Oh Dog! It’s only FOUR more days until Christmas! I am SOOOOO excited!
My friend Brin from Shackleford England is so excited too…. or he was. Read his letter to Santa, followed by a footnote.
Dear Santa,
My very dear friend and fellow Boxer, Themba, died a few months ago. Before that, he was quite poorly, and we didn’t have as much fun in the garden as we used to.
I have been a good boy, kind and gentle to my Mum and Dad, as we all mourned the loss of little Themba.
Yesterday, we went on a long trip in the car (and got a bit lost). When we got there, we were greeted by the loveliest lady who gave me a drink of water and a romp in the sheep field. After that, she brought George to meet me. George is a 2 year old Lurcher, who was rescued as a stray in the Republic of Ireland. He was going to be destroyed, but the good people at The Dog’s Trust took care of him and brought him to England.
Thank you, Santa, for helping my wish come true in time for Christmas.
Mum says she will introduce George to everyone once he is settled in his new home.
In the meantime, please pray for George to find another wonderful home, and that next time the rescue group won’t blow it for him.
Dogpaddling Through Life 
Sadly this kind of disappointed is not an isolated case over here in the UK. Only this week it was on the news a 71year old man was refused a greyhound for the sketchiest of reasons. Too old, not had a dog for eight years?? He waited to retire before having a new dog. He bought a puppy in the end. These independent dog rescues can be too obstructive sometimes. Happy Christmas RUMPY and to all your family too
It happens here in the US too.
😦 :-!
OMG this is awful I hope the Brin family do not lose faith and rescue another dog :-). Big hugs to them. And George lets hope he finds a home very soon xxx
Even Ellen DeGeneres had a pro Len with a rescue! It’s unbelievable!
It’s very disappointing for Brin and his family and it’s extremely sad for George.
I know and I don’t get it! But June Buggie will get to the bottom of it!
Thank you for sharing this heartwarming story Rumpy.
Sadly it is not to be Bassa.
Oh no….poor George…he could have had happy life with Brin n his mom n dad…How sad this situation is…besides how disappointing to Brin n his family not to welcome Georgie…
I hope that Santa Paws brings both of them happiness on Christmas instead.
I’m praying for George to find a forever family before New Year.
Sadly if he had to depend on that rescue, it most likely won’t happen.
Oh, how sad….. you have to wonder what happened for the adoption to fall through after they’d been notified. We’ll say special purrayers for George to find a happy furrever home – SOON!
Love, Sundae
If you were to think the home was unsuitable, I’d suggest you read Leslie’s blog and then see what you think.
What an incredibly sad story. I know this is naive but why can’t it always be about what’s best for the dog? George could have had a new home and a loving family and his place at the rescue could have been taken by another homeless dog. At any rate, thank you for sharing this family’s (and George’s) story. Dee & Murphy
Awww…I just read the blog post on Brin’s family’s website about why they could not adopt George. I really hope George finds a good home, and that Brin gets a new doggie companion soon. I grew up with Boxers, and my Boxer, Hannah, just died a few days ago, so the holidays will be a sad time for us. I send out my love to every Boxer and Boxer family and hope Santa gives each Boxer what they ask for!
OMD! That is so terribly sad and senseless. I know shelters have to be careful who they place a pet with but they are being ridiculous! I hope George finds a home.
Sad, but unfortunately not an uncommon tale.
Mummy and daddy had thought about getting a rescue mallie at first, but the UK mallie rescue society wouldn’t let them have a mallie if they hadn’t had one before…
That’s really strange. I got three of my dogs from local animal shelters (France). They never asked anything. Our dogs live in the living room. ^^ But Phex was supposed to live outside as far as my employers are concerned and they were with us when we got him. I remember Phex (Belgian shepherd) and Beau (Bernese Mountain dog) were growling at each others in the car when we brought Phex home. And shortly after we arrived, they were fighting. But after this one fight, they had sorted out who is the boss and everything was fine. In the UK Phex would have never gotten a new home and I probably would never have been able to take him or Tristan (German shorthaired pointer) home. I wish George all the best and that the Dog’s Trust rescue organization lets him go to a loving family.
It’s a sad business indeed.
That’s so sad…why? oh why? sometimes the world is just weird…
It is so sad. now both Brin and George lost a chance to have a happy life together. The ASPCA refused to let my friend adopt a cat for an absurd reason. He ended up going somewhere else and getting a sweet cat.
Had a similar experience myself. So sad that people want to take in a homeless or unwanted dog and the system makes it nearly impossible. I hope this family finds a new friend soon.
Stella the Great Newfenees here, via my scribe, who read this to me a few minutes ago, then took me to Brin’s two-legger’s blog to read why this happened.
I had to go to another room at the bookshop for a few minutes to collect myself.
I can really identify with Brin, and my heartfelt best wishes go out to him and his two-legger. I met a Boxer once, Athena was her name. She was lovely, and although I was a bit taken aback by her greeting initially, we got along very well. Good luck in finding the perfect dog companion, Brin!
What a bummer. That footnote is SAD. We will pray that both George and Brin find the happiness they deserve, sooner rather than later.
Thank you for posting Brin’s letter. We look forward to June Buggie’s report, and will be very happy to contribute if need be.
Happy Christmas, all in Rumpy’s gang.
And (as Brin the Boxer’s mummy) – thank you all for your interest and kindness in our story x.
I am praying for him!!!!
Whee have just read the posts on their site. It is terribly sad that this is happening but not so uncommon with other animals as well. Rescues and shelters do appear to make things unneccessarily difficult. Mummy dreams of opening a piggy rescue who rehome without prejudice, or pointless rules. Rehoming to good homes on the basis of what is best for the animal.
Whee pray that he will find a home and that they will find Brin a friend soon.
Nibbles, Nutty, Buddy & Basil
xxxx
The rescue groups keep raising the bar … and the costs … higher and higher until finally, many of us give up. I get dogs … people retire to senior housing and can’t keep their dogs. Others get sick and can’t manage any more, so we are full up … but for all that, we found adopting from local organizations was so expensive and labor intensive, we got tired of jumping hurdles and gave up. if they want people to adopt, they ARE going to have to make it possible. People’s lives are sufficiently difficult. There ought to be some things that are easy, that go smoothly, that don’t require pound and pounds of paperwork. It is counter productive.
Here one big shelter raised fees extremely high and it was difficult for many – and adoptions dropped…so now they keep running “specials” all the time (like all white cats or dogs 1/2 off or- even 2 for 1 specials …they are always having specials)- nuts, totally nuts.
The “like” is for reporting the story. “Dislike” for the disappointment for George and the family who wanted to adopt him.
Rescue groups, such as this, should consider that those adopting an animal will have other costs once the pet is in their home. Less than a month after our daughter and her husband adopted a Sheltie mix, he injured his paw and had to have emergency medical treatment. That cost over $200. While they don’t have that “extra” money kicking around, it’s a fee they gladly paid just to know that the dog’s medical needs were well taken care of.
All are fine now.
awe, I hope George will find a loving home.