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Hello
everyone, my name is Caroline (aka ‘Chapstaff’
on the D for Dog Forum).
I have been an Administrator on the D for Dog Forum for
over 2 years now. I am married to Ken and we have two grown
up sons and two baby grandchildren.
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We
owned a Staffordshire Bull Terrier called Cleo, who we rescued
from Wood Green Animal Shelter when she was one year old.
She was about to be put to sleep so we took her sight unseen.
I can honestly say we never regretted it for a moment as she
turned out to be a loyal and loving member of our family.
Cleo recently passed away peacefully at the grand old age
of 16. |
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After Cleo's death, the house was so empty that we felt the need
for someone else to love, so we decided to get a Stafford puppy.This
was to be our first puppy and as we are now both in our 50's we
felt it was the right time to get a puppy as we could grow old and
slow down together.
Mindful
of the importance of finding a good and reputable
breeder, we got in touch with the secretary of the Staffordshire
Bull Terrier society and asked her to keep an eye open for a planned
mating by breeders who do all the relevant health tests and raise
the pups carefully in the home. We were prepared to wait for as
long as it took for the right litter, but she got back to us within
just a few days to tell us about a suitable litter of 2 week old
puppies.
We
phoned the breeder to ask lots of questions and, as is the way with
any reputable breeder, we got asked lots back.... which is good.
The next step was then to arrange a visit so that we could meet
the breeder and view the pups and their mum in the home environment.
There
were four dogs and four bitches in total, which is quite a large
litter for a Staffordshire Bull Terrier. We had decided already
that we wanted a bitch and there were two left available from this
litter, but they were too young for us to make a decision. So we
viewed again at five weeks to make our choice. There was really
nothing to choose between the puppies; they were all well grown
and plump, in a squirming heap of bodies, chewing at each other
and their mum.
The
breeder took them out of the whelping box and we watched them all
play and interact for a while (a couple of hours actually), then
decided on the quieter of the two pups available. We felt she might
be more suitable for our lifestyle. We have two baby grandchildren
in the family and Staffordshire Bull Terriers are well known for
being brilliant with children.
We collected our pup, who we named "Tala", at seven weeks
of age. We wanted her as early as possible so we could start socialising
her.
Tala is now home with us, so the fun (and the hard work) will really
begin. From an early age we will be looking at crate training, toilet
training and of course she will need her vaccinations.
Check back soon to find out how we get on.
Caroline and Tala
Instalment 2 |
