We've reached Day 82 of our 100 Days with 100 Dogs and we're spacing out the posts a bit as we're planning something cool for the final post in the series and we think it'll be best to do it in the New Year. Beyond that, we're already looking at building upon this series and we'll reveal more about that in the New Year.
Meet Ned
Ned is about 4 years old. We think that the owner wasn't completely candid in the reason they brought him to us. The behaviour we're seeing doesn't correspond at all and is in fact a more dangerous behavioural case than we expected.
He first presented some issues at one of the kennels we work with. The main issue was Ned's reluctance to return to the kennels. We work closely with the kennels we use as dogs can be there for extended periods so we need to make sure that they are suitable. The owners and staff with the kennels are all brilliant and happy to go the extra mile if any dogs need it. Despite this extra attention, we do encounter the occasional dog that just doesn't settle in a kennel environment.
With this in mind and as he hadn't exhibited any other warning signs we found Ned a home as quickly as possible. After a month the adopter contacted us about threatening behaviour towards them while on walks. We immediately brought him back into welfare and saw the issue. He'd been made to wear four collars and it took us nearly a month for Ned to trust us enough to remove them.
Ned can be the most loving boy but he can quickly turn and bite if something didn’t suit him. He still often refuses to return to his kennel and cannot be bribed or encouraged to do so of course we're not going to use force and destroy the fragile trust we're building except in the direst situation. As he's in a secure area we leave him be and he lets us know when he's ready, although by that stage he's often very upset. We'll continue working with him at the pace he sets, but it seems likely he might become one of our permanent residents.
Part of the reason we were formed was to ensure that even dogs that couldn't be homed whether because of complex health issues, behavioural problems or even due to court orders aren't killed and we undertake to look after them for the rest of their lives. Of the 120+ dogs we have at the moment, 30 of them are permanent residents.
Lifelong care requires a substantial commitment and you can help us by sponsoring one or more of these dogs:
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