I did say I would do a monthly blog so here goes. I am going to start It of with my beautiful girl ruby’s story (well as much as I know of it) and see where it leads me.
Me and my mum had been following a facebook page called Cyprus Pride House for a few months. I remember one day when my mum shouted at me to come and look at these dogs. It was a picture of about 3 dogs in a death pound in cyprus and the rescue wanted to get them out as they only had 2 weeks to live. I don’t know what came over us but my mum said shall we rehome that one and pointed to ruby both our eyes were already on her, of course I said yes!
A few weeks later in March 2016 Ruby arrived at Manchester. I really didn’t know what to expect when I met her but it certainly wasn’t what I saw. A poor tormented soul, I looked at her eyes for the first time and saw just how frightened she was. They called us in as they coudn’t get her out the crate. Me, my mum and my boyfriend all went in. My boyfriend managed to pick her up and popped her in the back seat with me sat next to her. I don’t know if I was picking up on her fear or mine but just felt this overwhelming fear when she was in the car. Half way home I noticed her turn round and look at me and smile! I actually took a picture of it, I just loved it!
We arrived home and got her out the car and didn’t even realise she wasn’t used to a lead. I just thought all dogs know what a collar and lead is? Well I was wrong she sat curled up on the drive, so again we carried her in. She was kept in the dining room for that night with a comfy bed and a lot of toys but one particular one she would not stop carrying round with her and licking. I learnt that she had just given birth before ending up in the pound, ive no idea where her poor puppies ended up but she still had milk when she arrived with us! Everytime I saw her with this particular toy my heart broke she kept it for at least a month.
The first few days were the hardest she was a stone underweight and ate everything she could get her mouth on!
Many Months later and many hours spent gaining her trust me and my boyfriend were her best friends! I was starting to see the personality underneath all that had happened to her. We took her out every Sunday no matter where we went she came! We started socialisation training classes with her every Monday which really helped build her confidence. Learning about her and what she showed me was difficult, she reacted to men mostly and was terrified of them apart from the ones we got her used to My dad and my boyfriends dad. She lived with my dads dog and I think she learnt a lot from him, especially confidence wise as he is a very confident dog. She loves going on walks with her big bro now! We started taking her to dog shows to build up her rosette collection! She gained the pounds she was missing and started flowering, it was absolutely amazing to see and watch. Letting her grow in a space she felt safe is one of the most rewarding things I have ever done and one of the most difficult, but worth every second! Over the next few years we have had our bridges to cross but nothing stops her doing what she puts her mind to! I will be going into detail of the issues we got over and what helped her.
Sorry about this first blog being so depressing haha, I wanted to share the truth and Ruby’s background isn't the happiest but the future is!
For anyone with rescue dogs if you want to share your story or you want me to blog about anything in particular please let me know.
Coming up In the next blog, separation anxiety, fear of men, dog psychology, animal communication and many other tools that have helped me so much with Ruby.
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