Beautiful Young Golden Retriever looking for loving home.

[WJT]

This beautiful young boy appears to have been abandoned in Dordogne. He is at the Bergerac SPA, located directly across Intermarché on the Sainte Alvére route in Bergerac. For anyone that would like to go see him, he is at the moment in cage 01 and his number is 510. Unfortunately, his name is unknown.

He is a very young dog between the age of one and two years old. He has a very sad and weary look in his eye for just a pup and desperately needs and deserves a loving home. He is a very loving and gentle dog. I watched him being man handled and dragged across gravel on his back being pulled by the scruff of his neck because he had no collar. Outside of a whimper he did not react at all. He did run loose but came back to me when he was called and was put back in a shed to hold him until he went to the SPA. So he appears to be a very well behaved dog.

He has a tattoo and the owner was traced to Paris and the telephone numbers are no longer valid. So it appears that he was abandoned. The vet that looked at the information provided by the tattoo states that he is only one year old. Sorry for the poor photos.

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[Just Katie]

WJT  I am really surprised this dog has not been adopted yet.  If my accommodation was suitable I would definitely give this dog a home.  He is beautiful.

[WJT]

Hi Katie, by law they must keep him there for approximately two weeks after sending a registered letter to the previous owners address, but in any case no one has expressed any interest as of yet.  I am pretty confident that the owner will not come forward because no one has enquired about him at all or reported a lost dog anywhere in the region. He does have a tattoo so this should have been the first port of call for the owner in my opinion.[:(]

I don't think it necessary for him to stay at the SPA until the required time has lapsed.

[Lori]

What a beautiful dog.  I do hope he gets adopted.  His face is full of love.

Would love to have him myself, but cannot take on another dog.

[TroisChatNoir]

Hi, I would like to give this dog a home with us here in Central France. We have lots of secure garden and a little girl who is desperate for her own doggie to take exploring. As I say, I live a few hours drive away and can't come til Saturday when my husband is not at work but I definitely want him. Being a bit of a technophobe I can't find the SPA Bergerac details on th'internet - don't suppose you could mail me a link so I can try to reserve him - if that's possible? Never adopted in France before, only in UK. Obviously, if his people do get in contact they could have him back but would like to get him out asap while we see what unfolds.

Here's hoping

[Just Katie]

TCN [:D]  I am so envious of you.  I would definitely have taken this dog if I did not live in an apartment.  WJT will be thrilled when she sees this.

Please promise you will post his progress with you on the forum I am genuinely interested in him.

What is your little girl going to name him?

[TroisChatNoir]

If we do manage to secure him (everything crossed, I've fallen in love with him and haven't even seen him yet) will keep you posted. Still trying to track a contact for where he is, the SPA site I've found lists 57 refuges but none seem to be the right place. Ellie wants to call him Lucy (!) will work on this one. Bye for now - back to searching

[WJT]

Katie, you are right I was so excited and happy when I saw this. I just phoned the SPA and I am still getting over the shock but the owner has contacted the SPA. I am so sorry TroisChatNoir. I feel terrible posting his photos and information before knowing for certain. I just felt so sure that he was abandoned because no one had come forward or enquired for well over a week. I know that if it was my dog I would have done this the very first day.

TroisChatNoir, I am so sorry again and I have to admit to being a little disappointed. I would have been so happy to see him go to such a wonderful home.

There are other wonderful dogs there ( I was going to post a few photos in a few days time particularly of a little one) including some lovely Labradors but I would image there would also be a wonderful choice of dogs at rescue centres near you as well. If it is possible to give an idea of your location perhaps I could search for you to perhaps find another dog as wonderful as this boy. I am so sorry again.[:(]

[TroisChatNoir]

WJT That's great news (for him anyway!) I am really glad that he has been reunited with his folks (says me, putting on a brave face) and you mustn't feel bad for trying to help him in his hour of need. But, having taken the plunge towards doggy ownership again (been a while now since we lost our last boy)  I am now determined to get one, or preferably two, to share our lovely garden and fab walks round here. Up til now, have shied away from going to a rescue centre without a specific dog in mind 'cos am not strong enough to walk past all those poor little faces without crying - bit of a baby I know! We live close to La Chatre in Dept 36 and have heard rumours of a shelter in Chateauroux. I was drawn to a youg retriever cos they are supposed to be the best with children, my daughter is only 2 and a half and I would like her to grow up with a dog - not necessarily a puppy. Sure theres just the chap(s) out there somewhere.

[WJT]

TroisChatNoir, thank you so much for that response, I really do feel awful about it.[:(] I just hope the owner that is getting him today will end up being a loving home for him in the end.

I know what you mean about going to a refuge, it is heartbreaking. But I would love to be in your position to go and give one or even two of them a wonderful home. I did a quick search and found the Indre SPA site, however, they don't show a Golden Retriever on their site. I suspect that most of them don't use the internet that much though and perhaps they have many dogs there that aren't shown on the site or aren't updated. I will continue to search and have a look. I am certain that a beautiful gentle dog for your little girl is just waiting for her around the corner.

[Chrissie]

TCN, I agree with WJT that websites for most French refuges are pretty out of date and the dogs actually waiting for homes do not always appear.  Don't just browse the Web for dogs - go to your nearest refuge and see what they have.  I know exactly what you mean by walking past all the poor faces, I have had to grit my teeth every time I have said to myself   "No, not that one."  But it is important for all concerned that you choose only a dog you really feel is right in every way - I am sure that with your young daughter to consider you will be strong about this, and find a lovely companion, or two.  Very best wishes in your hunt.

Chrissie (81) 

[Just Katie]

Sorry for being selfish but I am gutted.  I would really have loved to see this dogs development;

[Christine Animal]

I just called the SPA of Bergerac as, after spending a lot of time trying to trace the owner who never came back to me, I was curious to know what had happened.  As I had suspected, the original owner had given the dog to someone in the Dordogne, but hadn't taken care of registering the tattoo in their name.  I suppose when she received the registered letter from the SPA she let the new owners know.  I agree that they didn't seem to do much about finding him, but the lady at Bergerac said they do seem to care about the dog.

So there you go.  At least you got him out of that shed at the Mairie WJT.

 

[WJT]

Thank you Christine but I really didn't handle it right but have learned a lesson. The lady at the SPA told me the same when I asked her but one, I don't know how she knows this and two, I can't help but wonder why it took them so long. It just seems strange to me that it took contact from the previous owner to nudge them to contact the SPA. As I said before, I would imagine that most of us that lost our dog would have at least called one of the authorities that had the information from the start the first day. Why would it have taken almost two weeks for them to make an enquiry?

As I have said on another forum, I am aware that there are many dogs at the SPA that desperately need homes that are perhaps of mixed breeds and much older so much more difficult to find loving homes. But I was involved with this dog and feel a responsibility towards him. I just hope he does have a good home.

I have posted some photos of a few of the dogs at the Bergerac SPA on another forum, so will post them here on a new thread even though they are some of the worst photos I have ever taken.[:$]

[Christine Animal]

You handled it how you could WJT and you were very concerned about this dog.  Thanks to you he has found his owners.  Whether they are worthy of him or not, unfortunately we can do nothing about.  But let's hope he is out of danger now.  It is easy afterwards to say what should or could have been done.  You informed all the necessary people, noone else came forward to take him in temporarily did they, so the SPA was better than the shed at the mairie who didn't seem to be doing anything.  At least they found the owners.

You say you have taken photos of others at the refuge WJT, please post them.  In that way your endeavours will not have been in vain.  You have helped a lost dog to be reunited with his owners and let's hope by your plea and your photos, we may on here be able to rescue another who is waiting there.   [kiss]

 

[Christine Animal]

By the way, I shall be getting this little chap out of Niort.  He has such a lovely smile, I can't leave him there.

                      

He was abandoned on 1st August.  He was born in February 2000.  Through no fault of his own he is epileptic and has a treatment for it.

I don't know him yet, but I already care about him, it's so unfair.  If anyone would like to give him a chance, please let me know.  I'll be behind you.

 

[WJT]

Thank you Christine. He is lovely and it is wonderful of you to get him out. Perhaps you could post his photo again. I will start a new thread with my terrible photos that I mentioned.