Russel – 8-9 year old male Cross-Breed

Russel is a medium sized crossbreed aged around eight to nine years old.

Russel is fostered in Norwich Norfolk.

This will be another brutally honest write up that will probably make you chuckle. Russel was in the Botosani public shelter up until around a year ago when he came to us in the UK.

Several months on and we can groom, stroke and do all the necessary things for his daily care but he doesn’t like any of it….. and we suspect he doesn’t like us much either…. but that might just be his face!

If you scroll through the photos in this album you will instantly see the disdain he holds for us, for walks, for everything that doesn’t allow Russell to do exactly what Russel wants to do!

We find him amusing but in the rehoming prospects….. well people aren’t going to be beating down our door now are they?

It is difficult to determine if he occasionally considers liking us because he does seem to care that we are here, but if he’s following us around and we notice and look at him he will get embarrassed, mutter something (probably unrepeatable) under his breath and turn round and stomp off.

Will he always be this much of a grumpy old goat? Your guess is as good as mine. We make him go for short walks because they are good for him, but we get doggy evils all the way round. He likes his food, he likes steady, well behaved, other dogs and being left to his own devices. So….. form an orderly queue.

Russel will need at least one other dog to pretend to ignore in his forever home.

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.