Losing a dog is one of the most distressing things an owner can go through.  We have seen lots of reports of lost and stolen dogs recently, which is devastating.  We have  been out helping a couple of our adopters find their missing dogs in the last month or so.  Most of the time we have a very happy ending but recently, one of our rescues was killed on a railway line.  We will never forget gorgeous Kyra and she has inspired us to put together this advice.

Some dogs are flighty, jumpy or nervous and can easily slip pout of a collar or harness if spooked.
We recommend;

• Buy a GPS Tracker.  We have a deal with Tractive where you can get a free tracker with a one or two year subscription.  Contacts us on dogswalkthiswayrescue@mail.com for more information
• Double lead your dog.  Using a harness and a slip lead is something we always advise our adopters to do for the first few weeks, or more, when they take their dog home.
• Always supervise your dog in the garden if the garden is not secure.  Please know that rommies can be very clever at escaping if they feel the need.
• Make sure your dog is microchipped (all of our dogs are chipped before they are rehomed) and also make sure the dog has a collar and name tag
  
  

Many dogs will be spooked by lots of people out calling their name so searches need to be handled very carefully and sensitively.  However, having lots of people on the look-out can be good.  We always advise anyone searching for a dog to avoid calling the dogs name and just to wander around the local area on the look-out, whilst putting up posters.  If they spot your dog and it doesn’t come to them, they should call the owner and report the sighting.  Being very careful not to frighten the dog is key here – dogs can travel a long distance in a short time so the main aim is to get the owner on site at that specific location asap.

All dogs are different and some will come to a stranger for a treat or food so you will need to make a judgement on how active you want the search volunteers to be.

Here at Dogs Walk this Way Rescue, we love to hear how our rescue dogs are settling into their new homes.

We recently had an update from Jerry who arrived with us from Romania in March 2019 and was very lucky to be adopted by a super family.

Jerry has kept us updated with many of his adventures; holidays, days to the beach, enjoying ice cream and befriending his cat siblings.

In November last year his lovely Mummy, Ann, noticed he was limping. A trip to the vets later and he was diagnosed as having a luxating patella which in human terms is a dislocated kneecap. He was given a course of anti-inflammatory medication which helped for a few months but it was evident in January this year this was causing Jerry significant pain. After much deliberation by his family, Jerry went in for his 1st operation in February.

Unfortunately, after follow up visits to the vets his patella was not where it was supposed to be so back into surgery for a 2nd operation.

More vets visits only confirmed this operation had failed too. Surely 3rd time lucky? Jerry had his knee pinned into place and all was looking good until he managed to remove a pin from his knee!
The vet did have good news though, despite Jerrys best efforts, his patella was still in place. He was still limping, but it was hopeful after a 4 week course of physiotherapy this would improve.
At the end of the 4 weeks the physio broke the news that Jerry was still in lots of pain and that amputation was the best course of action. Ann and her family were devasted by this news and felt they had failed Jerry, which they really had not.

After much deliberation, tears and sleepless nights the family agreed the only way Jerry would ever be pain free was to go ahead with the amputation. Poor Jerry had endured so much already, operations, medication and follow up treatment but could he ever be happy and adapt to being a tripaw?.....

Well, what a difference!! Jerry literally came running out of the vets after his amputation and is back to his old ways already; chasing his cat siblings, going for lovely walks and enjoying summer holidays. He is a bit of a celebrity in his area now, people stopping to ask about his story which Jerry is more than happy to oblige. His family are over the moon to have a pain free pup which is what any dog owner asks for.

Dogs have 3 legs and a spare and at Dogs Walk this Way Rescue we couldn’t agree more.

Jerry is now part of the exclusive DWTWR ‘Tripaw’ squad, joining Elsa, our founder Rachaels’ dog, and Angelo.