Great face

Hasn't Cliff got a GREAT FACE? Check out the great 'eye-brows' and ears and patterns on this dog's face. Isn't that just a GREAT FACE? A rags to riches story of little Cliff being dumped in a ditch as a puppy to grow up to be prince of the Dog Rescue, Cliff is simply GREAT.

Bye Squirrel-Dog!

Squirrel-Dog is going to be fostered so I had to feature him before he goes. Here he is multi-tasking getting a tummy rub while posing for fans!

Siblings

These two dogs are siblings and they have lots of fun confusing the volunteers at the Rescue about who is who. 'I'm Samba!' 'No, I am Samba. That's Burma.' etc. Dogs are so cool that they can mess with your head and you STILL love them.

Teriffic Terrier

Batty craves affection like chocoholics crave Cadburys. But he also needs lots of walks. He was abandoned on the streets by some heartless moron who probably thought little dogs don't need much exercise. Terriers need loads! One part of energetic terrier-cross Batty's exercise routine is to see how high he can jump to lick you!

Food wars

These dogs take a Time-Out from their food war.

Arfur the min-pin. vs Squirrel-Dog

Arfur's tactic is to bark consistently in Squirrel-Dog's face whilst hogging the food bowl.
vs
Squirrel-Dog's tactic is to completely ignore him and end up being hand-fed by the photographer in an 'IN YOUR FACE ROOMIE!' kind of a way.
Casualties: Me! It's very hard being neutral. I love them both! The anguish!

Dogs need exercise!

Cockers are my ultimate fave dogs. An interview with Derek the cocker here would probably go along these lines...

Me: So, Derek, what is your favourite hobby?
Derek: Running. Chasing things. Running some more.
Me: How do you feel about public transport?
Derek: I love watching buses. I think bus-spotting is cool, I don't care what the other dogs say.Me: Who are your friends at the Rescue?
Derek: I really need my own dog space, but Fergus the schnauser comes up to my kennel for a chat. He's O.K.
Me: Why are you at the Rescue?
Derek: My owners didn't understand my needs. Lady, I NEED to run! They don't understand that dogs are great for getting owners in shape.
Me: Thanks Derek!
Derek: No probs. And hey! I saw you scoffing those instant noodles earlier; let me help you burn them off!

whiskers look good on a dog

Can you see Fleur's wonderful whiskers? These awesome hunting and orienteering aids are yet another cool feature of dogs. Whiskers look great on female dogs, even though they don't look so hot on female humans.

Animal, vegetable or mineral?

A sultana can be a small shrivelled grape (personally what I consider a shameful waste of a good white wine ingredient) or the wife of a sultan. It is also the name of this appealing Rescue dog. I think the people who abandoned him are more like shrivelled grapes.

Roaming Rescued Roma

Roma is catwalk model puppeh but has the most undemanding of natures. She doesn't need Evian bottled water to get her fur looking glossy. She bravely ventured out for a walk today. Meanwhile, one of the schnausers got accidently locked in the food room. I guess there are worse places to be holed up in!

Clicker speaks out

'Well, I think the schnausers are a cool bunch but mongrels are rather splendid dogs too. Particularly ME. No, wait ESPECIALLY ME.'

Schnauser power

'WE ARE TAKING OVER THE KENNELS! SCHNAUSERS RULE! WE DEMAND GOLDEN FOOD BOWLS AND FIRST DIBBS ON VOLUNTEERS LAPS!
But first can I have a walk please?

A million schnausers

It feels like there are a million schnausers at the Dog Rescue (well, 5) and I think they are planning a takeover. See them plotting in a huddle while making it look like they are just doing normal doggy activities? The cheeky white one might well be the ring leader. He looks shifty...

Pretty pups

Two little mongrel boys take a rest out of the sun while 'angel' puppeh on the left watches over them. Aaaaahhhh!

Squirrel dog befriends rice cooker!

Here's the squirrel/dog again, sitting beside his new friend, the rice cooker. Why do dogs love this cooker? It may just have something to do with the fact we boil chicken fillets in it. Chicken that when cool enough, will find its way into their tummies! The people who abandoned this little chap don't deserve chicken. They deserve to eat passed-its-sell-by-date SPAM for the rest of their lives!

Food table dog

This cocker likes to lie on the table at the Rescue entrance, which, by an extraordinary coincidence, is also the table where food is dished out. This gourmet kindly samples all the other dog's food to 'check' it is up to standard. We have tried to explain to him that this is unnecessary. However, he sticks to the table and we stick to sighing and trying to lure him off with offers of walkies!

smug soon to be adopted doggeh

This black smug-looking dog is getting adopted this week. See how she sits apart from the 'rabble' to pose for a few last kennel pics before heading off to be with a cool family who see how fabulous she is. A thousand blessings on that family and may they own many camels*.

*When I was 14 some bloke offered my dad 10 camels for my sister but only 1 for me. But as you can see, I can write about camels without any bitterness at all (*sob*).

DREADLOCK DOGGEH

This dog has dreadlocks. Is he a Bob Marley fan? Not that I know of. What I do know is that he is too scared of humans to let us near him to cut those wild locks. For shame on the people who traumatised him to be like that. I bet they have really bad high school-yearbook-worthy-cringiness hair to match their scug characters. At least grosvenor can pull off dreadlocks.

Dogs remind us all of the importance of a good stretch

Brave Bonzo and Equitable Eccles have a lot in common.
1. They are about the same size.
2. They both have big floppy ears.
3. They were both abandoned :(
4. They both remind us of the importance of a good stretch! They do this so they are then completely ready to use their legs to patter over to Rescue volunteers and get walkies / cuddles / treats / adoration :)

Dogs are INVENTIVE!

Here's Kira proving how INVENTIVE dogs can be.
Here she demonstrates an alternative way to utilise a plastic chair.
Why sit ON it when you can LIE UNDER it and pretend to have your own CAMPING DEN? All Kira needs now is some blankets, a saucepan and some matches and she is ready for a camping adventure.*

*She will probably need an adult to help with lighting the camp fire though, as neither dogs nor children should play with matches. (Or people who have had more than four pints of beer.)

RANT over 'Squirrel dog'

Here's the squirrel/pom again - Pip. He went for what was probably only his second walk ever today. The poor little chap didn't even know if it was safe to walk on soil or not and kept twirling around, a characteristic move for dogs who have spent their lives stuck in cages. Pip is now experiencing the joy of walkies, his tiny squirrely orange tail wagging happily as he explores the world his previous owners denied him. They should be incarcerated for years and see how they like it. I shake my fist at those people! Grrrrrrr!

Dogs make you LOOK CLEAN!

This dog helps me LOOK GOOD. Here he is inspecting my leg, which, incidently, is smeared with cream cheese from dispensing meds. He looks, he inspects closer, then he carefully licks it all off, and voila! I LOOK CLEAN. The fact that I stink of dog is neither here nor there. His job is done.

Many dogs come to the Rescue badly neglected but here is a shining example of dogs not holding grudges. I hope the laundry bills of this dog's ex-owners are extortionate and their washing comes back two sizes too small and myseriously covered in indelible blue ink.

Bienvenue! Willkommen! WELCOME!

Eccles can greet Dog Rescue volunteers in over 325 languages!!!
http://www.elite.net/~runner/jennifers/welcome.htm

O.K., he can't really speak 325 languages, but he can welcome volunteer speakers of all languages with his expectant doggy stance, bright eyes and open, relaxed mouth. Unless of course you are carrying an eye drop bottle or an ear drop bottle. In which case he will play a game called 'I can't see you and I definitely can't hear you' and put his agile paws over his eyes / ears (whichever one you are reaching for).

Nap time

It's nap time at the kennels; either that or Tulip has passed out from sniffing another dog's feet. Meanwhile, two siblings dream of a hot tub full of treats rather than water...

Ugly Schmuggly!

This cocker is incredibly ugly like some sort of failed experiment of Dr Frankenstein, and yet he is UTTERLY CUTE! He only has two little upturned fangs and a nose that is just, well, WRONG, and yet when his ADORABLE black fluffy paw pats my leg for a cuddle I can't imagine why anyone would have a) neglected and b) abandoned this delightful personality. I can't decide whether the people who abandoned him were mad scientists without consciences or just joyless jerks. It's 50/50.

Stand and deliver!

Coral takes up the whole walkway.
'Stand and deliver the obligatory cheese/liver/chicken treat!'

Hard to believe anyone could have dumped her and her siblings when they were just tiny little puppies. The dumpee must have had a tiny little brain.

IN YOUR FACE DOGGEH!

'In-your-face-Doggeh' tries to lick both me and the camera at the same time. It is confident and fearless and apparently likes the taste of metal so would make a great pet for a MEDIEVAL KNIGHT or an IRONMONGER or THE TERMINATOR. Oh no, wait, only the ones in Terminator 2 and 3. Terminator was EVIL in the first film and this dog deserves someone GOOD.
It is also good at getting lifts from obliging humans :)

RANT

We've had quite a lot of dumped little dogs recently. Here's one scared terrier that we spent ages trying to coax out from his hideyhole on Sunday. He is called Mo Mo. His previous owners should be called 'LOATHSOME LOWLIFES'.

Hound of the Baskervilles Puppeh

It is dusk at the kennels...the dogs are settling down for the night... when suddenly, sharpei youngster Jasper's green eyes start glowing and the volunteers realise they are dealing with no ordinary puppy! He is The Hound of the DogRescuvilles!*

*Only he is more interested in LICKING HUMANS TO DEATH than frightening them to death.

Another animal?

This dog is looking a bit nude from the front. From the back though its very short coat but fluffy mane-like head and long tail make it look like a LION! Raar!
It hasn't learnt how to actually roar yet, but male lions generally relax in the sun while their females do all the running about in the hot sun so it's got the stance right.*

It's previous owners deserve to get bad hair cuts too. Preferably mullets.

* The dog is female, so I am using artistic blog license here.

Dogs can disguise themelves!

Dogs can be CUNNING. This 14 year old plucky pomeranian pooch disguises itself as a SQUIRREL! Orange - check; small - check; fluffy tail- check; tiny squirrely features - check!
How better to get the attention of Dog Rescue volunteers that to make yourself look like an entirely different mammal so they think 'Hey! What's that squirrel doing in here? Better pick it up and move it...Oh wait! It's a cute little pom. Ha ha! Well, now it is in my arms I might as well give it a cuddle...'