Update June 2010: The Retreat Animal Rescue are trying to raise funds for a much needed 16 acre plot of land in Crockenhill for the Retreats cows and horses. It goes to auction this month on the 11th of June and is very local. Perfect to help with the high number of animals we have to care for.
I Started working with him, well with me! trying to be assertive. Things looked good, I only got dragged into a bush onces, but he still turned into a hench man when I saw another big dog.
We even ventured to Suffolk to see Candy Rogers from Walking With wolves. Candy said he was just a bully, again he needed a calm assertive leader.
Then something amazing happened, I was to have a baby girl, wonderful news, so unexpected. Then it dawn on me, I couldn't train Charlie in this condition I was getting bigger by the day. Other family members step in and walked him, we carried on. When the baby was born we carried out the normal routine with Charlie, kept him away/outside when the little one was about. And I went back to training him, boy had he got wild, just like he was before but bigger and stronger. I carried on walking him at night, where no ones else goes unless you have a bad dog.
The baby then started crawling, although he has never shown any aggression to any family members. I started to panicked. What if he went for for the baby?
He then redirected his aggression at me, was my fault he was outside barking really winding himself up, I have never seen him so bad. I had to get him in his crate, so my son let him in and I told him to go to bed, normally he would, but he was so riled up he went for the first person/animal he saw, which was me.
Then I knew he had to leave, but how? I could not just let him go anywhere. Could I take him to the vets and be pts for a human error? Then I found http://pet-rescue.org.uk/ wonderful people, they had so many suggestion of help.
Which is where I found The Animal Retreat Rescue. I feel extremely lucky they took Charlie. He was not abused, under fed or neglected in anyway, he was part of the family.
I recall the drive up there seemed the longest drive ever, Charlie bobbing around like a large nodding dog in the back, stealing a quick kiss when I wasn't looking unaware of where he was heading, he was just loving the drive. No one spoke, it was so quiet.
On arriving we were approached by dogs, chickens in the field and sheep! How was Charlie going to react! We all stayed seated in the car until Billy came and said it was ok to get out, we must have looked so silly. He took Charlie away, if he behaved with the other dog he could stay, my heart sunk I was sure he would ripped them apart and come running back with a chicken in his mouth! Charlie was a normal shy dog when Billy took his leash, Billy was his master. Thankfully after a short time Billy reported Charlie could stay and this would be his forever home! I was so happy but heart broken too. It now dawns on me how lucky Charlie was, he was not abandoned, abused, just over loved. Billy has helped so many animals which most of us don't even think about, the ones which don't have a loving home, the ones which are just abandoned for someone else to pick up the pieces.
Thank you Billy for looking after Charlie.
& a big thank you to my dearest friend Sue, who got us there in one piece.
Here's some more on Charlie with updates http://charliesretreat.weebly.com/ Thank you for reading.
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