A Little White Dog

On a glorious frosty morning I packed myself, cameras and of course Chewy for trip up the M6 to Stoke to meet up with Karin and some of the CAESSR rescues. Given the appalling run of weather we’ve had, it was great to see the sun and the morning couldn’t have been nicer. The dogs are kennelled at Hardwick farm, about half a dozen miles outside Stoke in the glorious Staffordshire countryside and both Chewy and myself were looking forward to a rain free walk!

The first spaniel that we met  was the lovely Carter. A working cocker, he is three and full of life but very nervous. He’s absolutely desperate for loves, snuggles and reassurance but the moment due to his background has some behavioural issues so he is due to go into foster while he starts to adjust to his new life. We’ll keep you up to date with his progress – as you can see he’s a gorgeous looking boy who with a little patience will make a smashing pet.

It was lovely to see that Chewy remembered Karin and there was definitely a bond between the two of them! The kennels are situated in some glorious countryside including a grassy valley, quarry and fields. Next up we met two golden cockers – Toffee and Willow.

Toffee is a gorgeous ten year old buy who sadly had to be given up as his owners were moving into accommodation which doesn’t allow pets. Willow has also sadly had to be given up by her owner and this is one of the of the lovely things that CAESSR do. Many of their dogs come from awful or heartbreaking circumstances but they also provide a way for owners who find themselves unable to keep their dogs to do the right thing and find them a loving home.

The good news for Toffee is that he has found a loving home to go so this was a chance for him to have a last walk in the fields near the kennels before heading off to his new family on Saturday. Willow is just over a year old and a gorgeous little girl full of cheek, character and very affectionate. This was our first official sponsorship visit to CAESSR and as such we expected to leave with plenty of photos and memories. My partner joked with me that I’d probably be bringing an extra spaniel home …. and she’s wasn’t far wrong! Having had the opportunity to walk and play with Willow I fell completely in love wither her as did Chewy. We arranged with John to bring Biz over with Chewy at the weekend and if all was well that we would like to offer her a home. All the dogs got on brilliantly and we’re very happy to announce that little Willow has joined our furry family and will be joining Biz and Chewy in our weekly updates of their adventures.

Last but not least we met lovely Benji – and more good news here in that Benji has also gone to his forever home. He got on famously with Chewy and the two of them made the most of the dry sunny weather to play together. Sadly when we picked up Willow on Saturday we found out than another one of the CAESSR spaniels that Karin has been fostering had some issues in his new home and is back in foster. 

We’ll be back in Stoke next month to walk and share some pictures and details of the dogs who are in kennels needing homes. Its amazing to think that in the last decade CAESSR have rehomed over 2000 dogs!

Next time we won’t be returning home with an extra set of paws!

Mark and Chewy Ormerod 5th March 2020