Maxi – 2 year old female Cross-Breed

Maxi is a small crossbreed aged around two years old.

Maxi is fostered in Norwich Norfolk.

Maxi’s story is a bit complex and mysterious. She was taken from the Botosani public shelter in Romania when she was a puppy (we think) by a rescue in Germany.

Nothing was heard from her until a few weeks ago the volunteers at the shelter had a message to say she was on a van on the way back to Romania because her family no longer wanted her and they needed to arrange meeting the transport.

Having never had contact with the adopters we have no idea what their excuse was. Returning her to Botosani would have been deeply cruel so she was kept in a private sanctuary until we could arrange for her to come to us.

Maxi was underweight, not spayed and hadn’t been taught how to walk on a lead so goodness knows where she had been or what had happened in the months that she was there.

We can only assess her from afresh now that she is in our care. She is shy and under socialised but is really trying hard to join in with the activities she sees her dog friends enjoying. She will essentially need another dog as permanent resident in her forever home.

She is learning to walk on a lead and lessons are going well but she will need continued practise and gradual exposure to new things in her forever home.

The German transporter who collected her said she was in a conservatory with a cat who she got on fine with and this is really the only piece of useful information we have from her past.

She will need an adult home environment with someone willing to teach her how to be a confident, care free dog. She has been badly let down by humans all through her life so far and that stops now!

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.