Today was ‘Practical Day 2’ and unlike the last
fantastic day we shared with Casper and Dande, the sun decided not to join to
us. Instead of the beautiful blue skies and red hot sunshine, we were accompanied
by miserable grey skies and a drizzle that just showed no letting up. It didn’t
stop us having an equally amazing experience with two incredible boys.
When we eventually turned around to head back, another lady approached with two Retriever’s off lead. Cheech clearly saw them approaching so I deliberately stood behind him and followed his steps one by one. As the contour of the beach changed, he couldn’t see them because of a rise in the sand. I nudged Rachel to watch his movement, discreetly and so quietly that you wouldn’t have noticed, Cheech made his way to the other side of Rachel, again stretching the lead to the limit. Afterwards, I explained what I had done. The fact that I had deliberately marked out where his path was going and compared it to where he was now striding ahead. Even though he couldn’t see the woman or the dogs, he had made sure he was safe.
Both of the boys Rachel and I took out to assess today,
have been let down by people. They have been written off and whilst they aren’t
overlooked at the kennels, they get at least two walks like all the other dogs,
but their quaint little ways mean that not everyone can walk them. Cheech
especially lives in a very small world, that in turn made me determined to broaden
that horizon today.
Rocco’s bubble is bigger, but only because of the
training dummy he carries like Casper. He was booked into be destroyed at six
months old and has been in rescue ever since.
Today we started with Cheech. The plan was just to get
him to the beach and let him soak it all in, literally. My original plan (more
on that later) was to take some different dogs out, so in my van was Nima, Sky
and Sam. All really sociable and all great dogs to introduce others to company.
Putting Cheech in the crate in the van, Nima was immediately
across to see him. His reaction was perfect, a little kiss through the bars. He
travelled the whole fifteen minute journey in the crate with the other three
loose around him. Not once did he complain. It gave me confidence that he was
going to cope with the world he was about to discover.
On arriving at the beach, we decided that maybe
bringing another dog may just be a little too much for him as we wanted the
trip out to be completely about him. So, we set off and he pulled straight to
the sea. You can see the result right at the start of todays video. On the
beach less than a minute and the sea was over the top of our wellies, but we
couldn’t stop laughing.
Cheech was amazing after that, sniffing and exploring
everywhere. He was fascinated by the seaweed, I think he sniffed nearly every
piece on the beach, which we had pretty much to ourselves.
One lady approached us; this is the first big test I thought.
I shouldn’t have worried; he saw her and then quietly took himself off to as
far away from her as his lead would allow. No drama, no chaos, just adjusted
his course and carried on looking for things to explore.
At one point I got a call of our vet Emily and I had
to stay in an area where I got reception. Cheech ploughed on, digging around
the rock pools, he didn’t realise I wasn’t there. I set out to catch up, then
he noticed me approach. Well, see for yourself in the video.
When we eventually turned around to head back, another lady approached with two Retriever’s off lead. Cheech clearly saw them approaching so I deliberately stood behind him and followed his steps one by one. As the contour of the beach changed, he couldn’t see them because of a rise in the sand. I nudged Rachel to watch his movement, discreetly and so quietly that you wouldn’t have noticed, Cheech made his way to the other side of Rachel, again stretching the lead to the limit. Afterwards, I explained what I had done. The fact that I had deliberately marked out where his path was going and compared it to where he was now striding ahead. Even though he couldn’t see the woman or the dogs, he had made sure he was safe.
Just as we were about to turn off the beach and trek
through the sand dunes another lady appeared with a black Labrador that was off
lead and a little boisterous. He ran straight up to Cheech, stopping about five
feet away. I cringed thinking “here we go” but our little Staffy just froze before
taking sanctuary behind Rachel. Incredible to see and a really heart-warming
moment.
Back at the van the others were pleased to see him and
I think that he was pleased to see them too.
That’s when the day took a worrying turn. Whilst doing
a fifty three point turn to turn around down a narrow country road, it turns
out that the connection from the gearstick to the gearbox had broken. A trek
back up to a point where I was able to get signal to call the AA was well worth
it, as the yellow van was there within the hour and he was able to make a temporary fix which allowed me to complete
my intricate manoeuvre and then make the twenty one mile drive back to my local
garage.
Determined not to lose such valuable time or begrudge
a dog some valuable time at the kennels, we quickly went to my house first and
picked up the Defender. Dropping Sky and Sam, then the van off, we put Cheech
in the back, Nima in the front and headed back to the kennels, after a brief
but beautiful meeting after each other didn’t realise the other was so close.
The dogs I’d originally planned to take out would
maybe not take to being lifted into a higher vehicle too well, so instead I suggested
Rocco. I will take this opportunity to remind him how he was when I went to
collect him.
Rocco has always been great with other dogs, but he
instantly loved Nima. Getting them straight out together, it was reminiscent of
Dande last time out and beautiful to see.
For maybes the first twenty minutes of his walk, Rocco
checked she was ok, then Rachel, then me, at which point he would loop around
behind me before striding out ahead. The only breed of dog I have ever witnessed
‘count’ so well is a German Shepherd, but Rocco was amazing. He had a job to do
and great scenery to take in NOT ONCE did he look for or ask for his dummy
which was hidden in the safety of Rachel’s waterproof coat.
Anyone who has walked Rocco will tell you that if you
stand still for too long on a walk he will react. That usually means he will
drop his dummy and try and grab the lead. Such is his power and determination that
it then becomes very difficult to try and get him to let go. You can see me deliberately
standing still in the video, you can also see his reaction.
Throughout his walk Rocco was looking after us. I tried
walking him in several positions in our group. He always wanted to be on the
outside, whether it be on my left side or my right depending which direction we
were heading. He was such a different dog and so intelligent. I feel today that
I have seen a side of him that would make him an amazing companion for somebody.
See for yourself how amazing they both did.
These ‘Practical Days’ are a bold step but already I have
learnt so much with the help of Rachel and Nima. I am so proud of all four boys
that we had out, and of my two girls for assisting. It has made me think about
all four of them differently and I will do everything I can to try and help
them find happiness.
This is not a direct appeal for homes, the state the
country is in right now means that we wouldn’t move a dog on at the moment anyway
but thinking about these two very special, but amazing boys has opened my eyes.
If you have experience of Staffordshire Bull Terriers and are up for a
challenge, I’d be interested in hearing from you. These boys have suffered so
much, that maybe today was the best days of their lives. I will never know for
sure, but I’d like to think that they could have many more to come.
(If you do know the breed and would like to introduce
yourself then please email foreverfoster@shak.org.uk)