Looking For Happy Manageable Small Dog Devon. Options

[doggyvonne]

I decided to start a new topic. We have moved on to considering another dog of our own . Our dog just died and we are looking for a small fit pat dog which will happily walk miles with me along the seafront and visit older people in homes. I used to think i was allergic to fur but my dog's been gone a few weeks now and my allergy is worse than ever so I guess is its not dogs at all . We have had dogs for 25 years of all kinds. We like small/medium cross breeds best but anything well behaved around 11 kg or less will be considered.

We have a bungalow and garden near the sea and wonderful parks and walks and never go on holiday as I hate travelling. My last dog was with me 24/7 for 8 years -we dont go far in the car and the vet is 5 mins walk.I taught my last dog fun games and tricks and he walked nicely on lead but he didnt love anyone but me!
I would like an entirely friendly dog this time (dogs and people).

We dont have other pets and only want one dog. The rescue will need to be in Devon or close by so we can get there or else a very keen rescue with a network to homecheck (or even deliver the dog for a meeting which i am told some do). We have been interested in 2 dogs so far but essentially the distance was the problem and nothing else. We tick all the boxes generally.

[zico's mum]

Animals in Distress have a very sweet,small JRT in

https://www.animalsindistress.uk.com/Pages/Category/dogs

[zico's mum]

Sherman is an older dog but his vet bills will be covered provided he can be seen at by ARCs vet at Ottery St Mary - not far from you? But he doesn't want walks,just to potter around


http://www.arcrescue.co.uk/sherman/4591338728

[doggyvonne]

I need a dog can go for long walks-i do them most days 3-4 miles. I have expressed an interest in Foxy thank you

[doggyvonne]

I had a very speedy response from Foxy's Rescue and it seems she is almost sorted but i was devastated to hear they insist on meeting everybody in the house 3 times before allowing a dog to be homed. Torquay is Devon but it is still more of a journey than i could handle right now. If all rescues are this inflexible I may not be able to have a rescue dog at all I see dogs all the time who cant handle travelling in cars and yet no sympathy for a human who likewise is terrified. A road accident I had has left me with some serious issues with travelling but I am otherwise sentient and can supply very good references from my vet and a friend who owns a rescue himself. Having a dog gives me confidence to go out more and engage with people etc. I have been so sad since he died-mostly miss his presence on my bed. There seem to be less Rescues in our area, fewer small dogs and if those we do have insist on 3 long haul round trips for every dog it isnt going to be a rescue dog )o: We have no kids, pets, no busy road, no regular visitors-we have a garden 15 mins from forest sea and river walks, lots of dog experience and we are physically fit. I really do think they could bend a little for us? I mean this without bad feeling as i do understand where they are coming from but i think it is somewhat jobsworth..what do you think?

[Ragsysmum]

Keep looking and trying different rescues, plenty on Facebook. There are several which will organise and home check and then transport the dog you fancy to you. I too cannot travel far but have just had a dog brought right across the country to our house. She is just as the description of her, had been in foster care for a while and has settled in perfectly. Good luck.

[doggyvonne]

Thank you for that -so encouraging! I have had some encouraging contact with Starfish Rescue and one very local to me called Fearne at Chard in Somerset. We have offered expenses for a dog to be transported after Skyping, getting good references and a home check but some rescues cant even be bothered to reply to my enquiry or just send out automated stock replies. I cant see us getting another dog before Christmas now (failing a miracle) but it's a dog for life not for Christmas so we'll try to be patient and adopt the right one for us when an opportunity arises. God bless all you people working tirelessly to get dogs into good homes!

[Elainew]

Just be very careful about having a dog ‘delivered’. I know of a case where an 84 year old lady had a dog delivered from a foreign rescue. The dog was 4 years old, had severe dog aggression, the rescue had no funds to kennel the dog, no fosterers who would take it and it very narrowly missed being pts.

[doggyvonne]

I wouldnt exactly accept the Hermes or UPS kind of route I do have a brain in my head (I think). I more had in mind a rescue enlisting the help of a colleague or contact to transport the pet to a mutually convenient place where we can meet and approve the dog and the dog approve us. The person i have been talking to produces very lovely clear videos of dogs in their foster homes and has a clear commitment to the needs of the dogs and the potential owners. On occasions I read about a chain of transport for rescued dogs to shelters and getting them to new owners is done much the same way. Ideally meet and greet a few times can work but we have done that in the past when we lived near to large rescues but the adopted dog has a sort of 'honeymoon then after 6 weeks when they have weighed it all up their true colours begin to show. You either stick with it or you dont. Only living with the dog in your own home for many weeks can really bring out any issues and that can happen with any dog from anywhere. I will actively look for a dog who is in a foster home of a similar kind to my own and hopefully that will minimise the surprises. I dont know if I will be adopting a dog at 84 but I do know some very fit and able 80 somethings and a friend in Hertford who is a rescue homechecker recently approved a lady of 87!!! Hope for me yet at age 60 therefore (o:

This post has been edited by doggyvonne: 20th Nov 2017, 5:26 pm

[mokee]

I don't normally recommend foreign rescues because some of them are not run the way I think they should be, but this one offers full rescue back up if things don't work out with the dog. She's a very sweet little thing but the home she was supposed to be going to have let her down and although she's due to travel from Romania on the 30th November, she doesn't have anywhere to go to. I saw her and thought of you immediately. They are looking for either a foster or forever home, so you could always offer to foster with a view to adoption if things go well. I don't know anything about transport, but you could always ask if it would be possible for them to bring her directly to you, or at least meet you close by.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=102...&permPage=1



This post has been edited by mokee: 24th Nov 2017, 7:12 am

[doggyvonne]

Just to end this thread and thank everybody who has tried to help. We bought a lovely little dog today locally on gumtree for market price whose owner was too unwell to walk her..she is a real star and has settled in nicely.