DOB/

Thanks to your online shopping we recently received £167.54 so don't forget to use #easyfundraising when you do your Christmas shopping!!

Over 4,300 shops and sites will donate to UK-GSR for FREE. This means you can raise donations when you buy gifts, toys, jewellery, tech, experiences or anything else!

https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/ukgsr/?utm_campaign=raise-more&utm_content=cpl

Look here to see all our Dogs waiting for adoption

Donate Now and don't forget to Gift aid it

Need to Rehome your dog - use a trusted Rescue like UK-GSR

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