Rescue stories
Susan Brown rescues, Chico, Connor and Angel
Susan Brown and her husband Kelvin, have been volunteering with the East Riding Retired Greyhound Trust for the last 5 years, and are also just recently involved in setting up the new 'sister' charity 'East Riding Greyhound Rescue'. The RGT only funds 6-8 dogs so they decided that they should set up this 'sister' charity solely to help raise funds for the remaining dogs in their care. It was whilst volunteering here that Susan decided she would like to try and take a rescue dog into her home. With asthma and allergies this proved quite difficult, but after a trial run, Chico, a beautiful white and brindle female greyhound, settled in well with Susan and Kelvin. Since adopting Chico they have gone on to adopt Connor and Angel. Lets introduce you to them and read their stories.
Chico – racing name Hagss Heroine – won 4 races - 8 years old
Chico, just 4, was picked up directly from her trainer in such a dreadful state. Parts of her body were hairless, covered in tics and smelly and dirty. She arrived at Susan's house and bombed around like a mad thing. Delving into any food that was on view – even sprouts and potatoes! Susan and her family loved her from the outset though and set about trying to help her, firstly by taking her to fun dog shows to help her socialise, which infact turned out better than they thought. Chico started to win prizes and lots of them! She has even earned the great accolade of being “Pets as Therapy Dog” and loves going to the local residential homes for cuddles and biscuits! She is also now a sponsor dog for the East Riding Greyhound rescue, to help fund the kennel dogs there. Her photo shows her winning the Retired Greyhound Trust's “Greyhound of the year 2010”!! Well done Chico.
Connor – racing name – Conkers – won 19 races – 6 years old
Connor was also 4 when he stopped racing. His original owner gave the trainer just a month to find a home for him. If a home couldn't be found he would be put down. Thankfully the trainer had a heart and found the rescue centre and took him there. Just at this time Susan had decided to take on another dog as a companion for Chico, after their beloved greyhound George had died of a fatal stroke. They never looked back and Connor became the most placid, laid back, mischievous, friendly dog they could ever have wished for. He visits the vets regularly, as he suffers from corns on his front feet – his racing days catching up with him. These corns don't however seem to stop him chasing the odd squirrel!
Angel – unknown age – Saluki/Lurcher cross
This fawn little lady was found wandering the local fields in the wintry month of November 2010 by some local villagers. It was one of the worst winters England had seen for a long time. Day temps were regularly -12 C and night temps were -17 C. Deep snow had blocked the village too. When word got around a few villagers made it their mission to find, catch and help this dog, as they feared she would not survive. After 3 very long weeks of searching they found out where she was sleeping. Rescue attempts failed endlessly as Angel scurried away from anyone who came near. To help they left her food and dry bedding, but as the weather worsened and she grew thinner and thinner they realised that they had to act fast. The locals contacted Dogslost, and they said they could help. In fact the couple came all the way from Barnsley in horrendous snow and ice with a special cage trap. Hours later they caught her and and the East Riding Rescue greyhounds Trust picked her up. She was scared, hungry, cold and exhausted, had a broken tail, tics and scars. No one believed she would survive the night, but she did. Susan did what she knew best and provided yet another loving stable home for Angel (as she is now known). Since being rescued Driffield Agricultural Show have presented her with the prestigious award for bravery. She really is a remarkable dog who was rescued by such dedicated people and is now living a full and happy life. She even has her own facebook page Unbelievably she still likes the snow as you can see!!
Julia Sergeant with Sir Bruce, Bella and Tiger
This week Julia Sergeant contacted us about her rescue story involving her rescue Lurcher Sir Bruce Hayes, her rescue Saluki Greyhound Bella and Tiger her glorious rescue Deer hound Lurcher. Julia obviously has a huge amount of care and compassion for rescue dogs and her unique story tells us how people can be brought together through difficult and upsetting times.
Sir Bruce was rescued by Julia after he was found wandering the Yorkshire moors alone. He had huge scars on his throat, a sign that he had been used as a bait dog. Since finding his “forever home” he has blossomed into a large lumbering loving dog, who in his own words (!) is a “bear with little brain”. How can a dog write I can hear you ask yourself. Well, it's technology!! Sir Bruce can now be found on Facebook where a huge community of 543 friends (to date) are following his every wag of the tail. This community share experiences, photos, fun, advice and rescue support, and also get together for walks. It is here that they share information about fund raising for rescue appeals. If you would like to be Sir Bruce's friend then please search for SirBruce Hayes on Facebook.
Bella and Tiger came into Julia's life from Evesham Lurcher Greyhound Rescue. They had both been found together and in a dreadful state, showing signs of been beaten and burnt with cigarettes. Julia initially took Bella home to start her new life, and then she realised that Tiger should not be separated from her. When they were reunited, Tiger was so shocked that all he could do was wee on the floor. Julia and her family lavished love and attention on the dogs and they developed into beautiful healthy dogs. Bella never lost her fear though and still today cries at the slightest thing. Tiger passed away 2 years ago at the ripe old age of 16 and Bella still misses him terribly. Just before Christmas Bella was extremely poorly and needed an operation. Sir Bruce and seven of his Facebook friends were on standby to give Bella blood during her surgery. Other Facebook friends, from all over the world sent Bella good wishes and support for Julia. Some gave homemade Liver cake, homemade biscuits and other food suggestions, just to see if she might be tempted. Bella or "princess" as she is fondly known by her fiancee Jack Alford, also received flowers from the man himself! You can also search for Jack Alford on Facebook, he too has a huge following!! Anyway nothing seemed to work, until Julia remembered that Bella has liked Cobbydog Supreme before she was so sick, so they tried her with some. Miraculously she started eating, (not a huge amount at first) , just enough to give her energy and vitality and she slowly started getting better. The relief of seeing her eat again must have been overwhelming, and the team here at Cobbydog were delighted to hear that we could have made a difference.
Friday 27th January 2012
Today we received such an incredible story from a lady called Julia Hope. She lives in East Sussex and follows East Sussex Dog Rescue on Facebook. East Sussex Dog rescue is a wonderful place, where a Dog Warden local to the area, advertises unclaimed dogs who have been handed in to the local police station.
Lou Lou was handed in to Hastings police station just before Christmas and was unclaimed. Probably about 3 – 4 years old, Lou lou had been neglected and had been used as a breeding dog, and when Julia saw her on the the dog rescue facebook page looking for someone to adopt/foster her, she knew she had to help. 
Since the New Year Lou Lou has spent many happy weeks with her new family that includes Julia's family, Eva the Rotti and 5 cats!!
Eva had already been fed for about 6 months on Cobbydog Supreme Chunks, and when Lou Lou arrived Julia fed her the same. She has done so well in just three weeks. Wow!
As you can see she has thrived and in Julia's words “Cobbydog Supreme Chunks is a really good quality dog food, rich in all the essential nutrients.”
We would really like to keep a track on Lou lou and follow her story. How about we do an update on Lou Lou in Spring? Yes!!!