Blue Cross blog

Rescue dog Bailey had a troubled past but he’s been given a second chance in life. This week he wonders why it’s so hard to be a dog in a country that’s meant to be a nation of pet-lovers.

Hi friends (two and four-legged varieties),

Well, dogs have been in the news quite a lot recently what with Uggie the Jack Russell terrier from the film The Artist and the Staffies are Softies campaign – there are posters everywhere. 

As I’m part staffie and part Jack Russell, highlighting these two breeds is good news for me! 

Although there was an interesting article I read that even dogs as famous as Uggie would be banned from just about every public space in this country. 

I have always thought that the British prided themselves on being animal lovers but more and more there are stories about how certain breeds are demonised and how dogs are barred from sharing our daily lives. 

It is not possible for me to accompany Nice Lady on a shopping trip but apparently if we lived in France I would be welcomed just about everywhere, including cafes and restaurants – and in some places not just welcomed but positively encouraged. 

The shopkeepers know that we are also important. Most pet dogs are clean and well behaved, and although there are a few canines that you wouldn’t want to be associated with, the majority do know how to behave in public.

Staying on the theme about how certain breeds are always to blame however good they are, I was out walking with one of my doggy friends the other day.

She is a Labrador retriever cross and, although quite young, is really very well behaved but, like us all, some things spook her. 

On this particular occasion a child walked very close to her carrying a flower wrapped in very noisy cellophane. She reacted by barking but at the same time remaining seated on the ground, just barking. 

Now admittedly it is not a very polite thing for us dogs to do and understandably most people don’t like it. 

During this time I was waiting patiently for Nice Lady to finish her conversation. I didn’t move or make a noise but, and get this, a couple of builders working on the other side of the road who had heard the barking but not seen anything, shouted across to Nice Lady that I should be muzzled and kept under control!

I had done nothing untoward, they had just assumed that if there are two dogs and one dog barks and sounds cross then it has to be the staffie. What a cheek! 

Fortunately Nice Lady is not backward in coming forward and politely but firmly put them right. Just shows though, you can’t be too careful, prejudice runs deep.

It has been good to see that there have been a number of positive features on staffie breeds on the television and radio recently. 

The sad fact of life is that even if we do eventually earn a better reputation then some other poor breed of dog will take our place. 

People who don’t necessarily want them for the right reasons will then own those dogs and so the cycle goes on. 

Maybe some regulation is needed, making sure we all have microchips for one, and regulating the internet so there are approved sites for buying and selling dogs. 

There is a lot of work to do but I am sure that dogs and humans can live peacefully together wherever they are. 

I will never stop thanking the greater powers that look after sad dogs that they sent me to live with Nice Lady. My life has definitely changed for the better and I really couldn’t be happier. 

I wish the same for all those dogs out there who are sad, badly treated or unhappy and if I could pass on a message it would be: “Hang on in there, things can only get better”.

All for now …      

Licks and wags,
Bailey