Nell is back. and another lurcher pup turns up.

What is going on in this area? Yet another lurcher pup turned up yesterday,brought in because his owner was seen mistreating him but after some persuasion she turned him over to the lady who witnessed this frail little pup being hit across the face.I know what I would like to do to the owner !! It is just another cowardly form of bullying- taking out anger and frustration on those who are unable or unwilling to fight backAnyhow Junior as we called him(because he looked as we all imagine William would have looked as a pup and there is only one William here!) has already been homed and he is young enough to forget his experiences at the hands of a very ignorant and unfit dog owner.
Last night I went with a group of friends to see Cesar Millan in Manchester. There has been some controversy about his methods and I know some of the staff in my Liverpool shelter do not have a good word to say about him, however if he can save the life of a dog which would otherwise have no future then as far as I am concerned the man is OK. The main cause of concern is his (occasional) use of an electric dog collar which gives the dog a short electric shock.Yes it sounds horrific.I too threw my hands up in horror when I first was made aware of their existence, but remember electric fences are regularly used to keep animals such as horses safe within an area and the shock is mild but enough to keep them away from the danger area. The use of these collars is certainly not one I would like to see becoming popular with members of the general dog owning public, it could be open to abuse and that is the last thing anyone involved in animal welfare would want. I do believe,however, that where all other methods of training have failed and the dog is to be destroyed or is in danger of losing a limb or worse because of his uncontrolled behaviour, then I see it as a positive way of saving a dogs life. How this could be regulated I have no idea and therefore I am against the sale of them in the UK but I refuse to condemn the use of them by Cesar in some of the extreme cases he has dealt with. Those dogs which had failed to respond to orthodox methods of training and who were in danger (eg: farm vehicle chasers) are still alive and now will be safe to enjoy the rest of their lives with their owners.
Speaking of difficult dogs, Nell who went missing and was found last week is back with us again. She did another runner and was missing two days, eventually being found at a nearby farm where we think she was attracted to the sound of other dogs. Unfortunately the people who gave her a home do not feel they can cope with her behaviour and she blotted her copybook when she bit the man whilst he was trying to place a lead on her. Poor Nell, she is so incredibly frightened of everything new,people,places etc and she shows no response at all to affection so she is going to be a big problem for us to deal with.the first thing we have done is to put her in with Bonnie so she has canine company but what sort of a life is it going to be when she can never be allowed off the lead and how can we ever consider sending her to another home? Cesar we need you here(not with shock collar though, this is not the sort of case which merits the use of such and I am sure he would agree)
Barbara has been catching mice this week, (no she is not a cat but a member of staff) Naughty Stan had accumulated at least 400 more, not the 200 he first told us.We have around 200 here and there will be more to arrive later this week. This has become a total nightmare situation.This time I have told him will be the last help we give , he has to take some responsibility himself. Anyone interested in pet mice?