Dog Walking At Hilbrae Animal Rescue

Being such a dog lover you would have thought by now that I would have already done this, it is something i'd always wanted to do but either put if off or just not had the time. Over the weekend Harvey has left us to go on holiday with my parents for two weeks meaning we are dog-less and the house feels really quiet and strange!
As Harvey was originally a rescue from Sunnyside Kennels, to fill the void we decided to go and help out with dog walking at Hilbrae Animal Rescue in Telford (West Midlands).



At first I was a little skeptical that I would be able to go in without getting upset (I easily get upset seeing dogs/cats without loving homes) but after we arrived I felt fine and just wanted to help out. First of all one of the staff let us have a look around the kennels and view the dogs; we spent almost three hours there and managed to walk five dogs during that time. We were asked whether we had a preference on which dogs we walked but I was happy to walk any that needed some exercise!

Domino

Domino is a sweet, very excitable little girl, she had a ton of energy on her walk! She seemed to want to sniff everything and didn't like walking in a straight line, instead kept criss-crossing in front of me. We did put this down to her being excited to get out of her kennel, assuming most of the dogs would be so I didn't really mind too much. Domino is quite unsure around other dogs, though she didn't bark she did pull towards them while on her lead. She responded well to affection and clearly loves being fussed over. We thought she would be great for a young family although I'm not sure of her history so this may not be the case without checking.

Cherry

Cherry is a female staffy who was very lovable and responded well to us, she barely kept still which proved difficult getting a good photo. She was very excited to get out on her walk and did spend a lot of time at the very end of the lead until 10/15 mins in to the walk when she started to relax a little. She has bounds of energy which is expected for her breed and once off the lead the love she has for toys and playing was immediately obvious! All I had to do was pick up a ball and she was at my feet, after throwing it she runs straight after the ball but then won't let it go and runs around with it until you pick up another toy... attention immediately diverted back to alternate toy. I assume Cherry would need a lot of attention as it's clear she needs some time devoted in training and lengthy walks to tire her out, for this reason she probably wouldn't be suitable for a family with young children but maybe perfect for a young, active person.

Stellar

Stellar is a beautiful cross breed girl though we aren't quite sure which breeds she is crossed with. We guessed from her face shape she may be crossed with an English Bull Terrier though we weren't really sure. She is a very calm girl who happily walked alongside me on the lead and immediately responded to human affection and basic commands, someone must have invested a lot of time in her previously. Stellar is very nervous around other dogs and didn't know how to react whilst walking by them but aside from that she's very friendly and lovable! Like Domino I'm assuming she would integrate well in to a family but I'm not sure of her history.

Boris

Boris is a cross breed staffy who's extremely lovable and attentive to the person walking him. He was excited to begin with but surprisingly didn't pull on the lead, with a little lead training he'd be walking at the side of his handler in no time. Like Cherry, Boris has a lot of energy so we let him off his lead and all he wanted to do was play with toys. He's very responsive and will come back to you after you've thrown a toy when called and loves playing with any type of stick/ball he can pick up. He isn't reactive to other dogs and will happily walk by them without a murmur. We may have fell for Boris and if we could have adopted him we would have. Due to this we were really surprised to find out he's been at Hilbrae since May as he gets stressed when he's in his kennel which puts people off of him. Anyone who walks him would clearly see how great he is!

Anonymous/No Name :(

I was a little sad to learn that this little beauty had no name as he had only just arrived at the kennels and was a little underweight. This little man is very timid and shy and doesn't seem to respond much to human interaction, he does like to walk in front of you at the end of the lead but doesn't pull at all, with a little training he would be fine. While off the lead he simply wandered around slowly then went and sat at the entrance to the field ready to go back on to his lead. He is reactive to to other dogs and barks at them when walking past which with being timid makes me think he hasn't had a lot of interaction in the past. We were slightly concerned about walking him very far being underweight but we need not have, when we returned him to the staff they were ready waiting with food for him.

I really enjoyed helping out with dog walking and it is definitely something both me and Scott intend to do again when we get chance. You can't imagine how unbelievably rewarding it is knowing you've helped out, even if just for a few hours.
I really hope all of the dogs we walked (and the many dogs we didn't walk) get re-homed with people who can give them all of the love and support they deserve.

Let me know if you've ever helped out at a rescue centre or adopted from one and if you're thinking of getting a dog please please please consider adopting from a rescue home. :)

*The information about these dogs is of my opinion only and not of Hilbrae's, if choosing to adopt a dog always speak to staff to ensure the dog will be a suitable fit for your home and lifestyle.