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Floppsy (P)
Date of birth: 16.04.2013 High to shoulder: 60 cm Vaccinated: yes Neutered: not yet Homed: February 2014 Floppsy was born along with 7 other siblings in a loving home. Her mother is a Labrador with a very good character. Unfortunately, the mum was involuntarily covered by a dog on a walk, and her owners were not able to intervene! 5 siblings have already found a good home, a dog will stay in the family and a home for Floppsy is now urgently sought. Floppsy has a more dominant character and is now trying to find her rank in the pack. She is trying to be the alpha dog. Floppsy is not aggressive, but she pushes to the limits to be ‘alpha’ dog. On her own, outside of the pack, it is a breeze and also with other dogs she is very friendly and outgoing. Floppsy is a big dog already at 6 months old, and still growing. She has a strongly built body and is now about 23 kg. She will definitely be a powerhouse and would suit a family who wants a really big dog. She gets along well with children and is very friendly and open-minded to them. She loves people and cuddles very much. Floppsy is very intelligent and trainable, but requires proper training and a lot of time, movement, and also a consistent education. With Floppsy you will have a great companion for long walks. She would fit very well into an active family that might also enjoy dog sports and you have plenty of time for their new family member. Please contact us if you feel Floppsy is just what you are looking for – she is waiting very patiently for you. Related...
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Why do we need to Home Dogs? Dogs increase the quality of life by giving focus to the day. The daily walking routine can have tremendous health benefits. Health studies have shown that owning a dog can lower a person’s blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart disease. Dogs are non-judgmental and offer unconditional love as well as being entertaining and offer the opportunity to increase social interaction. Dog owners frequently talk about little else. So why are there so many dogs needing homes? There are many dog shelters in Cyprus, all bursting at the seams. There are the ones run by charities such as PAWS, P.A.R.C., and Paphiakos, and in addition there are the municipal shelters and of course a variety of private facilities. All of the shelters attempt to provide for unwanted, abandoned, lost and unloved dogs. They arrive at these shelters in depressingly large numbers and in a variety of conditions ranging from barely alive to fit and healthy. There are also a large number of puppies of all types which are dumped in cardboard boxes. The reasons why dogs end up at shelters fall into these main categories: Simple abandonment – very often of hunting dogs at the end of the hunting season in March; perhaps the dog has not proved to be a good hunter or is simply too inconvenient to keep until next season. The dogs are found wandering around scavenging for food and water and frankly can be a considerable nuisance and are brought in either by the municipalities or by well wishers when they have grown so weak that they can no longer avoid capture. The shelters will endeavour to bring them around but frequently the damage caused by weeks of malnourishment and dehydration is too great to overcome. Inconvenience is another main cause. These dogs are usually brought in to the charitable or private shelters, often by a third party, with the stories of “our landlord won’t let us keep a dog”, “it barks too much”, “it doesn’t get on with our other dog or child etc”, “our neighbours have threatened to poison it”. All these are valid reasons, if true, to try to find another home for the dog, but the dog shelter should not be the first place they come to get rid of their problem. Training can frequently resolve the behavioural difficulties giving rise to the problem but bear in mind training applies to both owner and dog! Then we have the perennial “we have to go back to the UK/leaving Cyprus”. Until 2012 it wasn’t so easy to take a dog from Cyprus to the UK. However, the restrictions between EU countries have been relaxed and now a dog can travel to the UK provided it has had all the necessary tests and vaccinations, details of which can be found on the DEFRA site www.defra.gov.uk – it just takes a bit of planning. For toher countries please check the internet for their regulations. The costs involved are not low, but when you take on a dog here in Cyprus and know you may not be staying for life, you need to start planning and saving from day one. Your dog is a part of your family and you wouldn’t leave one of your children behind! There are of course always the unwanted puppies. What a surprise? The reproductive process is a complete mystery to some it would seem. There are cultural reasons why some Cypriots oppose neutering but for the rest of us it is highly recommended. However, having said all that, there will always be a need for facilities to receive unwanted or lost dogs. Much as we many wish it, we will never succeed in reforming everyone’s behaviour towards dogs much as we may campaign and educate. We need to accept that there is no such thing as a shelter with unlimited capacity. There has, therefore, to be a balance between dogs coming in and dogs going out. There are three ways in which dogs can go out: Natural death – this thankfully...
Read MoreAngel (P)
Date of birth: February 2006 High to shoulder: 51 cm Vaccinated: yes Neutered: yes Homed: March 2014 Angel is a very friendly dog. She is a bit overweight … but her true beauty comes from within! She is a Labrador cross born in February 2006. Her eyes go right to the heart. She’s only just arrived at the shelter, and still totally intimidated, people walking quickly and thoughtlessly in her kennel frighten her. However, if you approach her carefully or sit down quietly Angel comes to you slowly. She wants to be close, she wants to be petted, she will not want to go away from anyone who gives her attention. Again and again she gives her paw when you stop petting her. After 7 years in a home after a trip from Hungary to Cyprus she was simply delivered and left behind. How could anyone do that?! We hope very much that she quickly finds a home because we are all afraid that Angel could give up. Rarely have we seen such a sad dog, intimidated and scared … not knowing now what happened to her and how her life should go on. She is currently still afraid of other dogs, but eventually she will integrate into a pack. This is usually the case for dogs that come from a home, it’s a very significant obstacle for them. If you want to be Angel’s guardian angel, please contact us quickly so that she can get back to the sort of environment she is pining for. Related...
Read MoreDennis (J)
Date of birth: February 2011 High to shoulder: 44 cm Vaccinated: yes Neutered: yes Homed: March 2014 Dennis was rescued from a municipality pound, were he was already scheduled to get put down, he is around two and a half years old. He is a very intelligent dog and loves to learn new things. He is very good with people and other dogs, but doesn’t like cats. Dennis is looking for an active family to keep him busy. If you would like to offer this clever boy his forever home please phone 96893034 for more information. 07.01.2013: Dennis has received his Novice Trick Dog certificate! He is such a clever boy. Congratulation! Related...
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