Dog Rescue Carcassonne Dog Rescue Carcassonne

Today we had the first of two days at our local supermarket, Geant, who hosted a stand for the SPA, encouraging people to donate dog food to the SPA. People were so lovely! We were given 8 shopping carts full of dog and cat food, as well as anti flea and tick products and tins of food. Loads of people came to chat and tell us about their pets whom they adopted from us. We had a big board with a display of our dogs (thanks to my husband and his brother, who is staying with us and being put to work!). It was a lovely day and showed that for every person who mistreats or abandons an animal, there is another one who loves them as much as we do. 
We will be at Geant again tomorrow, and the refuge will be open on Sunday afternoon for the first Sunday of the month, so any late donations can be received there!

Well, a few days after the biggest snowfall of the year we had a lovely sunny day and the volunteers were out in force, walking dogs and generally raising morale at the refuge. One of our dog-walkers had taken Belle to make sure she got on with the other family dogs, and today she confirmed that all is well, so Belle is as good as adopted, which is great news. Thanks to Doglinks another of our puppies is reserved, and although this still leaves us with  lots of puppies, our philosophy is “one by one”. Every dog out makes more room at the refuge! Adopting a dog saves that dog and also the one who takes his place.
Here is lovely Gaspard, who is a recent arrival and who went for his first walk today. Dog walking can change lives! Why not come and join the team!

As I mentioned yesterday I was confident that we would have good news today, and we did. But let’s get the bad news over first; three puppies in this morning, one of whom is blind. If anyone knows of any specialist associations please get in touch. Oh, and two more ex- hunt dogs this afternoon.
But onto the good news:
Kiara, Baloo and Saphir all left today. Three puppies have new homes. (Well, Baloo, now Teddy, is 5 months old, but is a Newfoundland, so is going to be HUGE).But then came the surprise adoption. It was finally time for Atlas to find a home. I cried. This beautiful boy was found attached to a tree in the middle of a forest last summer. He was incredibly lucky to have been found, rather than dying of starvation, which was clearly his owner’s intention. Well, Yah Boo Sucks to you. Atlas has found someone who deserves him, which you clearly didn’t!

A lovely adoption took place today, one of our Planet puppies left, leaving just three, 2 boys and a girl. Lots of other puppies still available too, though, and I can’t understand why no one is interested in the Perfume puppies. Okay, they are a bit timid, but they are so sweet!
A beautiful Brittany spaniel arrived today. We have named her Charlotte. It is possible that she is lost, but also possible that she a hunt reject, it being that time of year. However Brittany spaniels make fabulous pets, and Charlotte is so pretty that it shouldn’t be long till she finds a new  home; all being well.
I may have some VERY good news tomorrow….very excited, but I don’t want to tempt fate by saying anything, so you will all just have to be patient. 
In the meantime, here is Charlotte!

Did I mention that two dogs came in yesterday? I showed you the beautiful briard, whose owner had “pre-booked” his abandonment (yes, we have a waiting list!). The second was a puppy who had supposedly been found in a garden and the man brought him into the refuge. This morning one of our eagle-eyed volunteers found this announcement on leboncoin, source of much grief to animal lovers everywhere. Clearly he couldn’t get 150 euros for his unwanted puppy, so brought it to the dustbin that is the refuge. Didn’t even have the decency to abandon it properly, by telling us about his history and character. Let’s hope Crunch has better luck with his next family.
Anyone else notice the resemblance? I foresee an angry phone call in the not too distant future. And no, the puppy is NOT micro-chipped, and the chip number on the advert is that of a completely different dog. Not that the people who run leboncoin will care.

Thanks to our wonderful friends at Doglinks, Yuka, our 5 month old Leonburg cross went to a fabulous home today. Daphne (“face like a shovel”) went from her foster family to her REAL family (where she will have to share with a ferret) and one of the Jewel puppies went to a new home too.
However, as ever, it was not all positive, with the arrival of two new dogs. One of them, Pasha, is a magnificent 1 year old briard. His only fault is that the family’s children are scared of him. Maybe that is because this big boy has not had much in the way of training; which is hardly his fault. Pasha has never bitten or shown any aggression, and he was put straight in to share a kennel with another dog. We politely suggested to his former owner that he should never ever adopt another dog, and he promised he wouldn’t. He left with a huge grin on his face, having been relieved of this canine burden.
Some people just don’t deserve dogs.

Dog number 113 of the year has just arrived. And guess what? It is yet another of the long-eared variety. Yes, another chasse dog has been thrown out now that the hunting season has finished. This beautiful Bleu de Gascogne has been named Gaspard. We are hoping he catches somebody’s eye and does not spend too long at the refuge. This breed, as well as being used for hunting, are famous for their gentleness and make wonderful family pets. Sadly many French people turn their noses up at any dog that may have hunted, so lovely Gaspard could be in for a long wait.

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We had a lovely sunny day at the refuge today, and loads of dogs were walked, which is always great. Walks are so important for dogs, as it helps them maintain any training they have had prior to their arrival at the refuge, as well as helping the volunteers assess a dog’s character and thus its suitability for adoption with a new family.
Several of our dog walkers have succumbed to the charms of a dog. And today Roady (now Brody) was adopted having spent several weeks in foster care (he arrived having been hit by a car and at one stage we thought we were losing him, so when he was ready to leave the infirmary he went home with a volunteer instead of going to a kennel.)
His new dad will continue to walk dogs, so we will have news of Brody’s progress. 

A few more dogs have arrived today, and none have left. Oh dear. The chasse season has ended, so lots of our new arrivals are inevitably of the long-eared variety, but not all. Take a look at Chispie here, a lovely young female shepherd cross who was found tied to the gates this morning. There will be more information on my site (www.dogrescuecarcassonne.co.uk) and on the SPA Facebook site too (www.facebook.com/SPA.CARCASSONNE), but here is a little taster. 

People often ask how they can help the refuge if they are too far away to walk dogs and not able to contribute financially. Well, here is an example of a poster, as done by one of our wonderful volunteers. 
Don’t worry if your French isn’t up to it, you can copy text from our Facebook pages (where you can also download the photos), and if you want a French person to check the text first, it is a matter of seconds. 
Go on, have a go. Is there a dog you would love to adopt but can’t, why not do a publicity campaign for him or her? It really does help!