Barking Blondes: Let’s celebrate all “brindle staffies”!
Interesting to see posters across London promoting the advantages of owning a staffordshire bull terrier. Images of gentle looking staffies adorn the walls of bus shelters with the words “They are softer than you think”
Battersea Cat and Dogs Home launched the campaign and maybe its due to the amount of staffies found in this country’s rescue centres.
Certain breeds or mixes are more prone to ‘kennel fever’ than others. Unfortunately, the Staffie is one of the breeds that finds a kennel environment extremely challenging.
Like most ‘terriers’, this breed can be highly-strung and sensitive. Being energetic dogs they are easily stifled, making them frustrated and stressed. All dogs love to hang out with their owners, even more so with this breed. They love human company and a lack of consistent socialization, in a strange isolated environment will only contribute to their depression.
This week, on our radio show, we chatted to top journalist Mark Jordan.
Despite a busy lifestyle, Mark volunteers to walk dogs for his local East London dog pound. In this borough dogs have seven days to be either be claimed by their owners or passed onto a rescue to be re-homed. The tragedy is that many dogs don’t get to live beyond the ‘seven-day’ window of opportunity. Literally hundreds of dogs don’t get a second chance and are put to sleep every year.
Mark met his dog, Mr B, at this pound and regularly walked him. The dog had been given respite for one more month, despite being a dark brindle male.
Apparently male, dark brindle, staffies are the bottom of the pile when it comes to rehoming.
As judgemental as this may seem, rescues must do all they can to ensure dogs find a home – and dark brindle males score low on the wish list.
Like many Staffies, Mr B didn’t settle into his kennel environment and was quite unruly. Somehow his charm had won the pound over and, eventually, gained him a great forever home to boot.
Not all Staffies are as fortunate as Mr B but for those that make it to the re-homing stage, a regular walk with a sympathetic volunteer can be make or break for a Staffie.
Volunteering in your local rescue centre is truly altruistic. Knowing that the dog will never be yours but appreciating the “grateful” licks and wagging tail, speaks volumes.
Applicants are ruthlessly scrutinized especially as each dog comes with its own set of issues.
Walking the orphaned dogs through public areas is a carefully monitored activity.
Some rescue centres use a colour coded collar, similar to the traffic light system, to indicate the personality of the dog being socialized by a volunteer. No dog is ever allowed off the lead.
It’s a huge responsibility for the volunteers, but helping a dog adjust through their ‘half-way’ house phase, brings its own rewards. Every dog is an individual so no two mutts will be the same. Just like with people, they’ll be some chemistry between some and not others.
So if circumstances dictate that you cannot house a dog of your own…..why not volunteer? And IF you are thinking of adopting a mutt……then the brindle staffie will be forever grateful!
Barking Blondes by Jo Good & Anna Webb, published by Hamlyn, £12.99www.octopusbooks.co.uk
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