Bijoux: a very sad message from Fabienne and Dirk

Sweet Bijoux - Rest in Peace

This morning she passed away, quietly in the middle of all her friends......She has gone......Our Bijoux, our always funny and down to earth Basset. 14 Years ago, together with my best friend, I saved her from her chain in a gypsy camp…..On our hands and knees we managed to rescue her and to turn her life around…….She was supposed to become a breeding bitch but instead she became the diva of the sofa…….

She was the best foster mama for the hundreds of puppies that passed through our home, she was the biggest joker for every visitor and friend that came to our home…….
Only yesterday you have stolen the show, the whole day you accompanied us and our visitors have laughed so much with you…….

Today your spot is empty…….
We will miss you, sweet darling…...
You have no idea……..
The sadness is immense……
Our sweet, crazy Bijoux……
For 15 years our sweet, crazy girl…..

Fabienne and Dirk

Enjoying the pool

Always the darling clown

Happy in the garden.

With her brothers Gustavo and Benjamin

Relaxing with Benjamin

A beloved family member

Surrogate, loving mum to the puppies

Patient, gentle Bijoux

With her friend and brother Benjamin

Dorientje - proof that ALL dogs matter

Love at first sight.

In November 2014, my dear french bulldog fell asleep, after 12 years with us and it was soon clear that a new buddy was needed in the house. On Facebook there was a post from ACE about three Scotch Collie puppies that were had a bad combination of genes in their breeding. They were all pure white and as a result they had not developed eyes. They had been dumped in a field. 

Despite the problems it was love at first sight and so we started the process, with application and home visit.  I knew I could give her what she needed as I'm home all day so she'd have no lack of attention. After approval we then had to wait for a date to know when she would fly to us. It finally happened. She would arrive on November 27th at 23:00 at Eindhoven Airport. (For us a long drive). 

We were kindly received by the ACE volunteer, Vivian, and we all waited for the plane. When the volunteers walked in with the dogs in their cages I felt deeply moved. I thought there were seven dogs in all. Dorientje was behind another dog in the crate and when Vivian called her name, she turned her head around (that's why I decided not to change her name). She was too afraid to put on a harness and so she was put directly into my arms right there. 

I have dogs for 30 years but at the moment I held Dorientje I was in a bubble, something that I had never experienced before. She began to wag her tail and my face was showered with kisses. It was like our souls were directly connected. In the first few months she was afraid everywhere and of everything. It has not always been easy, but after one year she's developed into a lively intelligent gentle dog. I call her and she responds, she knows a lot of words. When there are scary sounds I tell her that 'it's the neighbours' and then she relaxes because she knows that the noise is not in the garden or in the house.  

Dorientje plays with anything that makes a noise, empty bottles, shredding paper, a cat toy with a bell inside etc. If her toys roll away she can work out where they are and finds them easily. She also follows us around and is always happy. We have cats and she can hear when they walk by and she can also walk straight without bumping into things. Even when I walk through the room and she is in a playful mood she will twine her legs around me or keep in step (cleaning the floor is therefore a task that can take quite a long time.) Her nose is so good that she inevitably finds anything edible and once nearly grabbed my chicken. 

She is a dog that radiates light and joy and is not discouraged in any way by her disability. We forget sometimes that she is blind. Her eye muscles are working and we can see from her expressions what's going on in her head. She also makes "jokes" by pretending that can do something and that makes us laugh. We have a set bedtime routine so that she knows when it's night. We have many rituals that take care of her security.

Thank you A.C.E. for this wonderful animal !!!!!

Dorientje has a wonderful sense of smell!

Esthra

Esthra - a quiet, ordinary dog who deserves much happiness

When I took Esthra into foster,  I knew it would be quite difficult to find a place for her. She is older and perhaps not the most beautiful dog in the world.  She has no tail. She's just a poor little dog who's not had it so good. She is a Bodeguero, dogs that are simply not popular in Spain. They are considered more or less worthless. Esthra had been thrown into the killing station - old and with a broken paw she stood no chance. But she was rescued and her paw was fixed.

Despite everything I still wanted to give her a chance. I hope that someone will find her worthwhile. She is quiet, nice and submissive. She loves to eat and go for walks. She walks well off the lead. She doesn't run away and keeps in sight. She has no hunting  instinct. She sits quietly in the car. She enjoys the safe life in the Netherlands. She lives with two cats and two dogs. An older dog is so woderful, so grateful. Who will give her a chance? She certainly deserves it. Take a look at her page.

Our foster parents do such wonderful work - just look at Sunny Boy.

Sunny

What a differene a foster home can make. Just look at Sunny  Boy (formerly Don Sr)!!!

A foster home is often a springboard to a dog's future happiness ... being taken in by a loving family  is so important for the the progress of some of our shelter dogs. For instance: -

A family dog ​​who ends up in the shelter finds life very difficult after being used to living in a home.

A dog that is scared and unused to kindness will benefit from individual attention.

A dog that is under the weather can recover better in a foster home.

A dog that just touches your heart because of their terrible experiences.

A dog that still has to learn everything can start to learn what it's like to live in a family.

In short, our host families are so important, so critical for a dog's all-important steps towards its forever home.  Thank you to all foster mums and dads and to all other members of the family. A foster family gives them their chance to discover what it's like to live in a family and sets them on teh road to even greater happiness.  

Look at one of our hopeless little ones ... this is our Don Sr, now Sunny boy ... Happy boy !!!!

Watch the lovely video ... click here.

Learning to play.

With my new foster siblings on the way for a lovely walk on the beach.

  

A beautiful character: Naranja, an ordinary dog in an ordinary killing station.

Naranja. The sweetest dog ever. 

Naranja is no Miss World, no "Wow" dog, but she is so indescribably sweet that you cannot forget her, once you know her. She is a special, sensitive, loving human and animal lover.

Naranja is still living in a killing station, where she is being protected by a volunteer who loves her and who so much wants a good, loving home for her.

That's why we were asked to help. Naranja came to the killing station heavily pregnant and was given an abortion with the help of a lady who wanted didn't want any puppies to have to endure this hell, as they would have done.

Naranja is still in the killing station.

We are so in love and in this unseen, unknown dog. The volunteers explained that she has a wonderful characnter and is a quiet, simple soul. Sociable, pleasant and always infinitely full of friendship. She may not be a Miss Wolrd, but her beautiful character is worth so much more than this title.

Naranja loves humans.

Gentle, patient Naranja.

A quiet, simple soul.

Precious Liris - her prayer this Christmas

One of our advertisers, Eugenie, has written a beautiful text written devoted to Liris.
She, and we, would love to see that Liris too can celebrate Christmas in her golden basket.
Eugenie thank you for the beautiful text !!

Once she had a home

And people to call her very own

Poor Liris did nothing wrong…

She just grew up

And those heartless people, they wanted a pup 

They where not ashamed , their faces did not turned red or blue,

When they told her

You must make place

There’s no more room here for you !

Liri could not scream,  she could not shout

But her beautiful eyes pleaded…  please, please don’t kick me out !

I love you , you are all a know…

What will happen to me and where am I to go ?

Now she has nothing left to call her own,

because a cold cage at the shelter is her home.

And at night she looks up at the stars, she looks up at the moon

Wishing, wishing, that her for everhome, may come pretty soon.

Wishing, wishing for almost three years now...

Wondering why,... why isn’t  there anybody who will pick me ?

While I see lots of my friends come en go

They went to loving homes, you see

Why not Me, what’s wrong with me ?

And I blow my words to Liris in the wind

Hoping they will reach her as loud as if I was near

When I tell her, there  is nothing wrong with you, my dear !

Maybe  you’re no longer puppy cute, still you are a precious soul,

and that’s  the truth 

Some day, I promise, someone will love all of you !

If somewhere, someone is  looking for a calm and loyal companion

Then he or she will love to see

How sweet you are with people, and how crazy about children you can be.

That you are social with other dogs too

And that special person will love all of you !

So maybe if we like and share,

Show her that we all, do care…

This very special person might find her !

And then she will be loved and never, ever be replaced again!   

Our precious Liris ! Click to read her details and her story. Will you be the one to make her wish come true? 

Darwin will love you forever

Darwin

Darwin was found in a car junkyard, tethered by a heavy iron chain that had grown into his neck. He had nothing to either eat nor drink. People who had a workshop in the area became alarmed because they could no longer hear Darwin crying sadly. They asked Ana and Jesus, who have the protectora in Granada, to help.

Nobody dared to intervene because the people who ran the junkyard were Romanian gypsies. They were aggressive and strange people, but that didnt stop Ana and Jesus.  They went down to see what was going on. When they came to the place, they could not believe their eyes ... the poor dog was just skin and bones, skinny and underfed and his bleeding neck looked painful and awful.

After a meeting with the owners they got permission to take him and that's how poor Darwin finally ended up in good hands. Gradually he recovered, and regained jest for life. His neck has healed, you can no longer see his bones, his ball is his favorite toy and his tail is wagging again. 

Fortunately his dreadful experience has left him with no traumas. He loves people and now he just wants a good boss to be on his side and look after him. Someone who will make him shine with happiness, because that is something that our Darwin would love to do. Who will help this handsome whopper start a new life, because that's something his brave good dog really deserves.  

I love my ball.

I enjoy life, despite my terrible start.