I don’t remember much before I came to live with Kay but I’ll never forget the day that she and Stu came to collect me or what’s happened since.
It was a Saturday about lunchtime when the kennel lady came to get me. I was all excited. I had heard that I was leaving soon but thought it strange as no humans had even looked at me never mind been keen enough to take me home.
I went outside into the sunshine and saw 3 shadows standing in front of me. I was nearly all blind. My eyes were sore and itchy but the more I rubbed them on things the sorer they got. I recognised one of the voices as the kennel man but the other 2 were strange – really strange. I had never heard anyone talk like that before. The female said that we were going to Scotland and I realised that’s why they spoke so funny. I wagged my tail as hard as I could so they would think I was cute and not change their mind about taking me. We went outside and the man lifted in into a car.
I sat quiet in the car and we pulled away. I was desperately trying to understand what they were saying. They were talking about me. Oh no they had noticed that I wasn’t well. I was so frightened that they would take me back that I sat quiet as a mouse. We hadn’t gone far when the car stopped. I sat shaking thinking “that’s it, they have taken me back and I’m going to die” but when they opened the car I wasn’t back there at all. They lifted me out the car and examined me all over. The man held me – Stu was his name. I kissed him but he didn’t seem to like it much so I kissed him again. Somehow that much have told him my teeth hurt cos they both looked in my mouth. The lady spoke softly to me. She kept calling me “baby” and I liked it. That was Kay. She said that she’d take me to the vet tomorrow and make me all better. I just fell in love with her. She was so gentle with me and I felt so safe with them.
It was a long journey to Kay’s house and I was tired when we got there but the house was full of new smells. Kay showed me all round the house and then set up my bed. I dived straight in and settled down. Shortly after another dog appeared. Lucy was her name and she was like me – a Bull Terrier. She was younger, bigger and stronger than me though but very friendly. Then a wee while after meeting Lucy another dog came in. Lenny was his name but he wasn’t like me. Kay called him a boxer. He was friendly too but I knew straight away that he was a big softy.
The next day Kay took me to the vet after she bathed me. I was so frightened when we got in the car. I kept thinking that maybe she had changed her mind and was taking me back. I cried all the way to the vets and the whole time in the waiting room. Kay held me while the vet cut my claws. It was very sore and I yelped with the pain. I tried to get away but she had a tight hold of me although I think I might have hurt her in the struggle. The vet checked me all over and put stuff in my eyes.
After the vets I started to feel better. Kay took good care of me giving me medicine and soaking my sore paws. She put eye drops in my eyes and then gave me a treat for being so good. I barked at her to say “thanks”.
Life at Kay’s is never boring. Lenny and Lucy play fight all day. They are noisy and quite rough. I want to join in but I’m just a bit scarred still. Kay has a daughter who gets called Chick and Robi. You can tell if she’s in trouble by the name that she’s called. She is kind and watches TV with me. She lifts me onto the couch and cuddles me. Last week she was ill and off school for the day so she just spent the whole day on the couch with me rubbing my tummy. It was great. The best day off my life. I didn’t know that living with humans could be so good
Sometimes Rudi and Stu come to visit. Stu calls me his girl and I like it. He plays with me while Rudi joins in with Lenny and Lucy. Kay says that I start to play too when I feel better. Lucy does a mad thing every day that Kay calls a “Bullie Run”. She runs really fast all over the house. It’s very funny. Kay says I’ll do that too when I feel more secure and happy. She doesn’t know it but I’m already happy now I live here.
I can see much better now though. In fact most of me is feeling great. We all go for a walk every night together. I am tired after it though. I’m not use to having a walk. Sometimes I get off the lead to run about and chase Lenny.
Kay and Robi have been trying to get me out of my bed. It was scary at first but I’m getting there now. I have claimed Lenny’s bed as mine as he never used it much anyway and he’s too soft to say anything.
Lenny and Lucy call Kay their mum. I felt a bit jealous to begin with and then all of a sudden she said to me “where’s mummy’s girl?”. My heart about stopped. I just stood and looked at her waiting for her to say it again just in case I’d heard her wrong but no she repeated it “M-o-l-l-y, where’s mum’s girl?”. I just ran right over to her and cuddled her. My prayers have been answered. I have a forever home with a great family and they love me. I can’t believe how lucky I am to have been found by them. Mum says BIN brought us together. I have no idea who BIN are but I know they saved my life and I am forever grateful.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Kay & Molly's story
Molly first appeared on a thread on the “Bullie Bar” as an unnamed desperate appeal for a fosterer. She was in a dog pound/kennel in Doncaster and was due to be put to sleep on the Monday but could be saved if BIN stepped in. I read the thread and offered my home to her. All I knew was she was a 7 year old female bullie.
BIN then started a thread for transport for this girl to get her from Doncaster to my home in Fife. This went very slowly so to speed things up I offered to go down to collect her. Bullystu decided he would come with me to keep me company. This would be the journey from hell but not due to Molly. We managed to arrange another 2 dogs to be transported down to Doncaster to be collect by fellow volunteers and new owners and one of these dogs was a nightmare!!!
We arrived at the dog kennel and advised who we were and why we were there.
“Oh great you’re here for Molly” the lady who worked there said.
“Molly?” I asked “we didn’t realise she had a name”
“Oh yes” replied the lady “she is chipped so we scanned her when she came in. She was registered to a breeder so we contacted him but he didn’t want her. Said that he’d sold her a while a go.
When Molly was brought out I couldn’t believe what my eyes were seeing. I couldn’t get her out of there and in the car quickly enough. We drove off and straight away I phoned my vets to make an appointment for the next day. The stench was unbelievable. In fact I was almost sick when she first got in the car. I pulled the “magic tree” right out of it’s plastic cover to try and disguise the smell. Then we drove along to the nearest services and stopped there to have a good look at her.
This was a poor neglected lady. Her left eye was so filled with green gunk that you couldn’t see her eye at all and the right eye had traces of the gunk. Her coat was nicotine white. Her claws were so over grown that they were actually curled round in growing back into her pads. Her breathe about knocked Stu out when she kissed him and prompted us to venture a look in her mouth. There was a large infection site at the top front of her mouth and in general her teeth were covered in plaque. Her tummy was so baggy that it hung down like a cows udder and we could see that she had definitely been used for breeding and probable been over breed judging by how bad her tummy was.
I had to fight back the tears as we checked her over. I kept thinking that an old lady like this deserved a better life than she obviously had had up til now.
It was a long journey home but Molly sat in the boot of my car and not a sound came from her. You could sense the fear from her. We spoke calm and reassuringly to her all the way home.
Once home I brought the cage that I borrowed from Stu in and set it up. I hadn’t even managed to get the new big padded cushion in , that I’d bought for her, when she dived into the cage and lay down. She was definitely crate trained.
That night I let her settle in before I brought Lenny and Lucy in to see her. I wasn’t sure if she was friendly with other dogs or not. They all had a sniff in turns at each other through crates and tails wagged. We then put leads in and went for a wee walk in the garden. Molly wasn’t use to walking and the over grown claws made it very painful for her so the walk was short.
The first night went well and she had her dinner and went to bed with not a peep out of her. The next day I was suppose to be going to the Falkirk BIN walk but had the appointment at the vets so didn’t make it. I gave Molly a shower as the smell was really getting to be too much. I didn’t want to do it the night before with it being her first night and frightening enough. She stood well for the wash though and I was struggling to find any fault with this lady at all.
The trip to the vet was long and tiring. Molly was in a bad way. She had an ulcer on each eye but her left eye (the one with all the gunk) was badly inflamed and needed steroid treatment. Her claws had to be cut out of her paws and this was very painful and bloody although the relief seemed instantaneous to her. These paws needed bathed in salt water for 7 days to stop infection. She had started coughing that day and had kennel cough which required antibiotics. Her teeth would require to be removed but at a later date as there was just so many other things to fix first.
So began my nurse career. There was 2 types of eye drops – one for each eye. Antibiotics for the kennel cough. Salt water bathing for the paws. I felt it was never ending. She liked to bark at me after getting her eye drops though. I think it was her way of letting me know she didn’t like it.
The hardest part of all this treatment was getting Molly out of her crate. Molly hasn’t got much muscle in her wee body and we believe this is due to the fact that she has spent most of her life sitting in a crate. She is stiff to walk up even one step and struggles to actually stand up sometimes. This also resulted in psychological issues where she was frightened to come out of the crate and would spend all day in her crate coming out only for a walk.
We resorted to bribery with mini scotch eggs. Molly hadn’t had much human contact. She was shy and withdrawn but I did notice that she would come out the crate to spend time with my daughter Robi. Robi and I worked as a team, building Molly’s confidence up and spending time getting her out the crate. Soon we had her up on the couch for “Bullie Lovin” for short periods of time. It’s funny how kids and dogs have a way of bonding with each other. She loves going for a walk. Although only short walks to begin with due to her sore paws and kennel cough but these lengthened as she got better and have even developed into off the lead exercise. I have worked with her and trained her to walk to heel but have to admit she has typical Bullie recall – i.e. I will when I want to!!!
Molly has been with me for about 6 weeks now. She has been given a clean bill of health for her paws, kennel cough and eyes. This week she will get spayed and her 2 top front teeth removed and the infection clean out. She is now so confident that she never goes in her crate at all. She has claimed Lenny’s bed for her own. She still barks at me though and I think that is her way of saying “I’m here”.
She still has a lot of work to be done with her. She is still nervous of going anywhere new. Still a bit timid even wandering around the house. She is now starting to show some Bullie traits which is nice to see.
My daughter Robi has decided that Molly is staying right here with us. To be honest I felt the same. It’s hard to look at her and not fall hopelessly in love with her. She is such a great dog. Good with kids, good with other dogs and house trained.
I keep asking myself “how could such a wonderful lady end up on death row?” and then thanking my lucky stars that BIN stepped in and saved MY MOLLY.
BIN then started a thread for transport for this girl to get her from Doncaster to my home in Fife. This went very slowly so to speed things up I offered to go down to collect her. Bullystu decided he would come with me to keep me company. This would be the journey from hell but not due to Molly. We managed to arrange another 2 dogs to be transported down to Doncaster to be collect by fellow volunteers and new owners and one of these dogs was a nightmare!!!
We arrived at the dog kennel and advised who we were and why we were there.
“Oh great you’re here for Molly” the lady who worked there said.
“Molly?” I asked “we didn’t realise she had a name”
“Oh yes” replied the lady “she is chipped so we scanned her when she came in. She was registered to a breeder so we contacted him but he didn’t want her. Said that he’d sold her a while a go.
When Molly was brought out I couldn’t believe what my eyes were seeing. I couldn’t get her out of there and in the car quickly enough. We drove off and straight away I phoned my vets to make an appointment for the next day. The stench was unbelievable. In fact I was almost sick when she first got in the car. I pulled the “magic tree” right out of it’s plastic cover to try and disguise the smell. Then we drove along to the nearest services and stopped there to have a good look at her.
This was a poor neglected lady. Her left eye was so filled with green gunk that you couldn’t see her eye at all and the right eye had traces of the gunk. Her coat was nicotine white. Her claws were so over grown that they were actually curled round in growing back into her pads. Her breathe about knocked Stu out when she kissed him and prompted us to venture a look in her mouth. There was a large infection site at the top front of her mouth and in general her teeth were covered in plaque. Her tummy was so baggy that it hung down like a cows udder and we could see that she had definitely been used for breeding and probable been over breed judging by how bad her tummy was.
I had to fight back the tears as we checked her over. I kept thinking that an old lady like this deserved a better life than she obviously had had up til now.
It was a long journey home but Molly sat in the boot of my car and not a sound came from her. You could sense the fear from her. We spoke calm and reassuringly to her all the way home.
Once home I brought the cage that I borrowed from Stu in and set it up. I hadn’t even managed to get the new big padded cushion in , that I’d bought for her, when she dived into the cage and lay down. She was definitely crate trained.
That night I let her settle in before I brought Lenny and Lucy in to see her. I wasn’t sure if she was friendly with other dogs or not. They all had a sniff in turns at each other through crates and tails wagged. We then put leads in and went for a wee walk in the garden. Molly wasn’t use to walking and the over grown claws made it very painful for her so the walk was short.
The first night went well and she had her dinner and went to bed with not a peep out of her. The next day I was suppose to be going to the Falkirk BIN walk but had the appointment at the vets so didn’t make it. I gave Molly a shower as the smell was really getting to be too much. I didn’t want to do it the night before with it being her first night and frightening enough. She stood well for the wash though and I was struggling to find any fault with this lady at all.
The trip to the vet was long and tiring. Molly was in a bad way. She had an ulcer on each eye but her left eye (the one with all the gunk) was badly inflamed and needed steroid treatment. Her claws had to be cut out of her paws and this was very painful and bloody although the relief seemed instantaneous to her. These paws needed bathed in salt water for 7 days to stop infection. She had started coughing that day and had kennel cough which required antibiotics. Her teeth would require to be removed but at a later date as there was just so many other things to fix first.
So began my nurse career. There was 2 types of eye drops – one for each eye. Antibiotics for the kennel cough. Salt water bathing for the paws. I felt it was never ending. She liked to bark at me after getting her eye drops though. I think it was her way of letting me know she didn’t like it.
The hardest part of all this treatment was getting Molly out of her crate. Molly hasn’t got much muscle in her wee body and we believe this is due to the fact that she has spent most of her life sitting in a crate. She is stiff to walk up even one step and struggles to actually stand up sometimes. This also resulted in psychological issues where she was frightened to come out of the crate and would spend all day in her crate coming out only for a walk.
We resorted to bribery with mini scotch eggs. Molly hadn’t had much human contact. She was shy and withdrawn but I did notice that she would come out the crate to spend time with my daughter Robi. Robi and I worked as a team, building Molly’s confidence up and spending time getting her out the crate. Soon we had her up on the couch for “Bullie Lovin” for short periods of time. It’s funny how kids and dogs have a way of bonding with each other. She loves going for a walk. Although only short walks to begin with due to her sore paws and kennel cough but these lengthened as she got better and have even developed into off the lead exercise. I have worked with her and trained her to walk to heel but have to admit she has typical Bullie recall – i.e. I will when I want to!!!
Molly has been with me for about 6 weeks now. She has been given a clean bill of health for her paws, kennel cough and eyes. This week she will get spayed and her 2 top front teeth removed and the infection clean out. She is now so confident that she never goes in her crate at all. She has claimed Lenny’s bed for her own. She still barks at me though and I think that is her way of saying “I’m here”.
She still has a lot of work to be done with her. She is still nervous of going anywhere new. Still a bit timid even wandering around the house. She is now starting to show some Bullie traits which is nice to see.
My daughter Robi has decided that Molly is staying right here with us. To be honest I felt the same. It’s hard to look at her and not fall hopelessly in love with her. She is such a great dog. Good with kids, good with other dogs and house trained.
I keep asking myself “how could such a wonderful lady end up on death row?” and then thanking my lucky stars that BIN stepped in and saved MY MOLLY.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
BIN Reorganisation
The way BIN works has now changed so I am going to try to explain to you what is now happening. Each area will have its own coordinator, this person will be responsible for everything that goes on in that area, homechecks, assessments, supporting fosterers, rehoming dogs etc. They will have their own team of volunteers who will help them with all of these tasks.
Eventually these team leaders will have their contact details on the web page so that you will be able to get in touch with them direct, but until then please use the present contacts and you will be put in touch with the correct person.
The way we are rehoming dogs is also changing, no more will the available dogs be presented on the web page, as they become available they will be matched up to people on the waiting list. So if you are wanting to adopt a dog you must fill in an application and get on the list, then when a dog becomes available that we feel would be suitable for you we will get in touch. This way we can make sure that dogs are placed with the most suitable families and less problems are likely to occur. There may be occasions when we are looking for special homes for special dogs and these dogs will go on the web page.
If you have filled in a questionairre in the past and haven't received a reply please do send in another one, all will be acknowledged within a few days.
We will be continuing to do what we have always done, rehome and rescue bull terriers, but we hope to be offering a better quality of service for the important part of rescue - the dogs.
Eventually these team leaders will have their contact details on the web page so that you will be able to get in touch with them direct, but until then please use the present contacts and you will be put in touch with the correct person.
The way we are rehoming dogs is also changing, no more will the available dogs be presented on the web page, as they become available they will be matched up to people on the waiting list. So if you are wanting to adopt a dog you must fill in an application and get on the list, then when a dog becomes available that we feel would be suitable for you we will get in touch. This way we can make sure that dogs are placed with the most suitable families and less problems are likely to occur. There may be occasions when we are looking for special homes for special dogs and these dogs will go on the web page.
If you have filled in a questionairre in the past and haven't received a reply please do send in another one, all will be acknowledged within a few days.
We will be continuing to do what we have always done, rehome and rescue bull terriers, but we hope to be offering a better quality of service for the important part of rescue - the dogs.
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