We looked at various rescue websites and they were mostly Staffies! My husband and MIL suggested getting one but I wasn't sure because I was a bit worried after reading all the bad press about them. (I'm sorry! I was one of those idiots!) but my MIL told me how nice they are and I did some research and decided "OK! A staffy it is!"
So we contacted a rescue centre and enquired about a few dogs there. One of the ladies came over to check our house and made sure that there's enough space for the dog etc. She then told us about the dogs in their care and we told her we were interested in Milo a two year old Staffy. She gave us a bit of his background. He was given up by his owner who bought him in a whim after getting a divorce and now doesn't have time to look after him! (ARGH!) She gave us the details of the foster home and we went down the next weekend to meet Milo. They told us more about Milo and he seemed like a nice dog.
To cut the long story short, we decided we'll have him and made an appointment to pick him up and sort out the paperwork the next weekend. I was really excited. We bought a doggy bed for him, toys etc!
When we got there, there was the lady from the rescue centre, the fosterers, a dog behaviourists, us, my MIL and her dogs. We wanted to make sure that Milo would get along with MIL's dog. When we got there, the first thing the dog rescue lady said was.."Are you interested in having two beagles instead?". I went "huh? What the hell is this lady talking about? We want Milo!" Anyway, I could feel some tension in the air. It was strange. The rescue lady and the dog behaviourist seemed really nervous..and kept trying to sell us the beagles!
Anyway, we walked to a nearby park. I can still feel the tension. I think it came mainly from the dog behaviourist because of the way she handled Milo.. MIL's dog didn't seem to like Milo very much because of his behaviour.
When we got to the park and let them off the lead. Milo ran around like a giddy pup and kept jumping on one of MIL's dog who was crying in distress! The main problem was that when MIL's dogs would tell him off he would escalate the problem. I knew it was all over...
Then one of them mentioned that he's not very good with other dogs and he fought with the foster carers dog and there was blood! OMG! I was so annoyed because they didn't tell us this when we met Milo the first time! We said we can't have a dog like that as my MIL visits often with her dogs. The dog behaviourist suggested that we put Milo in the kennel when my MIL comes visit! That's ridiculous! What kind of dog behaviourist are you? How can you suggest this? How can I boot my dog out for the day or weeks when my MIL comes visit! It's unfair to Milo!
I knew it then that we are not going home with Milo... so I cried! I was so disappointed...
We were really annoyed with the rescue centre because they weren't honest with us in the beginning. We told them we can't have Milo and the lady kept asking us to get the beagles! We were so annoyed and said we will think about it and left.
I cried in the car on the way home.. :(
A few weeks later, we revisited the idea of getting a dog and visited the Dogs Trust. I really like the profile of this old dog, Wilson, we read on their site. "I think this could be our first dog!" I said to myself. We went to Dogs Trust the next weekend and asked to see him. They took us to him and said.. "oh he's not very friendly now.. bit someone the other day". :((( Kennel stress... sigh. They said he's not suitable to be re-homed at the moment. We also met a lovely young lurcher called Jimmy. He was too energetic for us..
So again, I went home disappointed. :(
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