Our rescue. How it all began.

Have I told you about our new rescue?   Well, two things happened at the same time.  Firstly people kept asking us to help them with bassets but because of the rules of the basset rescue we were looking for we couldn't help.   Then, while we were moving house Miss Sam arranged a rescue of a basset being transported all the way from Devon to Aberdeen.  we couldn't help because we were moving house but it got us thinking that maybe it would be quite simple to set up a basset rescue of our own.  So we did.

We have been going for eight weeks and we have rescued seven dogs so far.   I'll tell you about them in a minute.   First we made a facebook page then we asked Miss Sam and Miss Louise if they'd like to help.  So Miss Sam is our treasurer and Miss Louise is our secretary.  Then we asked Uncle MrJeff if he would help us with our website so he is building our website for us.  It's nearly finished now, we're ever so excited.  Uncle MrJeff is sponsoring our phone too and Aunty Jayne gave us a phone so people can phone us about the houndies.

We are trying to do it all with just the group of people we have at the moment and the two people in Northern Ireland, Miss Alice and Miss Nikki.  But it is getting more and more work.  We did think we would need to get more people, area reps we thought,  in the future when we get busier but we think we are already much busier than we expected.   Ooh and we're having a Christmas Party too.  Miss Sam found a village hall that allows dogs and we have booked it for the 8th December.  We've got all sorts of fun and games planned.   Santa is coming to give all the dogs and children a present.  We will have a very silly dog show with rounds like dog who looks most like their owner and saddest face and some activity rounds like snossij relay race, egg and spoon race and musical cushions.   An obstacle course and fancy dress and we are having mulled wine and a buffet lunch.  It's going to be tonnes of fun, we can't wait.

Anyway, our dogs.  So I'll tell you about Daisy first, she wasn't our rescue like I said but it was her story that inspired us.  So much so that Miss Alex, her mummy, said we could use her picture for our logo.  So Daisy was rescued from a barn in Devon where she had been used for breeding.   She spent four nights in Devon at the first rescuers house, then she was taken to Bristol where she met the next group of people.  They took her to Stratford on Avon where she swapped cars again.   Then to Nottingham to meet some different people who took her to Rotherham where she met her forever family who took her the rest of the way to Aberdeen.  An incredible 600 mile journey.   So it was this story that inspired us to start our own rescue.

Next we have Bertie.   His owner couldn't give him the attention he craved so he came to us.   The next day we took him to meet Miss Louise.  He is staying there with Frank and Penny for now.  He loves it at Miss Louise's.

Then Roxy.  Roxy was found as a stray living in a forest in Northern Ireland, scared, skinny and pregnant.  She was taken to the pound where she had her puppies and when they were old enough to be weaned the pound phoned Alice, our Northern Ireland rep and asked her to take her in.   Roxy has now been spayed, deflea-ed and wormed and had her bad skin treated with antibiotics.  She is now a million miles from the little stray.

Photo above is Roxy the day she arrived.

Below is her now.

Merlot is very special to us.  They are all very special to us of course but we feel very proud to have rescued Merlot.   We first saw her advertised as free to a good home and asked the seller if we could take her but they didn't respond to us.   Then she disappeared off the website and we were all very worried about what had happened to her.  Three weeks later another dog appeared on the free ads, same age and description but different name and slightly different location.  We didn't put the two together but we asked if we could have her and this time the owner said yes.  One of our transporters, Lesley went to pick her up and that evening our foster carer, Susan brought her home and had a good look at her papers.  The owner had changed her name but the microchip form told us that her name was Merlot and her previous owners name and location was the same as the Merlot we had tried to rescue three weeks previously.  We feel she was sent to us from up high.    Merlot was in season so she stayed with Miss Susan until her season was finished and her vaccinations had been completed.  Yesterday she met her prospective adopter, the lovely Miss Zoe, for the first time and it was love at first sight for the both of them.  Merlot will be going off to Scotland to start her new life at the end of this month.  A happy ending for a very special little girl.

Cooper 's owner couldn't look after him any more so he was given to a lady who had dachshunds.  Unfortunately being a lot bigger than them Cooper was standing on them and the lady was worried for their safety and asked us to help find a new home.   We put his photo on our facebook page and the lovely Miss Sue applied for him.  We thought she was the perfect Mum for a sweet but boisterous young boy like Cooper.  And we were right.  He now lives in Cumbria with his beagle siblings.

Alfie's owner couldn't take him with her to her new home so he had been locked in a shed while he waited to be rehomed.  Our Northern Ireland rep Nikki took him in and he is settling in with his new brother and sister.

Harvey lived with three other dogs and a loving family but he wanted to be an only dog and would fight with his siblings.  His family very reluctantly decided that he would be happier in a home where he could be the only dog.  Luckily we knew just the people.   He went to his new family yesterday and is already settling in well.

Jackson was at a rescue centre and not enjoying life in kennels at all.  On our behalf, Miss Adele offered to help as he had been there for four weeks and we thought we might be able to rehome him quicker.   Miss Adele is picking him up tomorrow and we will meet her halfway on Thursday and take him to Miss Lesley who will foster him until we find a suitable home.

So that is us so far.   Lots more success stories to come, we are sure.    We are really enjoying running our new rescue and we've got some really good and kind people working with us and have had loads of support from the dog community.