One thing which is evident when you go to a wonderful dog re-homing centre like Dogs Trust, is that its always the dogs which readily come to the glass, all chirpy and happy, which are the first to be offered a home….but how about the other ones, the less photogenic ones, the ones who are a little scared to come forward, those who dislike shiny glass, so they bark at it, or those who have a few issues such as an injury or an appearance which suggests a dangerous dog?
I spent the day with three lovely dogs at The Basildon Essex branch of Dogs Trust in order to get up close with these special characters and really find out what makes them tick. Why these three you ask? Well because sadly they are long-stayers, they just don’t catch people’e eyes on the website or through the glass and so we felt that a personal film for each of these dogs would really help the adopters at home see what their real characters were when they interacted with me.
SAFFAKI
One beautiful bouncy American Bull cross called Safaki was a joy to behold, but on the website, her wide face might be suggesting a scary dog. I sat with her and was immediatelycovered in kisses and wiggles and love – she was a delight! She would make a wonderful companion for a lively owner who loves to run and play and get outside. She is strong so a home would be needed with older kids and a strong owner, but her positive attributes were in their thousands compared to the few requirements that would be needed to find her a suitable home.Here is her Dogs Trust online profile and her film at the bottom of the page: https://www.dogstrust.org.uk/rehoming/dogs/dog/1107571/saffaki
CHAMP
Another fellow I met was little Champ. A wriggly, wiggly little Jack Russell with spunk and fire and a desperate need to please. He cant find a home as he
barks at the glass all the time and this is putting off viewers. They see him bark and think that he must do this all the time, so he has sat in Dogs Trust for months and months now. I played with him and it is evident that his previous owner would feed him every-time he barked, so the key is training him with food when he is quiet and soon all these anxieties will disappear. He is so desperate to please that I can see agility being a big thing for him. He has energy and a devotion, as well as strength to jump which means he will fly through agility and be a superstar.
His profile is here: https://www.dogstrust.org.uk/rehoming/dogs/dog/1134382/champ
TEDDY
Finally there was the beautiful, slightly aloof Teddy. Huskies and malamutes are and always will be slightly aloof, as they are fixated a lot of the time on their surroundings, but I have both a husky mix and a malamute at home and they make wonderful companions once they 
are settled into the house. In their home environment they concentrate on you and don’t constantly seek out other distractions. Teddy has hip dysplasia and this may have contributed to him not finding a home, but Dogs Trust tell me that they will give him veterinary support for life free of charge, so whoever adopts Teddy WILL never have to pay out for the hip dysplasia condition.
Teddy has been reserved I’ve been told, but his home could fall through, so please contact them still if you are interested to go on a reserve list:
https://www.dogstrust.org.uk/rehoming/dogs/dog/1127770/teddy
Please enjoy the three dogs’ films and share, share, share far and wide so we can find them all homes!
Anneka x