- This topic has 1,153 voices and 3 replies.
-
Posts
-
She’s a small to medium size, like a long-legged Jack Russell, weighing in at around 9kg.
Bonnie is no more than 18 months old, neutered and vaccinated.
Bonnie has had a really rubbish time of it. I first spotted her about a month before Christmas 2013, running scared and panicking in the middle of the road in a nearby village. I couldn’t catch her, but met her again a week later in my own village, again running scared and panicking. A small team of dog lovers around here were scrambled and we spent the following 6 weeks feeding her, and getting her to stay in the area. During that time, although nobody could catch her, she showed herself to be a shy, but very gentle, patient little dog, full of personality. At one point, she stood back from a tasty bowl of food to allow some local feral kittens take some food… awww!
But although she’d approach us and take food so, so gently from us, she just couldn’t trust us to actually touch her or catch her.
We knew she was in heat, and she was being trailed by a gang of local lotharios. Poor little thing was so scared, but at least she was getting fed. However, during her time on the run, she was witnessed being hit by at least 3 different cars, she was lucky each time that none of these cars crossed her.
Finally, after 6 weeks, one of the team captured her. After a few days of settling in, I had her spayed and vaccinated, and also got her thoroughly checked out to make sure she hadn’t sustained any serious injuries from her close encounters with the cars. Luckily, she was fine, she was bruised but no worse…
Since then, she has been relaxing in the capable hands of a great fosterer, learning how to be a pet dog. She has been housetrained, learned to walk on a lead, she finally knows what it’s like not just to have a soft bed, but a choice of soft beds, and she has been learning that humans aren’t really that bad after all. She has also formed a very close bond with her fosterer’s big, young male dog: she seems to really fall for the big, friendly softies.. who could blame her?!
So, having enjoyed several months of rehabilitation with her fosterer, it’s time for Bonnie to find a home to call her own. But there are terms and conditions attached!
It’s important to know that as Bonnie spent her first year or more of life as an untrained, unloved, unhandled dog, there will always be parts of her behaviour that aren’t like other dogs who have been loved since puppyhood.
For example, although Bonnie will become a firm and loyal friend to her new owners, she needs a bit of time to get to know people, especially men. She needs to be given the space and time to investigate people for herself, rather than be crowded and forced into it. Once she knows you, she’s yours!
Bonnie has perfected the art of doing her own thing when she’s out and about, and she must be kept on lead out on walks for the foreseeable future.
It should come as no surprise that Bonnie is a little bit scared of traffic. Now, she has come on very well in this regard, but because I don’t feel it’d be fair on her to live in a very busy, trafficky place, Bonnie will need to go to a home in a quieter, more rural area.
Bonnie always gravitated towards children when she was on the run… they were a source of food for her, but she has no fear of them, and although we can’t vouch for her to live with younger kids full time, she should be fine with visiting children, or older dog-savvy kids (10+) in her new home.
Bonnie is great with other dogs, but prefers the big, playful softies. She really needs to live with at least one other, male, dog as they help her confidence, and well, she just gets so much fun out of them, as she’s very playful… she loves to wrestle, sit on their head, pull at their tail, and play hide and seek. So, if you have a big, young male goofball who’s looking for a female companion who’ll help him burn off lots of energy, Bonnie could be the girl for you!
Last but not least, Bonnie is a young dog, and still acts the puppy… so if your slippers go missing, her bed is the first place to check
For more details, contact Maureen of Westie Rescue Ireland at 086 8200010.
IMG_9834.jpg005 (2).JPG
IMG_9834.jpg.JPG)
005 (2).JPG
.JPG)
002 (1).JPG
003.JPG
001.JPG- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.