Celia: female dog to adopt

Celia fostered Norwich Norfolk

Celia is a medium sized collie cross aged around seven years old.

On the most horrific trip to Romania in February 2021 we found this skeletal dog in a pen with six or seven other dogs in an abusive private shelter in Butimanu, Romania. We watched her sway as she was really too emaciated and weak to stand. The other dogs in her pen were very friendly and confident and an ok weight so clearly they weren’t letting her eat. We knew we had to get her in a pen on her own because she was dying there.

During the week we were there we were building nice pens at another shelter to move the at risk dogs to. We fed them up whilst we waited for them to be ready. On the last day they were finally ready and we moved I think 15 dogs to safety where they would be fed daily and someone would actually notice if anyone was starving right before their eyes!

With thanks to our friends at dog rescue Norway Celia spent almost a year in a safe and secure pen. Despite being treated kindly and visits from safe rescue people when possible Celia never got past her fear of people. When it came to preparing her for travel she had to be tranquillised by dart gun because she would bite any hand that came near her.

Regardless of her behaviour, I had put Celia in that shelter and I had committed to rescuing her so she had to come to me in the UK no matter what. I knew very well that this could be a dog that would never be touched by humans and I’d just have to deal with it because I’m not in the habit of ditching the responsibility of any dogs onto others.

However in the months that she’s been with us Celia has surprised us. She is now enjoying walks and asking for fuss when the mood takes her. She will probably always be wary of strangers but has proven she can trust and love people that take the time to earn it.

Celia will need at least one other calm dog in her forever home. She likes to play at times and is always kind to other dogs. Celia would like a quietish home environment. She has a fear of people picking up things like brooms etc due to experiences of her past. We can only imagine the horrors of what she has been through at the hands of humans, could you be the human that can spend the rest of her life trying to right those wrongs?

When you adopt a Safe Rescue dog, you MUST use a slip lead. This will keep your dog safe: your new dog will be nervous and will not trust you, and you will not know which situations might upset your dog. If your dog panics, then a slip lead is the only way to prevent your dog from escaping (many dogs can escape from a collar and/or harness).

It will take AT LEAST 3-6 months for your dog to settle-in and for you to know your dog fully (longer for nervous dogs). The slip lead must ALWAYS be used during this settling-in period. 
Even after your dog is settled, it is safest to use the slip lead in situations where your dog may become scared (e.g. visiting new places, around unfamiliar people, at the vet), and it situations where unexpected triggers might happen (e.g. around bonfire night). Nervous dogs may always need to wear a slip-lead as a back-up safety measure.

The slip lead is a safety device and must NEVER be used as a training tool. Using the lead to apply pressure to the dog’s neck is damaging. If your dog pulls on the lead, then we can advise you on training methods that avoid harm.

Once your dog is settled, you may want to consider using a harness (together with the slip lead) if your dog is comfortable with being handled when it is fitted. Most harnesses are not escape-proof, but harnesses with a strap behind the ribcage (e.g. Ruffwear Webmaster or Perfect Fit Harnesses) are safer.

Retractable / extendable leads must never be used on our dogs.

Adopted dogs must be collected from the rescue and transported straight home in a crate.

Fences and gates must be 5foot minimum in height and secure.

To find out more about this lovely girl, please get in touch. We can tell you all about her and explain how adopting with Safe Rescue works.