Feel like crying :(

EmptyPockets

Sorry guys, I know this is nothing to do with 'moneysaving', but I just wanted to post because I am so upset right now.

As some of you may know, DH and I are looking to rehome a second rescue dog. We have been visiting local rescue centres and keeping up-to-date with further afield ones via their websites. This morning I came across one I hadn't seen before and sat trawling through the pages of dogs needing homes - I just couldn't believe my eyes. It was literally page after page after page of staffies

It is so sad looking into the eyes of all these dogs: face after face, beautiful, loveable dogs, all crammed into cages and kennells because the world is full of heartless B******S who are just out to make a few quid and to hell with the dogs and what happens to them.

Now, while looking for a second dog, we are being realistic and we know what we can offer a dog. I'm sorry to say, we are not the right people to rehome a staffy. After two personal experiences I am really nervous of the breed. I have tried and tried to overcome this as I KNOW every dog is different, but staffies need strong owners who are experienced and confident with the breed: I am neither, and it would not be good for us or the dog if we were to take one on and 'hope it goes ok'...

I'm just so sad and wish something could be done for these poor dogs. You read any of the newspapers, search sites like Gumtree and Preloved, and it's just a sea of identical little faces

Froglet

i totally agree with you,is is shameful the way society treats it's animals.Though there are many dog lovers,staffies are sadly getting a bad name.My cousin,and her parents would only ever have a staffie,i think in their lifetimes they must have had at least 6 and they were much loved dogs and well behaved .However they got them young enough.It does make you wonder what sort of damage has been done and will be done,in kennels for so long.

Where abouts are you in the country? have you seen these 2 centres?

http://www.threecountiesdogrescue.org/index.htm not many staffies there,and some of them are cross breed

and http://www.homes4dogs.co.uk/

sorry just seen you are in Derbyshire.probably too far to come,sadly.

hethmar

If you do decide to donate, please choose the small rescues. The big ones get millions of pounds, the small ones like that I help out with use the money out of their own pockets to keep the dogs alive.

EmptyPockets

hethmar wrote: »

If you do decide to donate, please choose the small rescues. The big ones get millions of pounds, the small ones like that I help out with use the money out of their own pockets to keep the dogs alive.

We always do what we can for the smaller, independantly run shelters around us - we only donate in material items, i.e food, treats, blankets, newspapers and toys. I agree, there are 'certain' ones who monopolise public donations just because of their name.

beks

I agree totally.
I often go through the dogs pages (I would love a dog but we are not really in a situation where we could have a dog right now) and I find it so sad to see staffie after staffie advertised.
Like you, I have preconceptions of the breed (I know they can be a lovely breed but I just cannot see past their image and similarly, have had a bad experience of seeing a staffie attack and kill a cat which has stayed with me).
It is totally heartbreaking that people cannot see past the 6 months and dont take the dog on for life.

foreign_correspondent

Doris Banham always have loads and loads of staffies - is it their page you saw? If its any consolation they are brill, very dedicated and never put a healthy dog down - even if it is a staffy.

The crux of the problem is that there are just too many staffies - more than here are homes for - and yet still the papers are full of ads selling staffy pups.

I don't know if you would be interested in this new leaflet emptypockets - its aimed at making people think twice about breeding their staffy... of course, plenty of people will ignore it, but it may help change the minds of a few. You can download it from www.sbtinfo.weebly.com

minnie123

There are too many people breeding these dogs at home with no experience. Something needs to be done and a breeding law needs to be brought in.

EmptyPockets

Froglet wrote: »

i totally agree with you,is is shameful the way society treats it's animals.Though there are many dog lovers,staffies are sadly getting a bad name.My cousin,and her parents would only ever have a staffie,i think in their lifetimes they must have had at least 6 and they were much loved dogs and well behaved .However they got them young enough.It does make you wonder what sort of damage has been done and will be done,in kennels for so long.

Where abouts are you in the country? have you seen these 2 centres?

http://www.threecountiesdogrescue.org/index.htm not many staffies there,and some of them are cross breed

and http://www.homes4dogs.co.uk/

sorry just seen you are in Derbyshire.probably too far to come,sadly.

Thanks for the links. We don't mind travelling a fair few miles, if it means being able to help a dog, the right dog for our little family, but we're not looking too far afield because most of the rescues and shelters seem to state on their websites that they will only rehome in their particular city/county - because otherwise it is too far for them to travel when doing the homecheck. Fair enough I guess, it just limits us to which ones we keep checking back with.

Staffies do have a bad name, unfairly and unnecessarilly so. That is a topic which can be discussed until the cows come home, it won't change anything while ever society continues to churn them out like a production line and hand them over to any Tom, D!ck and Harry to do with as they please.

I just can't get all those sad little faces out of my head

EmptyPockets

foreign_correspondent wrote: »

Doris Banham always have loads and loads of staffies - is it their page you saw?

Yes! That is the page I was looking at, although it isn't much of a different story whichever rescue you visit...

foreign_correspondent

Doris Banham were on the Panorama last week - they were the only organisation they showed who were getting dogs off death row rather than sending them to it!

EmptyPockets

foreign_correspondent wrote: »

I don't know if you would be interested in this new leaflet emptypockets - its aimed at making people think twice about breeding their staffy... of course, plenty of people will ignore it, but it may help change the minds of a few. You can download it from www.sbtinfo.weebly.com

Thanks for that - I'm looking at it now. My mother-in-Law can get reams and reams of paper from work, plus printer ink, all for free and not by stealing I'm going to give her a ring and place an order :mad: