Adopt a Staffie
Owning a Staffie
We can help you find a Staffie that fits in with your lifestyle. If you haven’t owned a dog before you will need to adapt to adopt as a dog in your life will change the emphasis. You become a carer where life’s decisions will need to take into account your dog’s needs as a part of your family. A dog will open up regular wonderful walks; you’ll meet new friends and there is nothing like the loyalty you’ll receive from your very own canine companion. Staffies offer that all in bucket loads and will be a wonderful addition to the life energy of your family. The decision needs to be thoroughly discussed with the whole family and don’t be surprised if prejudice begins to surface when you talk to relatives. Don’t be surprised upon owning a Staffie if that same prejudice disappears on meeting!
Preparing for Adoption
To adopt one of our Staffies you must first complete our Homing questionnaire. Read the questions and understand the facets of your life which affect and will be affected by the type of dog you own. Check the lease with your landlord does it mention a dog as we will need to see this and check via telephone as it may be read differently with regards to the age of the dog? Check your garden boundaries and gate locks. Begin to list items you will need. You don’t need anything expensive especially in the beginning. Two marked cereal bowls; a single duvet with a cover folded in four will serve as a bed; a car harness or travel crate; good quality foods. Don’t buy the supermarket own; Bxxxxrs complete or Cheap coloured treats. Dogs don’t cost a lot to feed but giving them loads of colorants is likely to cause behavioural problems as it does with children if you give them lots of artificial colours. We may have a harness and extender lead for walking we can sell you, so it is the right sort (we then buy a replacement). People often come with them and we raise our eyes as they are not what we would recommend or they are the wrong fit. Finally ask if your vet does a saving or insurance scheme or make enquiries with insurance companies so that you have a quote ready to put into effect when you take your dog home.
On Lead commitment as a Rescue
Rescue Realities
Dog Rescuers explore expectations, risks and tolerances. Most people looking for their new family member are attracted on looks and familiarity of breed traits. Let’s be honest Rescueremedies’ dogs have been dumped because they didn’t live up to the demands placed upon them, or families going through changes of circumstance and find they can no longer carry their dog forwards as part of their lives.
Rescue of Last Resort
For many years we have never gone out looking for “easy to home” dogs. We are renowned for taking only death row dogs: Dogs with no more time in their council pounds where other Rescues have picked off the easy dogs, we then step forwards for the dogs left behind. We take the dogs from vets who have refused to insert the needle. Very often these dogs have low self -confidence and deficits in dog skills.
WHY THEN do we as a Rescue ask for our dogs to be kept on a lead?
We specialise in bull breeds (Staffierescue; Ambulldogrescue) and terriers (Terrierrescue and Patterdaleterrierrescue).
Bullbreeds and Staffies
Bullbreeds and Staffies are social beings and will look to run over to people and other dogs. The general public do not want a bull breed running over to them, especially if they have a dog. If a bullbreed is challenged by another dog, very few will turn the other cheek. Therefore other dog owners have a point, as they will not be able to totally trust the encounter. We should never inflict our dogs on others. Generally bull breeds don’t like dogs running over into their personal space, so that is why it is best to be at hand with your dog on a lead to manage encounters and ensure your Staffie’s social etiquette is honoured. People’s views differ but we take this stance as a Rescue. Better safe than sorry.
Terriers
Terriers have an independent mindset. Many are not 100% trustworthy in dog encounters as they can be cantankerous if pushed. We deal with ‘high end’ terriers such as Fell terriers, Patterdales and Parson’s Jack Russells who have hunting instincts. If off lead and they ‘commit’ to some reference point in the distance, they are rarely distractible and will run over roads, down fox holes and to that item of fascination to engage with adrenaline flowing. We all know terriers who have lessened traits but our terriers have been given up because families found they had a “high end” terrier or they were actually found stray and unclaimed.
Off lead risks
We have many examples of where we have homed our dogs into responsible families and later heard of incidents mainly due to being off lead: A Staffie has a control order imposed upon them with “muzzle for life” even though they didn’t start the altercation: Some have been seized. We have had Terriers that are killed after getting out of a front door, running after a fox, or killed a cat. Accidents do happen but we are looking for responsible families who are astute to risks. We ask for our homing families to step up to plate and give our dogs safety and security.
Our dogs have already lost one or more homes before arriving at our door, and had a close shave with death. Our commitment to them, and ourselves, is their next family will be responsible and offer them safety first: Our dogs need to be under our control in public. Our bull breed families need gumption to stand firm for their dogs. Our terrier families need to be alert to risks and secure their dogs outside; in their car and in the home, to counter their ‘flight’ tendencies. Many of our dogs would have been dead had we not put ourselves out to take them in. We are happy to wait for the right family.
We will not accept abuse over our Rescue’s policy and if we are not convinced a family is firmly signed up to safety as their key concern, we will close the application down.