Murray – 8 month old male Cross-Breed

Murray is a medium sized crossbreed aged around eight months old.

Murray is fostered in Wymondham Norfolk.

Murray has had the worst start in life possible. Abandoned at the Botosani public shelter as a tiny puppy by people who never cared for him in the first place. His early weeks spent as one of 150 puppies, none of them being handled, socialised or anything but the most basic of care.

When it came to the day that he was due to travel to us he had contracted a bad dose of kennel cough and he couldn’t travel, meaning more formative weeks spent in much the same way.

When he arrived in our care he was traumatised and shut down and had no positive expectations left in his body or soul.

A few weeks on and he is doing better. He walks on a lead now, as long as he can walk next to another dog. He can be picked up and cuddled without stiffening in fear, learning to actually enjoy it is the next step.

He wagged his tail for the first time last week at food time, and even surprised himself to discover he was excited to see me when I returned home. It is tragic to see, just a baby, that he actually has to learn to have fun and enjoy life.

This week he has picked up a toy for the first time, and joined in a game with his foster brothers. Every day there is improvement and he needs to find his forever home now where he can be shown more of the joys of domestic life.

Murray will need an experienced adopter and another dog in the home full time is essential. He could live with respectful children aged twelve plus. Adopters will need to expect for him to potentially hide up for the first few days as new situations are still scary. He has shown that he has the capacity to learn at a steady rate and he wants to be a part of a family and let the last of his walls fall down.

When you adopt a Safe Rescue dog, you MUST use a slip lead. This will keep your dog safe: your new dog will be nervous and will not trust you, and you will not know which situations might upset your dog. If your dog panics, then a slip lead is the only way to prevent your dog from escaping (many dogs can escape from a collar and/or harness).

It will take AT LEAST 3-6 months for your dog to settle-in and for you to know your dog fully (longer for nervous dogs). The slip lead must ALWAYS be used during this settling-in period.

Even after your dog is settled, it is safest to use the slip lead in situations where your dog may become scared (e.g. visiting new places, around unfamiliar people, at the vet), and it situations where unexpected triggers might happen (e.g. around bonfire night). Nervous dogs may always need to wear a slip-lead as a back-up safety measure.

The slip lead is a safety device and must NEVER be used as a training tool. Using the lead to apply pressure to the dog’s neck is damaging. If your dog pulls on the lead, then we can advise you on training methods that avoid harm.

Once your dog is settled, you may want to consider using a harness (together with the slip lead) if your dog is comfortable with being handled when it is fitted. Most harnesses are not escape-proof, but harnesses with a strap behind the ribcage (e.g. Ruffwear Webmaster or Perfect Fit Harnesses) are safer.

Retractable / extendable leads must never be used on our dogs.

Adopted dogs must be collected from the rescue and transported straight home in a crate.

Fences and gates must be 5foot minimum in height and secure.