Animal success stories

These stories have been made possible by the kind supporters of the RSPCA Chesterfield & North Derbyshire branch. Without our supporters and kind friends our doors would not remain open and our work could not continue. Over the years many animals have come to us needing help and a second chance in life, because of our existence we have been able to to do this.

All these animals have touched the hearts of staff and volunteers who have worked with them. It may have only been for a short time but they have all played an important part in their life.

Binny's story

On the 6th December 2002 a lady walking her dog heard some pitiful cries coming from a black bin liner in a ditch on Mickley Lane at Stretton.

Inside the bin liner was the thinnest puppy the RSPCA staff had ever seen, he was close to death, he would certainly have died in the freezing temperatures if he had not been found.

It was touch and go when inspector Darling got the call, he rushed the puppy along to the vets to try and save his life, the poor little chap was put on a drip, thankfully after a few days he began to eat and this was the start of his recovery.

Staff named him Binny and took on the long road to getting him back to normal. Despite his cruel start to life he has made a wonderful dog and has successfully been re-homed.

Moss's story - from near starvation in South Yorkshire to love and kindness in Chesterfield

If you have ever seen the film Turner & Hooch then you would have been dazzled by the power, dignity, personality and loyalty displayed by the dog that played Hooch.

The above is a true reflection of this breed that is the Dogue de Bordeaux and this made what RSPCA inspector Sam Sacks found on a Kimberworth Park estate in Rotherham even more disturbing.

When inspector Sacks entered the property, she found dog faeces and urine everywhere and living in the middle of all this were three French Mastiffs (Dogue de Bordeauxs). Moss, Red and Riva who had been heavily bred.

All three dogs were in poor bodily condition and were filthy and smelly with over grown nails. The inspector was horrified but little did she know that there was worse to come. On further investigation of the property, the inspector opened a shed to find the decomposing remains of another adult Mastiff for whom rescue had come too late.

The dogs were removed and the search was on for a place to stay and recuperate whilst inspector Sacks pursued a prosecution against the owner.

The animal centres in Yorkshire were all full, so a call went out to centres in other regions and Chesterfield branch offered them a place of safety. The dogs made a short journey down the M1 the following day and were welcomed by the staff who were horrified by their general condition and story.

The dogs were bedded down for the night in a warm, dry kennel and they were given meals little and often to start their digestive system once again.

All three dogs settled into kennel life very quickly and soon became firm favorites with all the staff and volunteers. The dogs rapidly began to gain weight. Proof that a lack of food or a poor quality diet had been the cause of their weight loss.

On the 14th August 2002, after a prolonged court case that lasted many months, the owner of the dogs was prosecuted and ordered to pay £360 in costs with a 5 year ban on keeping animals and a community rehabilitation order. All three dogs were signed over for re-homing.

All the dogs were loved by the staff but one dog, Moss, in particular had caught the eye of Deirdre Harris, one of our senior animal care assistants, who fell in love with his good looks.

As soon as the dogs were signed over for re-homing, Deirdre took Moss home and introduced him to her husband and two children and the multitude of other animals that were members of the Harris household.

Moss quickly settled into family life. However his previous ordeal had left him with some emotional scars that took him a long time to overcome and they manifested themselves in the following ways.

Moss would stay in the garden and refuse to come inside. The problem with this was that he refused to urinate outside and it wasn't until he could be coaxed inside that he would go to the toilet. As you can imagine with a dog this size, this could cause a major flooding problem.

Some other behaviour manifested when any members of the family tried to walk down stairs, this would make Moss go hysterical and he would bark in an intense and almost aggressive manner.

At this point most people would have returned Moss to the animal centre. However Deirdre and her family stuck at it and gave Moss the love, understanding and reassurance that he so desperately craved. Consequently Moss has changed into a family pet who has relished all the love and attention that has been heaped on him.

Moss has gone from a life of total neglect and misery to a family home where he is loved and cherished. It is stories such as this that make our jobs so both rewarding and worthwhile. All the staff and volunteers at the Chesterfield RSPCA feel very privileged that we can really make a difference and give animals such as Moss a second chance. It is not uncommon for staff and volunteers to fall for an animal's particular charm and to make the transition from paid carer to loving owner.

Moss is one of the many tragic cases that come through our centre every year and although the staff do a fantastic job, their work could not continue without local donations that are given to support our work.

Ross's story - the big dog with the big health problem

Ross the German Shepherd came to the RSPCA Chesterfield & North Derbyshire animal centre on the 21st November 2003 and had originally come in from the Barnsley area. Ross came to us through the Barnsley RSPCA as he was living on a farm but could not stop himself from chasing all the livestock that he happened to come across. The sad thing about this was that this was already Ross's second home and his favourite game 'chase the cow' meant that he was on the re-homing list once again.

Ross soon settled into kennel life and he loved everyone. All the staff fell in love with his gentle, loving nature. Even though Ross was a very handsome chap and loved people he had a lengthy stay in kennels and it wasn't until the 10th January 2004 that he was adopted out to a nice family in the Mansfield area.

Unfortunately Ross discovered a new game called chewing when left and this resulted in him being returned to the centre fourteen days later. Ross had never displayed any destructive behaviour on his original stay with us so we were all surprised to see him coming back to kennel for that reason.

The staff soon noticed that Ross was not his usual, happy self and seemed very depressed to be back in kennels. However we all felt that after a couple of days he would be back to his old self. Ross continued to become more and more withdrawn and we realised that he was also starting to lose weight at a considerable rate. No matter how much we fed Ross, we were unable to get him back to his usual self. Ross's stools became very loose and he looked a shadow of his former self. At this point we realised this was more than kennel stress and decided to ask Peak Veterinary for their opinion.

After an examination it was decided that a faeces sample should be sent away to determine the extent of Ross's problems. We all waited with our fingers crossed and eventually the results came back saying Ross had an acute pancreas problem.

This meant that we were in a very difficult position as we now had a dog that had proved very difficult to re-home previously and he would now require veterinary treatment for the rest of his life. The feeling was that Ross with his loving nature should be given a chance and he was instantly placed on a diet that included raw bovine pancreas. Almost immediately we saw glimmers of the old Ross and we knew we had made the correct decision.

The improvement was only very short lived as after about three days he refused to eat the raw pancreas and started to lose condition again. AT this point we introduced the powdered version that is made by a drugs company and it was sprinkled onto Ross's food. Again we saw immediate improvement and under this new treatment regime Ross went from strength to strength.

Over the next few months Ross was picked and reserved twice. Unfortunately both reserves failed because of his health problems and the ongoing veterinary costs.

Shortly after this Mr Chris Edwards from the Mansfield area came down to view the dogs in our care with his partner Serena. It was love at first sight for them both as they spotted Ross. The staff explained the complex nature of Ross's problems and the monthly costs involved to maintain his health. All the information did not seem to dull Chis's enthusiasm and after some thought they decided that Ross was the dog for them.

The home visit passed on the 24th April 2004 and his new family adopted him several days later. Ross quickly settled into his new home and regularly visits the centre to say hello to the dedicated staff and volunteers that used to look after him. Chis calls in on a monthly basis to pick up Ross's medication.

Chirs said: 'Ross is a grand dog who is at the moment working towards his bronze good citizen award, I have never had a dog before and don't consider myself a dog person but now I am completely converted'.

The story of Ross is very heart warming and it makes you realise what a real difference we can make to animal welfare in the local area and how privileged we are to work in such a worthwhile job.

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