Why you should rescue a dog and not risk buying from a puppy farm. #AdoptNotShop

Last year my friend rescued a Staffie Husky cross called Teddy.  It was my friends first dog but being an animal lover she was all for rescuing rather than buying a puppy.  

Having been a dog owner my whole adult life and living with dogs most of my childhood I've had many dogs.  All but one were rescued I know what good it can do to rescue.  In fact the one dog I got as a puppy turned out to be a nightmare.  I knew about puppy farms and steered clear but I walked right into one not even knowing it!   I went to a house in the middle of a big town to see this puppy.  I was told it was a sad case, the mother had been run over when the pups were 4 weeks old so they'd raised them from there.  Everything was ok until 6 months.  The dog bit someone.  Having been bit myself I have a no tolerance rule so I took the dog to the vet.  The vet said that as he was young he might be trainable, she turned her back on him to get some leaflets and he bit her ankle.  That again would of been ok but he sat there wagging his tail showing no remorse whatsoever.  That sealed his fate.  The vet said he had clearly been taken away from mum well before the claimed 4 weeks and he hadn't learned how to behave.  Basically he had no remorse and was untrainable.  

I volunteer for a sanctuary as a home checker and for a group of 'Pound Saver' sanctuaries helping them to advertise dogs.  For those that don't know a 'Pound Saver' sanctuary is one that takes dogs from pounds because if a dog is in a pound for a certain length of time without being rehomed it's put down (different ones have different time limits). So I see so many sad stories every week but none are as sad as Teddy.

This picture was taken of Teddy in the kennels.  As you can see he's scared witless.  He's showing signs of aggression because he's so scared.  This sadly meant he was overlooked by every one.  Why go for the adult, scared, aggressive dog when there's cute puppies to love?

Luckily for Teddy Mandy and Hywell saw the dog behind the growls and were prepared to give him the chance many other people wouldn't. 

As you can see from this picture taken hours after he was taken home Teddy was so so grateful to be out of the kennel!  The second he was out of there all the fear and aggression went and the kind, gentle, daft dog came out (Sorry Ted but you are just a bit daft!!)

Ted has now been with them of over a year and every picture I see of him he's got a big grin on his face!  He loves being with his new family and hasn't shown any aggression at all.  Not even when they had electricians in the house and he was scared of them.  He just stayed with his mum.  So all those that walked past him thinking he wasn't for them.  You've missed out on an amazingly loyal dog.

Below is a video of photos of Ted taken over the year.  Mandy is hoping to share this to promote animal adoption.  Not just for dogs but for all animals.  For example, did you know Pets At Home have an adoption centre as well as pets for sale?  Next time you're looking for a pet of any kind ask about.  You'd be surprised how many adoption places there are.

So please share this video.  For me it's the ultimate example of why you should #AdoptNotShop