We adopted a few months ago after spending ages trying to decide between several breeds. We were thinking about an Eurasier, a Husky, or a German Shepherd.
After chatting with a neighbour who has a dog from Reunion Island (dogs have a really tough time of it over there), I started looking into different rescue charities.
And then—it was love at first sight!!!!!
She’s been with us for 7 months now and it's been pure joy. We went through a rescue charity called Sauvade, but there are plenty of others out there.
These dogs aren't very well known; they're sometimes called 'Royal Bourbons' or 'Creole Shepherds', and there’s something for everyone (all sizes, coat colours, and eye colours).
She looks like a young German Shepherd crossed with a Husky and won't get any heavier than 35 lbs (around 16kg). She’s lovely with us and the kids, incredibly sociable, obedient, and playful—in short, she’s a total dream dog.
Even though we originally wanted a pedigree, in hindsight we’re so happy because these dogs don't have health issues, you’re saving a life, and they have such a fantastic temperament.
Translated from French
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A Staffie, lol. A dog that needs to be "broken"... Anyway, as soon as they look like anything other than a "cute" dog, you've apparently got to break them, because otherwise this "colossal beast" will obviously eat its owner in their sleep. And if he finds it that hard to handle a 33 lb Staffie, he should've just got a soft toy.
Rinrin, you know even in France that awful "breaking" the dog mentality still exists.
Yeah, I can imagine. I was mostly talking about the local drunk who thinks he’s seen and done it all—plastered for most of the day with a beer in his hand before he’s even properly awake (though I’m sure France has its fair share of them too), but in my little town, that’s how most people are 😞
Gigi, I’m not giving up on this. I’m trying to get a proper dialogue going with the man, but the trouble is he’s a bit ‘thick’ and takes advice from ‘pros’—and by that, I mean the local drunk who thinks he knows everything (you can probably guess the type, it’s practically a cliché over here in Belgium, sadly). He’s been told that with a dog like that, you have to ‘break’ them (it’s a Staffie, I think). He starts howling whenever he spots another dog. I managed to get close enough to give him a stroke, and he was so happy to have some attention that he gave me a right little nip while he was licking me—just pure over-excitement. The poor thing only gets out on the lead for five minutes, four or five times a day. I’m hoping that if I can get on the owner’s good side, I might be able to steer him in a better direction.
The rescue centres are overflowing here as well. The reason? Lockdown. So many people bought dogs or puppies just for something to do, but as soon as lockdown ended and especially once the pubs, bars and restaurants reopened, the dogs were just left at home. Most of them probably ended up wrecking the place out of sheer boredom.
Instead of taking a dog to a shelter (which carries a fee of around £70), people have no qualms about just dumping them anywhere and leaving them to fend for themselves!!! It’s so cruel for pets, both physically and especially mentally. I suppose from now on we’ll be seeing "lockdown pets"!!!!! It takes a very long time for an abandoned animal to trust a human again, and you often have to call in a behaviourist.
RinRin, I’ll see what I can do for this poor pooch.
