well I have had a busy weekend! I had a home check on Saturday morning with Staffie Smiles Rescue ( www.staffiesmilesrescue.com ) which I passed. So I then planned to do a post on the home check, which I will still be doing, and a post on the preparation that I was doing before the arrival of the foster dog. However the next available dog was ready on Sunday after he had been assessed so he was brought round to meet my two on Sunday afternoon and has been here since.
His name is Harley although since he was a stray has just been named but he does answer to it most of the time. He is between 5-7 years old and was so stressed in kennels that he’s hurt his mouth and face. He has also nibbled a bit of fur from his tail. Staffies never do well in kennels!
He has been in a family as he is very clean, knows sit, stay, lie down and paw, toilet trained and most surprisingly doesn’t mind the hoover or loud noises. He likes his comfort anyway and has chosen his spot on the two seater couch as his bed. He slept all night without a peep and when I came through this morning you’d have thought he hadn’t seen me for years, he was jumping all over me and giving me a face wash!
He has such sad, soulful eyes until you praise him then he just lights up like a different dog, it’s an amazing transformation to witness. Walking him is an absolute pleasure, he doesn’t pull in the slightest, he’s not much of a runner or sniffer he just plods along, but that might change after a few days when he’s a bit more settled as the poor boy doesn’t know if he’s coming or going at the moment. My friend visited this morning and he thought he was leaving with her, probably as he smelt her dogs off her. He walked perfectly next to my mobility scooter and wasn’t phased by it at all, he knew to keep at a safe distance, watching me as we went round corners so he wasn’t in the way, so maybe his previous owner had one or something similar like a pram maybe.
He knows about cameras and will pose for one photo but that is all you get!
he enjoys his food but isn’t greedy, he knows when to stop. He hasn’t tried to steal treats from my two either and takes a chew into his crate and won’t come back out of the crate until they have all finished, with the crate door left open and without me telling him. He is a wee gentleman and just wants a quiet life, I think. Last night he did try to steal a slice of my pizza but I caught him in time and he would have been hungry as I feed the dogs after I have finished eating and I did give them each a bit of ham from the pizza. When I took my two a walk this morning, I got a quarter way round and realised that I had left food on the coffee table in the livingroom, where Harley was, but when I got home he hadn’t touched a thing, in fact I don’t think he moved the whole hour that I was gone as he was in the exact same position that I left him in! So he is absolutely fine being left for a bit. I did think he’d of at least lay down whilst I was gone though as he had been his walk first this morning.
I don’t think he has been a stray very long, as he is in decent condition apart from the damage he inflicted on himself in kennels, in fact he could lose a couple of pounds in weight so not been starved anyway. He loves being petted and praised when you come back but quiet independent otherwise. He’s been sleeping a lot but he’s destressing, his face needs to heal so will be causing him pain and just making him feel Bleurgh. He met Sally tonight, most staffies love children and he did too but wasn’t getting overly excited around her like a lot can which is good, he has been taught manners. He just sat on her knee!
There have been a couple of minor scuffles between Harley and Coal as they are both males and Harley hasn’t been neutered yet as he is on antibiotics for his face, but also boys will be boys. It has just been all noise not biting and the minute I grab his lead (which has been left on trailing around the house just in case, for the first few days) he stops and relaxes so it’s not a ‘I want to kill you’ more ‘I’m telling you off’ scuffle. He isn’t really that interested in either Coal or Tess and the only scuffles have been a bit of jealousy as I am the prized possession at the moment in his eyes as he was without much human company whilst in kennels and staffies live for human attention.
He is such a good, calm, gentle dog that it makes you wonder why someone would dump him, but at least the bad times are behind him now and he can look forward to a happy future. If you think you could give this lovely boy a sofa of his own in your home or would like more information on Harley or any other staffie in the rescues care, please read and fill out the adoption form at – http://www.staffiesmilesrescue.com/adoption-form.html
vickyandherstaffies 
He’s a real cutie!
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What a sweetheart!
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It’s so nice to read about situations like yours. While all foster homes should be applauded for the sacrifices they make when taking in a dog, I would have thought that you had enough “challenges” without adding to them! More power to you! We have a popular term here “foster failures”. Contrary to what you might think, a foster failure is a dog that is ultimately adopted by its foster family. Beware!!!!!! 🙂
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Yes I’m already a failed fosterer! I started off fostering Tess but both I and Coal fell in love so that was that! Lol helping dogs takes my mind off the constant pain by giving me something else to focus on and since I can’t work I want to do something to give back. There is not much difference between having 2 or 3 dogs especially when they are as laid back as Harley!
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