To Rescue or not to Rescue, that is the question?

I’ve had the pleasure of owning and adopting rescue and non-rescue dogs and I have to say that both have provided me with all the rewards and more that you could ever imagine or hope for being a pawrent.

I hear many people say things like, “well I prefer a puppy due to potential issues with a rescue”, or "you don’t know what they’ve been through do you" , but I have to say that my personal experience has been far removed from those beliefs.   

There is something about walking around a rescue centre and feeling the emotions that come out to you from the pups needing a forever home.  Some are very fearful, some have almost a determination to look the cutest they can be to get your attention, or a little tilted head or puppy-esque eyes saying, please love me and take me home. 

I have a belief that we have been on this earth before in other guises, animals possibly, as some dogs you meet, give you such a feeling that they’ve been here before and have almost human characteristics.

For the first time ever recently, we fostered a little Romanian rescue called Lucky.  He came over and for one reason or another the adoptive home he was destined for, did not match and sadly he needed to be returned to the Rescue. 

We met Lucky in November, and he was a scared, fear aggressive and completely overwhelmed little lad.  This was no fault of his, but purely due to the circumstances in which he found himself and thankfully the rescue found him and put him on the long road to the UK to find a new life, which was a lot better from the country in which he was born.  Sadly, the lives of some dogs in Romania and some other nearing countries are shockingly bad.

So, Lucky came to stay. For the first 24 hours he would not come near us other than for some high value treats.  By day two he was on my lap, day 3 on my hubby’s lap and from there we learned a lot about this lovely little dog, who underneath all the fear was an absolute poppet!

Rescue backup has been absolutely fabulous and without it, I personally would have struggled to achieve what we have with him.  It is amazing what you learn from the behaviourists support and you learn how to understand dogs to help them adjust to their new life.

I’ve been determined to not have failed on my first foster and keep him lol, and even luckier that he is near me with his new adoptive mum who adores him and has allowed me to see him so often.  To know that he will remain in my life has made me so happy and given me confidence and reassurance that I’ve done the right thing by this little one.

The rescue rehomes all ages of dogs, and Lucky himself was nearly a year old when he arrived in the UK.  Yes, rescue dogs come with the need to learn new ways of living with their humans and families, from diet to home life, BUT they want to learn and want to be happy with you.

The rescue I have fostered for are on Facebook are called MossMania.  Please if you can consider adopting or fostering a rescue dog, whether it be from the UK or abroad, listen to the rescue’s advice and I hope you have as an amazing time as we have. 

I look forward to either fostering or adopting again in a little while, and the fulfilment in my life has been rather incredible.

Take care everyone, love your dogs and if you ever feel overwhelmed with how you communicate with them, please always seek support and advice from the professionals.

Love and Light, Jules x x