ET: male dog to adopt

The long awaited ET is now available for adoption 💕

ET is fostered in Hevingham Norfolk.

ET is a stocky medium sized crossbreed, possibly Boxer/staffy mix or similar. His passport states him to be twelve years old but we feel he could be as young as eight or nine.

We initially met ET in the Botosani public shelter in Romania in March 2020 just before lock down. He hadn’t been in the shelter for long then and he was not coping well. He would circle his cage flying at dogs either side. He was pitifully thin due to the stress and the continual exercise. There was nothing that we could do for him back then except to pay to get him neutered in the hope that it would chill him out and help him cope better.

Fast forward two years and we finally got to return to Botosani and I barely recognised him. He was calm, steady and I walked him every day whilst I was there. It broke my heart to help other dogs and not him but we don’t knowingly bring bull breeds into the UK due to there being so many here already and no homes for them to go to. So every six months since when we have visited and I’ve spent as much time as possible with him. He joined us for coffee breaks and lunch breaks during our working day and every time I had to leave him on the last day I would rack my brain to think of a way to get him out of there.

After we left the shelter in March this year ET got seriously ill with babesiosis and almost died. He pulled through but it was really touch and go. Last month the same thing happened again and it was just the last straw for me I simply couldn’t leave him there any longer. This boy was on a walk with me when I found a puppy and he was so sweet to her when I caught her. On another occasion shelter staff went to his pen one morning to find a tiny puppy that had escaped from the next pen curled up asleep on him. The shelter has been killing him slowly for years and he doesn’t deserve to die there.

As fate would have it a safe rescue volunteer who was also on the trip back in 2020 happens to be a huge advocate of bull breeds and a big fan of ET in particular. She hadn’t been in a position to take ET in before but when I told her that ET has almost lost his life a second time she kindly offered to foster him in the hope that we could find him his forever home for his retirement years.

We need the best home ever for this super special boy. I’m going to insist that it’s written in the adoption contract for him to be pampered and spoilt rotten for the time he has left.

ET walks well on a lead but initially will pull with enthusiasm as he’s so excited to at last be out and about. He loves everybody he meets. He’s currently getting on well with other dogs in his foster home but would also love to be the only dog.

ET is so very grateful to be given this chance. He would be suited to most home environments and would be fine to live with respectful children aged eight plus.

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.

If you are interested please contact us for more information. We can tell you more about this lovely boy, and explain how adoption with Safe Rescue works.