Whisper

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BigPanzer
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Whisper

Post by BigPanzer » Mon Oct 06, 2014 7:09 am

Hi,

It looks as if there is going to be a new member of our household.

Since the premature departure of Holly, our much loved JRT, over a year ago we have been looking for the "right" dog to bring our pack up to 3 again but we have had certain criteria:
It must be a Staffie. I love Staffies. They are lovely dogs who have been given a foul reputation by the media and the lowlife who want one as a status dog.
It must not be a young dog. We are not exactly young ourselves and a high energy youngster could easily be too much for us.
It must be a rescue in need of help and a loving family home.

It seems ages ago now, but in reality it is only a few days. I was having a late night furtle around the dog pages on the internet (as one does) and found a thread somewhere mentioning a dog at Battersea called Whisper.

So off we go to the Battersea web site and there she is. Our hearts went out to her after reading her story, but there was a snag. She is currently being featured on Paul O'Gradys program on ITV. Oh well we thought, the last thing we want is to see ourselves on TV but with any luck it will only be a quick bit to camera and possibly a follow up in a few weeks time.
I have worked with film crews before on various projects and have seen them working on a couple of major drama productions. But neither of us have had the lens pointed in our direction and it is certainly not something that appeals to us.

Anyway, after exchanging emails with Battersea and some phone calls we fired up Bongy and headed off to Old Windsor to see Whisper, and what a heartbreaking little girl she is! Apparently it was almost a month before she could be tempted out of her kennel, even by Karen, who is one of the staff who have cared for her since she arrived and who fosters her. My immediate feeling after the initial shock was one of anger that some "pondlife" could do this to any dog. But she responded well and could be persuaded to take some bits of ham out of our hands though it obviously took some courage on her part.
Then onto the garden there. We stood well back and watched her with Karen as they played together. Yes, there it was but only fleetingly - that famous Staffie grin!

We collected our two mutts from Bongy - Kam the Kollie, who is terrified of other dogs and little Lady, who has seen many foster dogs come and go through our home and has helped us as we have rehabilitated them - and we gave the three dogs some off lead time together to see what would happen. The film crew were nowhere to be seen.
Kam gave his usual and predictable reaction. When Whisper approached him he went into a down and you could tell from his eyes that he wasn't at ease when Whisper sniffed him. Lady will sometimes intervene when she thinks Kam is being threatened but she didn't and when Whisper went to say hello to her she was her usual self and politely said hello (in dog language of course) then largely ignored her.
Karen seemed pleased with the reaction, and after a few minutes and some more ham Whisper had had enough and retreated to the safety of Karens car boot.

Then the TV people pounced on us! "what do you feel having met Whisper" and loads of stuff like that. What do I feel? If I told them truthfully what I thought it certainly would not be suitable for transmission, but the words lowlife and scumbag would be in there somewhere along with some extremely unsavoury language.

Altogether we were at Battersea for over 3 hours. A lot of our time was spent not with Whisper, but with Karen who is very keen to see that she goes to the right home, and the Battersea vet. I was very impressed with the attitude of the Battersea staff and their love of the animals in their care. A very well run, clean and professional organisation.

You can guess what the only topic of conversation on the way home was, to the accompaniment of the quiet hum of the diesel engine we decided that we could help this little girl come out of her shell, but it is going to be a very long project.

Karen rang us on Saturday to see if we had reached a decision and she sounded overjoyed when we said yes. We also discussed how to keep the media at bay - the tabloids have got hold of the story - but the last thing Whisper needs is the press around with their flashguns, loud voices and stupid questions.

We are off to see her again on Wednesday, but she won't be coming home with us. Karen will bring her down to us and see her safely installed. I feel very sorry for Karen because she has very deep feelings for Whisper and it will be a very sad and lonely trip back home for her.

So that is the story as it stands at the moment. We are taking a lot on here and we fully expect her to spend her first month hiding under the table. Though we have fostered "problem" dogs before and even Kam when he came to us was potentially dangerous and on the verge of shutdown we will be working beyond the limits of our experience though Karen seems to have faith in us.

If you have time to watch, she might be on TV this coming Wednesday evening. If so, ignore the "pratt in the hat", just look at the dog and seethe at what somebody has done to her.

Peter
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ELZE
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Re: Whisper

Post by ELZE » Mon Oct 06, 2014 9:33 am

What wondeful story from an aboviously caring family =D> =D> =D>

I love rescue dogs and have been homing them for the last 25 years so thank you for giving them a second chance, they deserve that at least. Once at home she will settle quite quickly once the pecking order has been established and she see's the same faces day in and day out.

Good luck and god bless.
A Bongo is for life, not just for Christmas
BigPanzer
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Re: Whisper

Post by BigPanzer » Mon Oct 06, 2014 11:56 am

Hi Elze,

Thanks for the good wishes, we will probably need them!

We have taken in foster dogs for a number of years now. Lady has been with us for 7 years now and was a handover from a lady who was given her as a present, but couldn't cope with her.
Possibly because she has never had a litter of her own she has a very strong mother instinct and has taken all of our subsequent fosters under her wing and she has been a big help in settling them in and making them feel a wanted part of the "pack". She has also been borrowed by a local trainer to help with puppy classes

I sat and thought about whether to put the post on here or not, but from reading the forum I get the impression that Bongo people are a kindly and helpful bunch, many with much more experience of canine behaviour than we have and we might have to ask for advice as time goes on.

Depending on the interest in this post I will put updates on from time to time.

Peter
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ELZE
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Re: Whisper

Post by ELZE » Mon Oct 06, 2014 12:30 pm

Hi

Thanks for the update. I have a book which was cheap as chips on Amazon Kindle. It's called Scaredy Dog! Have a look at it as I did. I learned an awful lot about dog behaviour. My latest addition Benji was taken from him mum too soon before had had time to bond. Treat cruelly by some idiot and kept with 8 other dogs. This meant that he had a pack instinct and was unable to socialise and saw everyone, thing and dog as a threat and attacked and growled. It took me three years to make any progress which was not that much as he was still unpredictable. After reading this book I was able to understand the problem and why he was reacting as he did. Now we still have some problems especially with bikes but the progress has moved on big time. He may never be 100% but as long as we can keep communicating with each other we have an understanding.

Now when he wags his tail I can tell what mood he is in dependinbg if he wags to the right or the left?

As I said before good luck, your obviously no novice.
A Bongo is for life, not just for Christmas
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Re: Whisper

Post by Margaret & Billy » Mon Oct 06, 2014 2:40 pm

I watched this was on last weeks episode was heartbreaking :( good luck :)
HAVE BONGO WILL TRAVEL :D
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Re: Whisper

Post by helen&tony » Tue Oct 07, 2014 10:44 am

Hi
Awww...we've had a few rescue dogs, and they really are great...Our lurcher (still with us) had been starved, and beaten, and injured in such a way that I can't describe...she peed on the living room floor for 9 months...but you couldn't reprimand her...she got the hang of the garden eventually, and we had the whole downstairs tiled for her :lol: :lol: :lol: ...So...she has slept on our bed for 12 years, and is the boss over 2 large GSDs, one of whom is colossal...you just have to love 'em, don't you!
Cheers
Helen
In the beginning there was nothing , then God said "Let there be Light".....There was still nothing , but ,by crikey, you could see it better.
BigPanzer
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Re: Whisper

Post by BigPanzer » Tue Oct 07, 2014 1:15 pm

Hi,

Elze - ordered the book, thank you.
When Kam came to us he was traffic aggressive too. It was caused by fear and it gradually disappeared as his confidence in our ability to "protect" him grew - which took a long time. I can walk him off lead on the footpath now without him worrying. I once walked him off lead through the town centre as a test and he was great, though he did disgrace himself by leaving a little heap behind. You can always tell a dog lover by the fact that their pockets are full of treats and poly bags!

M & B - yes, it was a tear jerker. One thing that is a bit irritating is that we won't see anything of what was filmed for this weeks show (our first meeting) until we get back from our second meeting. I'm assuming that they filmed the introduction to our mutts from a distance. I would have liked to have seen that before we made our second visit so we could see their body language. We were too far away to see much detail.

Helen - yes, don't you just have to love them. Dogs on the bed, tut tut. Some people would not like that, but sod them! Kam does not show his affection in the way that many dogs do, but for the first time today he jumped on the bed when I woke up and snuggled down with his head under the covers and his head pressed to my chest. Life with a dog is a journey composed of many small steps and this is just another small one on the road. And Lady? She sleeps on the wifes side of the bed and I've never known a small dog take up so much space!

Cheers

Peter
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helen&tony
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Re: Whisper

Post by helen&tony » Tue Oct 07, 2014 3:25 pm

Hi Peter...
We used to have a standard double bed some years back...1 small lurcher slept up behind my head...legs either side...I never knew she was there...1 collie size, and a doberman x GSD used to sleep between us...again we didn't know they were there....they like it , because it's pack behaviour...BUT Willow, our current lurcher hogs our LARGE bed....and the other dogs don't get a look-in...one sleeps by the wall, and the other under the bed....We tend to sleep safe with 2 large GSDs and a lurcher who's likely to get very bitey if disturbed :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Cheers
Helen
In the beginning there was nothing , then God said "Let there be Light".....There was still nothing , but ,by crikey, you could see it better.
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Re: Whisper

Post by BigPanzer » Thu Oct 09, 2014 1:26 am

We went to see Whisper again today. She remembered us (or was it the ham & sausages?).

No cameras around this time, thank God so we were able to spend more time with her and our two mutts. Lovely time, good inter-dog reactions and she even let us touch her muzzle without disappearing into the back of Karens car.
The paperwork has been completed now and Karen will ring us tomorrow to let us know when she will be bringing her to us.
The film crew have been banned for her arrival, she will be stressed enough without extra bodies around getting in the way. We are getting rather excited!

We have heard a rumour that one of the Battersea staff has a Bongo. Is it anybody on here by any chance?

By the way, I am reliably informed by 'er in drawers that the prog goes out on Thursdays, not Weds but is not on this week because of more important stuff like football. (another senior moment?)

Woof Woof

Peter
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Re: Whisper

Post by helen&tony » Thu Oct 09, 2014 4:01 am

Hi Peter...
Excellent news...we'll all await updates!
Cheers
Helen
In the beginning there was nothing , then God said "Let there be Light".....There was still nothing , but ,by crikey, you could see it better.
BigPanzer
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Re: Whisper

Post by BigPanzer » Thu Oct 09, 2014 12:40 pm

Hi,

Great news! Karen has just phoned from Battersea, Whisper will be joining us on Saturday.

When we went there yesterday we took with us a blanket that had the smell of us and the mutts on it. Apparently Whisper spent ages sniffing it and settled down to spend the night on it.

Most likely it was the association with food that caught her attention, but I am an optimist and like to look upon this as the first small step in the journey of her life with us.

Peter
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Re: Whisper

Post by helen&tony » Thu Oct 09, 2014 2:22 pm

Hi
Peter...
When she gets "home"...take some snaps, please?
Cheers
Helen
In the beginning there was nothing , then God said "Let there be Light".....There was still nothing , but ,by crikey, you could see it better.
BigPanzer
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Re: Whisper

Post by BigPanzer » Fri Oct 10, 2014 12:46 pm

Hi Helen,

Photos will be forthcoming, but not immediately. The poor girl is going to be so stressed when she arrives we would rather not stick a camera lens in her face until she has settled a bit. Karen is anticipating having to carry her from the car to the house, she is so frightened of the world.

Cheers

Peter
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Re: Whisper

Post by Margaret & Billy » Sat Oct 11, 2014 6:45 pm

Good luck with this gorgeous girl hope it works out :D she deserves a loving home :)
HAVE BONGO WILL TRAVEL :D
BigPanzer
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Re: Whisper

Post by BigPanzer » Sun Oct 12, 2014 12:15 am

Hi,

Our new family member arrived this afternoon, a poor quivering pathetic lump of fear.

A friend took our mutts out for a walk - they bark when people arrive. Something we have never discouraged because that is part of our security system, but in this case it would have overwhelmed Whisper.
Karen reversed her car right up to the back gate, and then the fun started! SWMBO and I stayed well out of the way whilst Karen tried to coax her into the garden. She got out of the car with no problem (wonderful stuff, Tescos cheapest cheddar) and just past the gate. Then back into the car. OK, try again. A few crumbs of cheese later, back through the gate and a couple of paces further..........this is looking hopeful I thought............no it wasn't!
3 or 4 attempts later and she almost made it to the conservatory door and I began to wonder if this was just a plan on her part to get more cheese!
Several attempts later Karen gave up and carried her into the house. Karen is not exactly a large young lady and Whisper is no lightweight.
We slowly and quietly appeared and (after yet more cheese) she made it onto the sofa next to Karen and even let us give her a quick tickle under the chin (Whisper that is, not Karen)
Then our dog walker came in with our mutts. This could be interesting I thought. No problem, but ours are used to seeing foster dogs come and go and they had met before at Battersea. After the briefest of acknowledgement they did their own thing whilst Whisper did hers with the cheese.
Karen stayed for quite some time, but as soon as she left Whisper went into pitiful mode again. I felt very sorry for her - as she sees it she has been abandoned by her only friend and left with two people and two dogs she barely knows. We feel almost as sorry for Karen, who had a good mutual bond with her and she must have had a miserable drive home.
We have set up a crate for her in the lounge, with the door left open so she has somewhere to call home. She can watch what goes on in the room but still feel secure and from time to time we will go and sit by the crate and talk to her softly.
As I write this I can see two beady eyes watching me.

I will put one or two pics of her on here when she starts to emerge and explore a bit, but that could take some time - it took Karen 26 days before she managed to get her confidence up sufficiently to emerge from her kennel at Battersea.

TV cameras have been banned until, after consultation with Karen, she is ready to face the intrusion. They have a job to do and all that, but they can be really pushy.

Thanks for your good wishes Bongo People.

Cheers

Peter
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