Tia is a 7 year old female Newfoundland cross German Shepherd bitch being fostered in adult family home in Gloucestershire with other dogs and cats. She came into our care after being found in a terrible state in Bristol as a stray – it was obvious she had been living outside and sleeping in her own wee and poo for months as she was so severely caked it in, she could not even poo properly.
What makes this so sad is as we have got to know her it’s becoming obvious at some point; she was someone’s loved dog – but she was chipped so we know she was not stolen otherwise it would have been flagged so what her story was previously we will never know.
She was very unsure when she first came to us and especially seem very frightened off our dogs – we have 3, two old ones and a younger one. She was even scared of our cat. She was not happy about being on her own at night which I am not surprised after the terrible neglect she has suffered so we have set up a bed in our room where she settles down every night.
As time has gone, we have got to know Tia much better – she is very over weight she weighs over 40 kilos so is in on a strict diet and exercise, she needs her muscle building up after probably months of being locked in somewhere. She is confident with our dogs now but gets nervous around new dogs – so we have started joining other people on pack walks on our local common and she is really progressing.
We need to work out if she is going to be ok being left as we have not tried this yet as because of Covid there is always someone in the house so we need to assess this properly and also wait for the test to arrive at our vets so we can see if she has been spayed or not if not, this will have to be done before she leaves us but want her to build up her health etc before we do this as she is such a big dog.
Tia is very easy to love – but you really need to have an appreciation of big dogs – she drinks water and then drips it everywhere, big muddy paws and coat to look after – she has been to our groomers but the mix she is her coat and the way she is she would not be suited to a house-proud family with cream walls etc – she is also large and needs space.
Still trying to work out if she would be better to live with other dogs as once, she knows them she is bonded and she gets confidence from them outside meeting other dogs and seeing how they react. We have two cats – one she is fine with the other one who is a bit flightier she will chase sometimes.
Tia also does not realise how big she is – when she gets excited, she throws herself around like a puppy and runs through everyone – knocking everything flying in her way with her body and tail – she can be quite strong on the lead at times too. She travels well – she is very sweet natured – we realise she has had a lot of interest but want to assess her properly and get it right for her before letting her go – also her medical stuff too.
We will put her up properly in another week but she will need a home that has had large breed dogs before, no children as her history is unknown, if she goes with other dogs, they must be gentle and not be the type to overwhelm her, countryside walks with lots of love and not be worried about her sleeping in your bedroom. She would not suit full time workers as she loves being with you or homes that have to use dog walkers as she gets nervous around new dogs.
Preference as ever will go to people that have always rescued. She will be fully vaccinated, chipped and spayed before she leaves our care. Please reply by email in the first instance so we can send you our application which will tell us more about the home you can offer Tia.
from Dogs for Adoption – dogsblog.com https://bit.ly/3lkW4aU
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