Our very special cases

 Charity stole all our hearts and is under SDR care in her forever foster home in Scotland. Our fundraising helps towards Charity’s monthly medications which we always knew she would need. She is now approaching 16 years old, although you wouldn’t think it from the photo. Charity was rescued in 2021 from appalling conditions in Romania when she was 12 years old, and she couldn’t stand/walk/run. She squirmed about on the floor of her squalid enclosure. Jinni sent her to a specialist arthritis vet in Hungary. Fundraising began for her (before our fundraising Facebook group started) and funds were raised to help her come to UK which took a few months. The rest is history. 

Here is an update from Charity’s foster mummy:

Hello there!As requested, here is an update on our sweet Charity.She continues to do really well, bless her! She’s fully recovered from her last surgery and has had a much better quality of life since then.Her hips and back are still very poorly so she only has very short walks, but she still gets up and down the stairs okay, and thoroughly enjoys her trips in the car to see her friends at the vets for her monthly injection.It seems she has had enough distance from her life on the streets to become a bit of a fussy thing when it comes to her food, and she is quite particular when it comes to what she will deign to eat these days. Her favourite night is when we roast a chicken and she gets to partake, but she makes it known that she thinks every night should be roast chicken night and gets quite annoyed at the service at this shoddy hotel…She's still reactive towards other dogs but, after about two and a half years, her nervous system has finally started to recover and rebalance, and she now knows we are her soul family and mean her no harm, so she’s less prone to being defensive when she’s startled in the house, and we’re hoping that will start to translate on walks.It seems that age is catching up with her, so we are woken up most nights by her pacing and ‘woo wooing’, as is often the case with older dogs, but her pain is under control and she loves nothing more (apart from Chicken) than to snuggle into us at night, while she catches up on some essential viewing and plays at being a Croco-Chach. She snores, she’s grumpy, she won’t take her meds without a right merry dance, and sometimes she’ll growl at you if you look at her a bit funny, but it’s been an absolute honour to be part of her healing journey and watch this gorgeous girl unfurl as she has begun to really trust she can rely on us, receive unconditional love, and realise she is finally safe.So a huge thank you to everyone who believed in her, donated, and cheered her on when things were looking very bleak. She’s very grateful for all your help and support, as are we all. I think it would be fair to say that none of us thought she would be with us this long considering the state she was found in, but she is, and she’s thriving, and she’s a testament to what love and care can do.

Speaking of ‘woo wooing’ - Charity has it on good authority that she has celebrity fans! Author Susi Briggs wrote a beautiful children’s book called ‘Wheesht!’ and Charity was the inspiration for the gorgeous illustrations. Susi is now the Scots Scriever and met with Michael Portillo recently as part of his TV Show ‘Great British Railways'. She gifted him a copy, along with ‘Yum”, another of her books, and he read an extract out loud, doing a brilliant job of the ‘Aroooroooroooooo’s’. 

If you would like to help, please see our Fundraising tab to join Scruffy Dog Rescue Shropshire - Fundraising Facebook group.

 A young dog, Boomer was one of the last dogs to be rescued from the squalor of the public shelter in Tecuci, Romania before the authorities closed it down.

Boomer had all the necessary tests before travelling to the UK including Brucella Canis (negative) and he was neutered in Romania.

SDR rescued him with his mother, 2 brothers and a sister. His sister and mother have now been adopted in the UK and Boomer and the rest of this beautiful family are with SDR Shropshire enjoying their settling in periods.

Boomer, who is 13 months old, has what is commonly called “Queen Anne legs”. We had X-rays done to see what could be done to help him. He needed double complex surgery which will be carried out by a specialist orthopaedic team in Cheshire. The vet recommended the operations were carried out as soon as possible. The surgery estimate is £8,000.

If Boomer didn't have these procedures, the only other option is euthanasia, as without the surgery he would need high dose painkillers which will affect his kidney and liver function, leading to organ failure, and as he is a small dog his life expectancy would be short.

However, with the surgery, although there are no guarantees, he has a chance of a good life.

We thought long and hard about which route to take. Boomer deserves our help, he is a wonderful little dog, and SDR rescued him from certain euthanasia before anything was known about his Queen Anne legs. We won’t give up on him now. He’s already come so far.

Fast forward to December 2024 and Boomer has had his operation, following a fundraising campaign, when just over £8000 was raised in just 39 hours, followed by a further £2,500 for his aftercare costs. 

It's January 2025 and Boomer is in recovery, doing very well, he has had his sutures out, and is weight bearing on his leg which appears much straighter and of normal stance. He will be having a follow up at the vets for an x-ray to ensure everything is healing well on the inside, but so far so good. 

SDR will never give up on a dog they have rescued and will always do the right thing by them. So much so, when Boomer is ready for homing, we will be seeking a permanent foster home for him rather than an adoption, and we will continue to support any vet bills related to his leg condition.

SDR works very hard behind the scenes to care for our special paws who come through the gates with a story we don't know the ending to, until that lovely day comes when all is well and a family is matched.

If you would like to help, please see our Fundraising tab to join Scruffy Dog Rescue Shropshire - Fundraising Facebook group.