# Can you help Jacob?



## JoIAC (Jul 4, 2013)

Jacob is 10/11 year old, golden-haired cross breed (medium sized) Probably a labrador crossed with some form of wire-hair terrier. (I will try and get some pics asap)

He was owned from a puppy by a couple who are splitting up. He was originally bought with a litter-mate but his brother was rehomed fairly soon due to fighting between the two brothers which training and castration did not solve. When Jacobs owners relationship began failing, he was removed from the marital home by the wife to prevent the husband from sending him to a rescue centre. Jacob was sent to live with a friend-of-a-friend for six-eight weeks while the wife sorted out a new place to live.

This has not happened and Jacob is still living with this friend. This current carer cannot (and never could) keep Jacob long term and is now looking to rehome the dog before 15th August when she will be going travelling (planned many months ago) Jacob is already on some waiting lists but the carer has been advised that a place is unlikely to become available.

Since Jacob is an older dog with behavioural issues, he will probably need to be put to sleep unless an appropriate loving home can be found for him with owners who are experienced in managing behaviour. This home would need to have no other dogs or pets and no children.

Health:Jacobs owner did not leave the current carer with much information about Jacobs health except that he sustained an injury to one of his back legs at one time and hes now slightly arthritic in it. This is really only noticeable in cold weather or when he has had a particularly long walk. He has not been receiving any treatment. He has some sore patches on his ankles and on his tail which are the result of over-grooming those areas (probably as he is under-stimulated in the place where he is living now.) Otherwise he seems healthy.

Food and Feeding: Jacob eats canned dog food with mixer. He was normally fed twice a day but due to the unpredictable routine in his current carers house this varies. He has probably been over-fed in recent months to compensate for lack of stimulation in other areas. Jacob waits happily for food and doesnt maraud the person providing it. He sits and stares doe-eyed at people who are eating but doesnt cadge for tit-bits. He doesnt try to get food off kitchen sides or dining table.

Walking: Being an older gentleman, Jacob is happy with short walks. He wears a harness and a muzzle when on his walks. He has generally good lead skills and doesnt pull if his walks are quiet and uneventful. He appears not to like loud noises and appears jumpy when walked in busy areas. He jumps at car horns, sirens and people shouting and sometimes this causes him to bark. He does not like other dogs being anywhere near him and will bark very hard at any passing dogs. He will pull at his lead in this situation but his current carer has been able to control him so far (although she always crosses the road to avoid any further confrontation.) He will freeze and become very alert if he spots a cat at a distance, he will start barking and tugging at the lead if the cat comes any closer (which most dont!) He barks at and chases birds. With humans in the street he is fine unless they talk loudly or bump into him or run towards him  then he will start barking. Unfortunately, his current carer lives in a very busy urban area where it is difficult to avoid such distractions during the day and she does not have the skills to be a firm canine disciplinarian so Jacob only gets walked at night. He loves playing fetch and goes mad for his throwing toys but there is nowhere locally that he can be let off a lead and the carer doesnt drive. When over-stimulated or distracted, Jacob has poor recall but its good at other times.

Being left alone: Jacob is fine being left for 4 - 6 hours. He does not chew or destroy things. He will, however, lounge all over the sofa and over the beds if given the chance. If a dustbin is left uncovered, he will pull all the food wrappers out and lick them. However, excessive licking and grooming have caused him to develop sore patches indicating to his carer that he is actually quite unhappy being left for more than 5 hours. Unfortunately, he is having to be left alone for up to 8 hours presently as the carers circumstances have changed and she has had difficulty finding people who are willing to care for Jacob at the times its required.

Relationships with adults: Jacob is a lovely old faithful dog. He loves human company and loves his tickles and scratches and belly rubs. He has become highly attached to his current carer and follows her everywhere. He usually barks at visitors to the home but usually settles very quickly once he knows whos at the door and usually comes over for a quick sniff and a stroke within a few minutes of the visitor sitting down.

Relationships with dogs and other animals: As mentioned in the section about walking, Jacob really doesnt like other dogs (or any other animals) and would need to homed where he is the only pet.

Children  Jacob must not be housed anywhere where children live or visit regularly. If a home has occasional child visitors there would need to be room for Jacob to be safely and effectively excluded during these visits. He has demonstrated that in certain circumstances he can be proactive in his aggression towards children. Please contact me for further information regarding this.


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## sandralouise (Jul 29, 2013)

Hard to Rehome
Dogs Trust has a non-destruction policy, which means we never put down a healthy dog.

Although many of the dogs in our Centres find homes within a few weeks, some have more specific requirements which make it harder to find them a home. Our Special Dogs have been at a centre for six months or more, due to a number of reasons. Some do not like being in a kennel environment and so do not present themselves favourably but are fine outside. Others do have behavioural issues that can be successfully resolved away from the stressful environment of a rehoming centre, with effort and commitment on the part of the new owner. Sadly, some are simply regarded as just not pretty and are not chosen because of their looks.

For those with issues that need special attention, Dogs Trust runs two programmes to support the training and welfare of the dogs.



STAR Unit

The dogs that need a little extra learning go to our STAR unit.

Based at our Evesham Rehoming Centre, STAR offers dogs one to one training and teaches them how to cope with the stresses and strains of everyday life, teaching them to love people again.



The Sanctuary

Some of our dogs prefer not to live with people and these live in our sanctuary.

This large secure field with shelter, allows dogs to roam and form natural relationships within the group.

The dogs here are happy, content and living a life free of the stresses with which they have shown they cannot cope. They are fed regularly, health-checked and have human interaction with two dedicated carers.

kind regards and best of luck.


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## JoIAC (Jul 4, 2013)

Here are the pics of Jacob


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## Guest (Jul 31, 2013)

He is beautiful, I hope you can find a lovely deserving home for him.

Have you been in touch with Oldies Club?

Oldies Club


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## JoIAC (Jul 4, 2013)

Thanks for that! I have just emailed them


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## JoIAC (Jul 4, 2013)

Oldies club is unable to help


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## JoIAC (Jul 4, 2013)

Jacob has an assessment booked with the nearest Dog's Trust tomorrow but they did advise me that there wasn't currently a space. I'll just have to pray they have one by the 15th


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## JoIAC (Jul 4, 2013)

Jacob has just been turned down by the Dog's Trust due to his inability to live with other dogs


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## JoIAC (Jul 4, 2013)

Just had some messages from friends (one vet nurse and one dog groomer) who put Jacob's details up on their fb sites that a young childless couple are looking for an older dog. I'll call them tomorrow! Fingers crossed they're the right ones....


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## Lilylass (Sep 13, 2012)

Any news? 

I so hate to see older dogs looking for new homes 

Keeping everything crossed here


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## sandralouise (Jul 29, 2013)

Any luck rehoming jacob?

cant believe the dogs trust wont have him...


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## JoIAC (Jul 4, 2013)

Yayy!!! The couple that came to view Jacob loved him and he loved them! Now we just need to sort out transport as nobody seems to have a car available this week! But I will post a different thread to help with this.

Thanks to everybody who gave support (including moral support).You can all uncross your fingers/toes/legs etc now

I will say, that, though many people seem to object to "advertising" pets on sites like facebook, it can be a god-send if the "sellers" are prepared to vet the new owners properly. Jacob was certainly saved this way. (I still need to call the vet to cancel his "final appointment") It doesn't always mean we don't care about our pets - sometimes simply that all other options have failed us.


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## JoIAC (Jul 4, 2013)

Life is just ********. Scuse the language but I'm so pissed off.

The couple who agreed to take Jacob have just pulled out.

So I am left with 6 days to find a home for a special needs dog who's been turned down by all the local rescues.

I am fighting a losing battle here. I will make an appointment to have him PTS

I don't really see I have any other choice. Sorry folks


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## Nonnie (Apr 15, 2009)

I might have missed it, but what area are you in?

Maybe someone could suggest a smaller, more specialise, rescue that could help.


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## JoIAC (Jul 4, 2013)

Hampshire

Have tried:
Dog's Trust (Wiltshire)
Second Chance
All animal rescue
RSPCA
Blue Cross
Oldies club

His owner has tried some places further afield such as Battersea and a couple of other places in London.

He's of "no particular pedigree" so I don't think a breed based rescue would take him

Most of them have turned him down because of his inability to live with other dogs


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## Nonnie (Apr 15, 2009)

Dog Rescue Pages - South-east England centres

Dogs Rescue - Hampshire | Happy Dogs

Allsorts Dog Rescue Sussex

Just a few to try.


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## JoIAC (Jul 4, 2013)

Jacobs owner came to take him to Battersea a few minutes ago.

I shall really miss him and I hope that he's going to be okay in kennels and not go stir-crazy.

I wish I could have kept him but I couldn't and I wasn't the right owner for him anyway (and I knew that from the beginning but it was only supposed to be for 6 weeks)

Tonight will be the first night I've had my bed to myself in nearly 6 months.

Angry to sad in a few short hours:confused5:


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## Lilylass (Sep 13, 2012)

I'm glad that somewhere's been found for him - know how much you'll be missing him xx


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