Douglas and Winston are Dreaming of Loving Homes

Our forgotten boys are longing for a home of their own. These brothers were living rough on the streets of Tunisia dodging the police who were out daily attempting to shoot them and any other strays that they encountered. Sadly, this is commonly done in Tunisia as strays are considered to be impure. Luckily for our lovely Winston and Douglas one kind policeman decided to rescue them. They were brought to a shelter where they have since remained. Here they are safe and fed, but they live their years out in a small, dusty patch of field. There are no walks for these guys and visitors are few and far between.

For anyone who may have been reading about Zac's story on our blog you may notice how similar some of these dogs appear. Maybe someone out there is feeling tempted to adopt a similar dog, if so, I'd love to introduce Douglas:

He’s a gorgeous dog, of medium to large size, being approximately 25kg.

He has an array of characterful war wounds to his face and he has sadly started to resign himself to the fact that this little piece of land is the best he can hope for in which to live out the rest of his days.

This handsome dog below is his brother, Winston:

They are both laid back, placid dogs that get on well with the other dogs and love to soak up the attention from any and every visitor they are lucky enough to receive.

This is their little sandy world, they just deserve so much more! Can you take a chance on one of our boys and give them their hearts’ desires? Please get in touch here if you can adopt or please click donate to make a contribution towards their care.

Please, please share this post for our lovely lads, let’s get them some cosy homes ASAP, they have been waiting for too many years.

Photography courtesy of Ari’s Thread

Zac the (wannabe) Adventurer!

Our walking curfew was finally over!! I was keen to try hard to get him a bit further now. Day 1 of really trying; we made it about two houses along the cul de sac, but anything past the edge of our own house felt like huge progress at that time! The next day we got to next door and, uh oh, a car pulled into the cul de sac and into the drive opposite! Panic coursed through my veins, a friendly neighbour got out of the car and cheerfully bid me good evening...at my feet Zac began to twist and jump and tried to bolt for the still open door! “Oh gosh, it’s ok, I’m going” he said, realising the problem immediately! Every word instilled further panic stricken responses from Zac. I knew that was it for the day, I had to let him go back, I needed him to know I would remove him from ‘danger’ whenever he wished to escape. I was cross with myself for allowing more words to pass between the neighbour and I! I really had to be assertive enough to make what Zac needed clear. We were inside in moments but it felt like an age.....and Zac went straight to his bed, and by ‘his’ I mean mine!

He refused to leave the house for the next 2 days, I was not surprised and felt I had let him down. I had also allowed myself to panic and I knew I had to ooze calm, soothing vibes from every inch of my body! I’m a stress head, I do NOT ooze these things! I thought a new plan was needed and that plan became 5.30am walking.....most of the world was asleep...nothing should stress us! I resolved to give off no emotional responses, zombie mode would be activated for Zac walking!

Gradually we progressed along the cul de sac, it took a couple of weeks due to the missed days when he didn’t want to come out. The day we made it out of the cul de sac was a breakthrough moment, we were both elated and now that Zac could see there was more to explore, he wanted to go....we rounded the corner and walked, I really wished I’d shut the front door.....anyway, I suspected we wouldn’t get too far....a porch light flicked on as we passed, Zac flinched, I didn’t let myself react at all. I tried to stay in zombie mode, I didn’t want to let him know the million things going through my head. We made it to the next corner at which point, we turned back, stopping on a positive must be good. I was so proud of him, he had gone with me and trusted me to keep him safe!

The next morning, I closed the door behind us, I watched him, there was no panic there, so, off we went, we rounded three whole corners and made it to a little green! Hallelujah! We had made it to communal grass! Now, I needed him to sniff, proper head down sniff, “let’s have a sniffy Zac” and by some miracle he did! 

This is so good for a dog’s mental state, it realeases endorphins and makes them feel good about life! I was so pleased he felt comfortable enough to lower his head and do this! There was movement in the distance, a man was leaving his house. Zac’s head whipped up and he stared intently, he watched every movement that man made.....staring so hard that I felt a little embarrassed! The man drove off in a large noisy van and that really didn’t please my Tunisian boy. I felt we should quit at this point. We got home without any further excitement and Zac spent his standard two days processing everything he had seen, heard and sniffed.

Gradually we made progress, getting further from the house each day but there was much flinching....at every light that flicked on, every shadow that moved and every car that dared to pass us. Zombie mode was not really working, it seemed to be passing a sombre mood across instead so once I realised this I began to treat each walk like it was the best thing EVER, and singing, 'a whole new world.....' madly in my head! As for the flinching, I stole a technique I had read about for a dog that was scared of people, the owner had started to excitedly announce the approach of each person with an elated, "Look, a friend!"........so every car was greated with, "oooh look a brrmm brrmm Zacky" and every shadow with, "wow, look it's our shadows" and it did actually seem to work, slowly but surely. He no longer worries about shadows and only flinches if a particularly large or noisy vehicle passes by too close for comfort, but I still use the, "oooh a big, noisy brrmm brrmm....." technique.

Having made so much progress, I wanted to get him to better places and that meant a new hurdle; the car.....! The last experience he’d had, and probably the only ones, were being taken to an airport and from an airport in a transport cage for many hours, away from everything he’d ever known. I wasn’t sure the idea would be met with enthusiasm but I knew it would be worth it in the end. I took Zac out and walked him round the car, he seemed fairly relaxed so I opened the door for him. He peered in and then looked at me not understanding what it was I expected of him....oh, demo mode again, I climbed into the passenger seat and hauled myself across the handbrake to the other side! He followed me in. I hooked his harness securely into the dog seatbelt. 

We sat, he processed, I started the engine once I felt he was comfortable and I watched him process that too! Slowly we pulled out of the drive , he began to shake but he was curious and looking out of the windows with great interest. His nerves got worse the further we went but now that I’d taken the plunge I had to make it worth his effort and trust. We parked at the football field 5 minutes drive away and Zac was mesmerised by all the comings and goings of the many other dogs. He sat in his safe windowed bubble taking it all in, nosey monster was in full swing. 

After a while I opened the door to see if he wanted to brave a look from the outside but he stayed firmly in his seat. We watched a spaniel chasing a ball, a pair of terriers slaughtering a football, and a labradoodle jogging with his daddy. Zac’s face began to relax, these dogs were happy and having fun, and Zac knew it, I could see the realisation sinking in; life could actually be enjoyable! I opened the door again and invited him out. My Tunisian boy looked right into my questioning eyes, something had shifted; I saw hope, I saw trust and I’m sure I saw determination behind his gaze ........bravely he jumped down beside me! Off we went together one slow, strong step at a time, knowing we had just crossed the threshold of unlimited adventures to come, a new world in which there may well be cold and rainy gloom but also in which we could discover the pleasures of woodland, beaches, meadows and snow....together, the two of us against the world! ❤️

Bladder Wars!

Whilst Zac was slowly familiarising himself with his new surroundings, I was impatiently waiting for our 2 week walk curfew to end so I could try to get him as far as an area that might actually resemble a true ‘dog walk.’ Meanwhile, Zac had discovered the pleasure of sleeping diagonally across a luxurious fleece covered bed! It was such a pleasure in fact, that he didn’t want to move.....at all, so, there he stayed! I had followed RANA’s advice and provided a make shift den, and a commercially produced one as soon as it arrived. He was supposed to feel safe in it and retreat there when scared. Zac was unimpressed!

He cast a passing gaze across both and turned away, as if to say, “really, that’s what you think I want to be in?!” We attempted to entice him with comfy blankets, dinner and even cheese but, no, he refused to ever set foot in either, much preferring to hide under his king sized bed if he felt afraid. Prince Zac has his standards we have to understand! He stayed on the bed 24/7 for the first few weeks which worried me greatly even though I was told this was to be expected. He needed to process all the changes. Everything he’d ever known was gone, and although he was far better off here, he had to be sure and to realise this was now ‘home’ and forever! The mantra from all articles and all advice echoed round my head daily, “leave him to come to you” But, he didn’t, he wouldn’t, he just lay there with eyes glazed over in....boredom?!?? It was hard to see him this way and I just wanted to make him feel better, but how??? Patience, was always the answer I got! Hmmph! I’m known for not having a lot of that....but I had to try! The next issue was.....bladder control!! Crazy bladder control! He had learnt very quickly what “wee wee” meant and he knew within a couple of days that the garden was the place to go, however, he didn’t WANT to go out there and would point blank refuse to go out in that fridge/freezer resembling mud pit that my husband and I prefer to call a garden. Zac would go for marathon bladder holding sessions if left to his own devices, so much so, on one occasion he held on for 18 hours. I broke at this point, I was terrified that he would damage his bladder or kidneys. He would not budge for love, money or cheese! I persuaded my ever patient husband that Zac’s health was at risk and persuaded him to carry our stubborn boy down the stairs and out into the garden. Suffice to say, we were NOT met with gratitude for our interference! Zac stood at the door demanding with his feet and claws to be let back in. I had to go out with him and remind him every time he was distracted by the tiniest movement or sound that it was wee wee time and eventually, he would go. This became a familiar process, Zac hated being carried as much as we hated having to carry him. He would go rigid and then make himself as wide as he could, splaying his legs as we attempted to manoeuvre him past the coat rack, brief elation flashing across the face of the victorious participant of the coat rack battle. Zac and I shared many trips together to the freezer garden in those first few weeks, often in the middle of an icy night, me in my dressing gown and Zac in his jumper, both wishing to be back in the warm.

Slowly, he seemed to realise we were doing this for his own good and eventually he began to respond when we called him down. He also got braver and would go out alone unless it was particularly windy.

I felt the time had come to try and encourage him to enjoy the freedom to make choices of his own. The dog flap was the next hurdle....a big one as it happened. He refused to try it, cheese failed again. I even enlisted the help of Mitzy, a sprocker spaniel I walk on Sundays for the Cinnamon Trust, to demonstrate how simple the dog flap was to use. Zac took one look at Mitzy and took himself back up to bed, he didn’t entertain her long enough to get a dog flap demo! There was only one thing for it, I would have to go through it and demonstrate myself. I went into the garden with him and when he was ready to go back inside I took him to the flap, making sure the neighbours weren’t watching, I called him close and pushed the door, I crawled through, holding the the flap up with my foot as I scraped myself along the floor. I looked back, I’m sure I saw a softer look of disdain, I think I saw more of a , “well, she’s obviously a mentally challenged lunatic but she’s MY mentally challenged lunatic, what exactly is she trying to tell me!!???” look on that sweet, confused face BUT, he followed me through!!! Yayyyyy, I rewarded him with cheese that he wanted and a fuss..... that he may or may not have wanted. I had to do this a couple more times but fortunately for my bruised thighs, he was a fast learner and we had cracked it!! He uses his brain so impressively when he wants to! He STILL won’t use the flap to go out and has absolutely no reservations about waking me up at 3am with a poke in the face from a clawy paw when he feels it’s wee wee time! I do usually get a hug and kiss as a reward now though, the most rewarding hugs and kisses ever! And at least he chooses to do this instead of crossing his legs for 18 hours at a time , that’s a huge step........so, on we continue with our snail paced but rewarding progress together, me and MY boy! ❤️