Bentley by John Ward

Bentley came to us from Labrador Rescue 3 years ago at the age of 3. He was very, very lively when he first came but settled well as the weeks went on although he does still have his moments of rampage.

He has been, and continues to be an absolute joy to us. He is now age 6 and a wonderful dog.

During the first Lockdown, I took him to a different location each day and posted a picture on Facebook where he has built up quite a fan club.
Here he is at Cromer

Bentley

When I was Chairman of Norfolk County Council on “Take your Dog to Work Day” I took him to my office at County Hall where he caused quite a stir and even had his picture in the local paper.

Thank you, Labrador Rescue SE & Central, for giving us this wonderful dog (and his predecessor Hugo, a chocolate Labrador who lived happily with us until he sadly passed away aged over 15).

Long may you continue your good, and important, work.

  

Well, week 12 of lockdown and George is trying to make sense of the world. He’s loving country life and loving the undivided attention of his owners. Our quiet, anxious rescue dog has blossomed into a very confident boy.

George


COVID-19 has had some very positive benefits. Lots of healthy socially distanced walks and so much time with his new family!

This is George determined not to miss out on a trip to Ikea! Or is our driving really that bad? Really, George, you’d love a trip to the beach far more. George has now become a real country boy. Living in an area frequented by pheasants, he can sniff one out 100 yards away. Fun for him and entertaining for us  to watch but he’s never harmed one; it’s not in his nature. Continue reading “George”

Barney by Jacky Garvey & Barbara Wilkinson.

 We were asked in February of this year if we could help find a home for this lovely boy, due to a member of the family being allergic to him.

He is only 4 years old and already has 2 new hips and operations on

Barney Right with his best      friend Ziggy

both elbows. This meant that for nearly all his life his exercise has been limited and he wasn’t able charge around and play boisterously like a normal young Labrador.
As a result he suffered with a lack of socialisation.

We put him onto the website in
search for the perfect home.
We had many enquiries.
One of the conditions was someone with a strong arm, as Barney
is a big strong dog! A lovely lady called Janet enquired about him, I must admit I did initially have concerns if she would be strong enough to walk him.  Luckily Janet is a good friend of one of our helpers, they met through Labradors! I was assured that Janet would be the perfect home and would do whatever is necessary.
Then lockdown happened in March, and we were unable to progress his rehoming. Janet was so keen and frequently phoned to see if there was any news on when she would be able to welcome this lovely boy into her home.

Continue reading “BARNEY”

Teddy by Jo

Sadly, during April 2020, we lost our beloved dog – she was 12 years old and very much part of our family. Our children had grown up with her and never lived without a dog in the house and the loss during a national lockdown really was very difficult for us all.
We quickly knew we wanted another dog and although puppies are exciting and full of fun the pleasure we got as a family from having a dog was also in the later years – long walks, beach trips etc. So, we began to look into rescuing a dog and quickly stumbled across Labrador Rescue SE & Central. We hoped we could help a dog in need find a new loving home. We completed all the relevant paperwork and eventually spoke withJulie who had identified Teddy as a possible addition to our home.

Continue reading “Teddy by Jo”

Hi….. I’m Suki
I’m 5 months old and it’s been quite a 5 months! I’m now at my 4th home. My second family did not work out and Jacky sent me to stay with Margot and Neil (which was amazing fun) while she looked for a new family. Now she found it and I’m here!

There’s me, two other 4-legs (Bella and Digit) and four 2-legs (David, Heather, Ben and Jessie). I’ve been here a month now and my two new friends seemed a bit confused at first. I now know that they often have other 4-legged visitors but they don’t stay more than a day or two. It took them a while to realise I’m not a visitor!
Continue reading “My Story By Suki (Aged 5 months)”

Theo came to me back in 2012 having recently had a plate and 13 pins fitted in his left femur to fix a break that we believe was caused by previous owners. He did well post surgery and I took him to many months of hydrotherapy to help him rebuild his hind limb muscle, and in doing so, found a whole new career for myself! However, I was aware that an injury in one limb can often have an impact on other limbs, often the diagonal one so this is something I have always kept an eye on.

Theo

In 2017 I noticed that Theo would occasionally appear a bit lame on his right fore but at the time, I was lucky to have a friend who decided to become a Galen Myotherapist and asked if she could use Theo as her ‘case study dog’ whilst she completed her studies. This fortnightly treatment really helped him keep this in check and be more comfortable. Galen Myotherapy (www.galenmyotherapy.co.uk) is a branch of massage therapy which promotes health and treats chronic muscular pain in dogs through unique massage techniques and exercise management. Theo revelled in his treatments and I could see a huge difference in him the day after a session. We continued with this plus diet management and hydrotherapy with mum for several years as the limp was sporadic and managed.
Unsurprisingly the limp became more and more frequent and started to bounce between both fore limbs. I was working my way through a variety of pain management options with my primary care vet for about 18 months and trying to manage the condition which I suspected was Elbow Dysplasia but i also was fully aware of the minimal treatment options for this condition.
Continue reading “Theo’s Rehab by Emily McMahon”

A Christmas Message from our chairman.

I am writing my message for the winter edition of the Link on Remembrance Sunday whilst listening to an online service from my parish church. What a strange year it has been and continues to be as

Richard Best

we start another four weeks of restrictions in the hope of some normality for Christmas, I would normally be walking through the village with a great multitude of children from Scouting and Guiding all neatly washed and pressed and keen to impress the members of the British Legion who always come to say thank you to the children for attending at the end of the parade. This year the British Legion will visit us at our virtual cub scout meeting on Zoom which although it has enabled us to continue in some form is not the same as meeting face to face. The children have struggled with the loss of contact with friends and relatives particularly grandparents and they in turn have struggled without hugs and cuddles from their grandchildren. I was waiting to meet a friend for an Autumn walk at Wisley Gardens recently and it was like watching the opening scenes from the film ‘Love Actually’ but with friends meeting and exchanging awkward air kisses and gestures of embrace rather than touching until a toddler noticed his Grandma and Grandpa walking over and rushed for a big hug.

Many of us will know of someone who has been lost to this wretched virus Continue reading “Christmas Message from our Chairman”

Welcome you find me in a reflective mood after a family bereavement puzzling over the nature of love. The scientist within me views love as a combination of chemical reactions; Testosterone and Oestrogen drive the need for reproduction and the “love at first sight” reaction, subsequently dopamine and serotonin provide the warm sense of attraction that fuels the first few months of a relationship and subsequently oxytocin and vasopressin govern the long term attachment of partners and the all important parent-infant bond. As what we think of as ‘ourself’ is just a mass of synapses, electrical cables with multiple junctions these neurotransmitter chemicals are responsible for all our emotions and in particular the emotion we term love. Continue reading “Chairman’s Letter”